Telecom
NCC to Strengthen Media Collaboration
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commended the Nigerian media for their role in adequately and accurately educating the Nigerian public about the Commission’s ‘2017 Year of the Consumer’ initiative.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, EVC, NCC
The Commission says it is determined to strengthen collaboration with the media for increased education of telecoms consumer in the country.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman (EVC) of NCC, stated this during the 2019 Award/Appreciation Night hosted by the Kano Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists which took place at Bristol Palace Hotel, Kano, where the EVC received recognition award for outstanding leadership and regulatory excellence exhibited since assuming office in 2015 as the country’s chief telecoms regulator.
Speaking at the forum with the theme: ‘Media and Good Governance: Issues and Challenges’, Danbatta disclosed that the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 short code instituted by the NCC for curbing unsolicited text messages and the NCC 622 toll-free Number for consumer complaints management, have increased in usage because of effective public education by the media acting as a critical partner of the Commission.
Danbatta, who thanked the NUJ Kano Correspondent Chapel for the honour bestowed on him took the audience on a memory lane on how media had and have continued to help in publicising NCC’s Year of the Consumer initiative launched in 2017, with a philosophical focus to address critical consumer-related issues in the telecommunications industry.
According to him, two of the major derivatives of the initiative are the DND 2442 Short Code and the NCC toll-free number 622. “For me, the print and electronic media serve as an important interface between the agencies of government like the NCC and the public. I remember when we declared 2017 as the Year of the Consumer, we assembled the best, the crème of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to help disseminate the messages about the initiatives to the nook and cranny of the country,” Danbatta said.
The EVC stated that today, the DND Short Code has empowered Nigerians to stop receiving unsolicited text messages. He also declared that from a little half a million, the level of subscription to the Code is over 22 million and the number is growing.
“The same thing with our toll-free number 622 through which subscribers can lodge complains about the quality of service, about when they observe their data declines at most alarming speed or when they are being subjected to unwholesome practices by the service providers.
“They can lodge their complaints using the 622 in English, Pidgin or local languages of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. Though the 622, we have succeeded in resolving more than a million complaints from consumers,” Danbatta said.
The NCC Chief Executive noted that the Commission couldn’t have achieved the success rates without an important partnership between the Commission and the journalists, who, he said, helped the Commission “to educate consumers on and popularised the availability and usage of the DND 2442 Short Code and the 622 Toll-free Number.”
He stressed that, based on the importance attached to media partnership, the NCC dedicates two engagements with the media every year. “We engage the media from the beginning of the year in order to inform them about what our plans for subscribers are in the industry and at the end of the year in order to tell them what progress we have made.”
Danbatta said by doing this, “Nigerians are very much aware of the activities of the Commission and therefore, the NCC relies and will continue to rely on and strengthen collaboration with the media for the dissemination of important information about its activities to the public.”
Other notable indigenes of Kano State, who received recognition awards at the NUJ event, alongside Danbatta, include the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullah Ganduje; his wife, Dr. Hafsat Gganduje; Chairman, Tofa Group, Isyaku Umar Tofa; and Managing Director, Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Dr. Jamil Gwamna.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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