General News
NCC Has Committed Over N200m to Research and Development, Says Danbatta
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),has declared that the Commission had committed over N200 million into the promotion of research and development (R&D) in order to drive innovation in the country’s telecommunications sector.
L-R: Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director Public Affairs, NCC; 3rd prize winner, MarcPatrick Efevuriri Efeni; 1st prize winner, Esther Gbeja; Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC; 2nd prize winner, Edosa Moses Mosa; 3rd prize winner, Nasiru Abdulkarim; and Edoyemi Ogoh, Deputy Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, NCC, at the event.
Danbatta stated this during the prize presentation ceremony of the 2021 NCC National Essay Competition held on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at the Conference Room of the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja.
At the event which marked the 3rd edition of the annual competition organised by the Commission, the EVC said the Commission has invested modestly in research grants, instituted professorial chairs in universities across the country, supported tech startups, and sponsored national essay competitions and many more social investments in order to ensure synergy and linkages among industry, the academia and the youth.
Over 2,000 entries were received from 97 public and private tertiary institutions for the competition in which Esther Oluwabukola Gbeja, a 600-Level student of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Ilorin, was declared overall winner.
Gbeja received a cash prize of N500,000.00, a laptop, and a printer; while the first runner-up, Moses Nosa Edosa, a final year student of Accounting at the University of Port Harcourt, received a cash prize of N300,000.00 only.
Two second runners-up emerged from the competition to pick the third prize. MarcPatrick Efevuriri Efeni, a 200-Level student of Cybersecurity at the Airforce Institute of Technology, Kaduna; and Nasiru Abdul Karim, a 400-Level student of Computer Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, both came third having scored same number of points. They both received cash prizes of N200,000 each.
The EVC said NCC gladly accommodated the additional prize due to the tie in the third place, as a mark of encouragement.
According to Danbatta, the topic for this year’s essay competition, “5G Technology: Opportunities & challenges”, was carefully chosen to ensure that the youths have a good understanding of the new technology.
He said Nigeria’s vibrant youth populace stands to benefit massively from the deployment of 5G technology, which the Commission is set to launch in 2022.
The NCC CEO said the Commission initiated and has maintained the annual essay competition to stimulate the interest of Nigerians especially the young people, to contribute to efforts in driving innovation in the technological ecosystem of Nigeria.
“It is on this premise that NCC took the step to encourage Nigerian students to remain pro-active and partake in the national competition that challenges students to be competitive and engage their best efforts,” he said.
While emphasizing the critical importance of communications as the foundation for the technological development of society and its role in the provision of vital infrastructure for national security, the EVC highlighted the need to invest in research programmes as observed in advanced nations, where a lot of resources are channeled into R&D.
Prof. Danbatta seized the opportunity provided by the event to reiterate the assurances of the Commission to Nigerians that 5G technology will expand the mobile ecosystem into a new realm and the impact will be felt in various sectors of the economy.
The Chairman of the 3rd NCC National Essay Competition Committee, Edoyemi Ogoh, who is also a Deputy Director in the Commission’s Technical Standards and Network Integrity Department, commended the EVC’s effort in recognising the academia as a key stakeholder in the development of the communications sector, and in encouraging that critical sector to have a natural connection with the industry.
Ogoh further said that the Commission “knows the importance of innovative thinking in the growing ICT industry in Nigeria and as such, this has made the Commission to engage youths in various tertiary institutions across the nation to compete in essay writing on 5G technology.”
Also speaking at the event, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs at the NCC, said the essay competition is one of the most important initiatives the Commission, and expressed his delight at the ability of the winners who have demonstrated vast knowledge on the subject matter during their presentation.
Adinde also emphasised the influence of the competition in the stimulation of the minds of the target audience and the creation of positive awareness to debunk misconceptions about the 5G technologies.
The Director Public Affairs said, the outcome of the competition is an encouragement to the NCC Management to continue to support the national essay competition while ensuring that the Commission sustains such programme.
He said the results are evident today as the NCC has, through the essay contest, produced four ambassadors of 5G.
“These youths can go out and engage their peers about 5G, its benefits, opportunities and address the negative preconceptions about the 5G network,” Adinde said.
The essay competition was initiated by the NCC to deepen awareness and knowledge of telecommunications stakeholders in the country, especially the young people.
Interestingly, every successive year, the competition is marked by massive responses in the number of essays submitted by students.
Though the Commission has been able to organise three of such national essay competitions, the resultant social and emotional equity has had impressive and quantifiable values on the Commission as a leading Nigerian public sector brand.
Nigeria has approved a fresh $500 million replenishment of the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF) at the African Development Bank (AfDB), extending the facility for another 15 years.
President of the AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, announced this during his opening remarks at the ongoing AfDB Annual Meetings in Abidjan as he expressed deep appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for their continued support.
“To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and to Vice President Kashim Shettima, for your support over the past two years, I am profoundly grateful. Thank you for graciously approving the replenishment of the Nigeria Trust Fund for another 15 years for $500 million.”
The Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF) was set up in 1976 through an agreement between the Nigerian government and the African Development Bank Group. It’s a revolving fund that sustains itself over time and is designed to support the development of low-income African countries in need of concessional financing.
The fund can be used in a number of ways—either to co-finance projects alongside the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund (ADF) or to finance projects independently. It supports both public and private sector initiatives and can also be used to top up funding for ongoing Bank Group-backed projects.
Unlike the ADF, which allocates funds to countries, NTF resources are tied to specific projects. This allows for more flexible, needs-based support where it’s most effective.
The National Assembly has hinted that it may consider passing the harmonised tax reform bills by Tuesday, following a successful review of the troubling clauses in the proposed legislation.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, via his official X account on Sunday. Faleke is the leader of the House delegation for the bills harmonisation exercise.
He tweeted, “The conference committee set up by the House and the Senate on the Tax Reform Bills has successfully concluded its work. The joint committees thoroughly reviewed all sections and addressed the grey areas of the four bills, examining each clause strategically and resolving contentious issues.
“After an intensive deliberation that stretched through Thursday night, all day Friday, and into the early hours of Saturday, I am pleased to report that the bills are now ready for presentation to both the House and the Senate for final passage.
“I would like to especially appreciate the Senate conference committee, ably led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, the Distinguished Senator Sani Musa, as well as all members of the Senate Conference Committee.
“I also extend heartfelt gratitude to my colleagues on the House Conference Committee, which I had the honour to lead, for their unwavering commitment to the Nigerian people. We are truly grateful for your dedication and resilience in bringing this important task to a conclusion.”
It was reported that the four tax bills were sent two weeks ago to the joint harmonisation committee made up of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reconcile the amendments of both Chambers before it is transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for his assent.
After announcing the passage of the bills following a majority voice vote, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, praised the lawmakers for their sacrifice in ensuring that the tax system in Nigeria meets an international standard.
He said, “These four executive bills seek to transform and modernise the tax system in Nigeria.”
The move came barely 24 hours after the Upper Chamber earlier cleared two of the bills before pushing the remaining legislation for consideration on Thursday.
Addressing journalists after the plenary, the Chairman of the ad hoc committee for the tax reform bills and the lawmaker representing Niger East Senatorial District, Senator Sani Musa, explained that they did their best to ensure the taxation system in Nigeria meets international standards.
Musa also disclosed that parts of the tax proceeds will be used to fight cybercrime, boost defence infrastructure, the TETfund, and aid soldiers in their efforts to restore peace and safety in the country.
Continuing, the Niger Senator explained that the senators recommended that the President needs to appoint a chairman and create an ombudsman to arbitrate and adjudicate on tax-related matters.
The legislator also harped on the need for the establishment of a tax tribunal, which he said cannot be overemphasised.
“It is not à court of record. We have looked at the issue of VAT, coĺlection of taxes, development levies, and inheritance tax, which had been expunged.
“I believe Nigerians wiĺl see something nice from this. We also commend the President for giving a level playing field to all,” he said.
E-commerce platform highlighted as a case study in applying Google’s latest Web UI primitives to enhance interactivity and performance in online shopping experiences.
Temu was featured at Google I/O 2025 as an early adopter of Google’s new Web UI primitives—a set of Web UI APIs designed to improve interactivity, performance, and responsiveness in web applications. The e-commerce platform was presented at the conference as a case study for implementing these technologies to deliver a more dynamic and engaging digital shopping experience.
Google I/O is Google’s premier annual developer conference, where the company unveils its latest products, showcases innovations across its portfolio, and shares its vision for the future of technology.
This year, the conference’s focus includes new Web UI primitives designed to simplify the development of common yet complex components—such as Carousels, Tooltips, and Drop-down menus—to create more seamless and responsive user experiences.
“Temu, the e-commerce company, has been setting the bar when it comes to applying these new primitives to their full potential,” said Paul Kinlan, Lead of Chrome Developer Relations at Google I/O 2025. “The web is becoming more stylish and responsive every single day.”
Since integrating the MPA View Transitions API, Temu has seen a 10% increase in user session duration and a 15% rise in page views, according to Paul Kinlan’s presentation. The platform has also been piloting several new APIs—including Carousels, Popover, Anchor Positioning, and Customizable Select—which have improved page performance and reduced CPU load by 10–15%, helping to lower device battery consumption and interactivity latencies. Google also highlighted its collaboration with Temu to enable next-generation capabilities for select features.
Temu has been actively adopting cutting-edge technologies to enhance customers’ digital shopping experiences. It was one of the first developers to optimize its app for the Google Pixel Fold and integrate Android’s “dialog full-screen dim” feature, earning recognition from Google. Temu is listed as an Editors’ Choice on the Google Play Store.
Since its debut in September 2022, Temu has rapidly expanded to over 90 markets worldwide, offering a diverse range of merchandise at highly competitive prices. Temu was named a top Apple-recommended app of 2024 and operates one of the most visited e-commerce websites in the world.
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