News
NASENI Seeks Better Home- grown Technology for Card Readers
With Nigerians still reminiscing over the outcome of the recent elections, the Executive Vice-Chairman, National Agency for Science Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Haruna Sani, has said Nigerians have the technical capacity to develop better technology to take care of future elections.
During the just-concluded round of elections, the bulk of the problems encountered by Nigerians in their bid to exercise their civic duty were associated with the poor performance of the card readers deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Some of the card readers failed to function at most polling units, as a lot of voters ended up with manual accreditation before voting.
But, the NASENI Executive Secretary said Nigerians in the agency have the technical know-how to develop and produce better technology for more sensitive card readers with the capacity to handle future elections.
“It is high time for Nigeria to undertake local production of card readers’ in-country,” he said.
“If in every election, we rush abroad and purchase card readers and other equipment, we will continue to have these problems. We have all the brains and technical know-how in Nigeria to develop better technology for more sensitive card readers.
“I think the system prefers importation so we can remain as consumers instead of local producers. To the best of my knowledge, across the world everyone tries to develop home grown solutions for election problems,’’ he said.
Mr Sani said going forward, if the right measures were not put in place, the same issues would crop up in the 2023 general elections.
Hence, he said the need for local solution as a way out to the inability to use imported card readers.
With the local technology fully allowed to take over and with electronic voting collation of result, he said it would be less cumbersome, as voters can see their votes counting on screen.
”If INEC wishes, the nation can see the result online and on television. Again, as we are voting, anyone can see it there,” he said.
He said NASENI had demonstrated the technology in the past, adding the device the agency developed would issue PVCs (personal voters’ cards) in two minutes.
“You don’t need to pile voters’ card at the point of registration. With our device, you can carry out all elections by combining the Presidential and National Assembly, Governorship, State House of Assembly, all within three minutes a voter is done.
“I think my personal observation is that some of the INEC ad-hoc staff are not properly trained to operate the card readers. All of a sudden, some staff are replaced by people who were not trained.
“I witnessed someone complaining that the card reader in Sabongida was not working. But, we later discovered the ballot paper had a transparent seal for projection against dust.
“But the operator was ignorant to know the seal has to be removed first before the card reader can read anybody’s thumb,” he said.
Mr Sani said INEC had directed that if the card reader failed to work, there could be manual accreditation to allow voters exercise their franchise without delay.
According to him, the use of card readers would have given the process more credibility as it would have been neater and more satisfying.
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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