E-Business
.NG Domain Registrations Cross 215,000 as NiRA Pushes for Increased Adoption

The .ng domain name, Nigeria’s Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD), has continued to garner popularity in usage for websites and email addresses.
Mr. Adesola Akinsanya, the president of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), dropped the hint in his message to stakeholders who gathered [physically and virtually] at the association’s 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM), in Lagos, recently.
Giving account of the Executive Board of Directors (EBoD’s) stewardship in the past one year, Mr. Akinsanya said that as of February 2024, NiRA registrars have registered 215,441 .ng domain names.
He said that .ng as Nigeria’s Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) has become increasingly popular for use in websites and email addresses.
The number of .ng domain names reached 212,890 as disclosed in the NiRA Audited Account for the year ending December 31st 2023, which also shows an increase by 29,098 when compared to 183,792 recorded as at December 2022.
Mr. Akinsanya also applauded President Bola Tinubu’s administration on the Renewed Hope agenda aimed at leveraging the digital economy to better the worth of the citizens.
He also commended Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy who has shown understanding of the need to intensify the adoption of Nigeria country code top-level domain (ccTLD), .ng within and outside the government circle, adding that NiRA as a multi-stakeholder-led organization has enjoyed support from the Kashifu Inuwa led National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), especially in the crusade for both public and private organisations to switch over to .ng.
“The need for both the government and private institutions to switch-over to .ng brand is no longer negotiable in view of the significant role it plays in the country’s digital economy agenda”.
He said that NiRA supports the Minister in his efforts to ‘promote transparency in governance, protecting the Nigerian cyberspace, and promotion of the Digital Nigeria agenda’.
NiRA has been pushing for the government to accelerate the adoption of the second-level domain (. gov. ng, .edu.ng, .mil.ng) under the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD.ng).
Speaking further, the NiRA chief said that a total of twenty-two new registrars were accredited last year, “showing the collective efforts of NiRA Accredited Registrars and their Resellers, which we duly acknowledge and appreciate.
“Our commitment to nurturing a robust partnership with our accredited registrars remains unwavering. The establishment of the Registrar’s Relationship Manager position exemplified this dedication, as it provides a specialized resource to address registrars’ needs and to cultivate stronger bonds among stakeholders.
“Together, we are poised to further elevate the .ng domain and advance our collective objective”, the NiRA President said.
Earlier in her goodwill message, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, chairperson, Board of Trustees of NiRA, said: “Having gone through the documents associated with this meeting, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude and appreciation for each one of you.
“Your dedication, commitment, and contributions to our organization have been instrumental in our continued success and growth.
“It is a time for us to come together as a community, to share ideas, insights, and experiences, and to reaffirm our shared vision and mission.
“As Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, I am inspired by the passion and enthusiasm that each of you brings to this body. Your unwavering support and commitment to our cause have been the driving force behind our accomplishments, and I am confident that together, we will overcome any obstacles that may lie ahead”.
E-Business
UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

United Kingdom has issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple, mandating that the company create a backdoor to access users’ encrypted iCloud data.
This directive, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, requires Apple to provide British security officials with the means to retrieve all content uploaded to iCloud by any user worldwide.
Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, introduced in 2022, offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensuring that only users can access their information.
The UK’s demand challenges this security measure, potentially compelling Apple to either comply by creating the backdoor or withdraw the ADP feature from the UK market.
Compliance could set a precedent, leading other governments to request similar access, thereby raising global privacy concerns.
The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of such notices, stating, “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”
This development underscores the ongoing tension between governmental surveillance efforts and technology companies’ commitments to user privacy.
E-Business
Oracle Adds AI Pricing Features to Financial Software

Oracle on Thursday added another set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to NetSuite, one of its corporate finance software offerings, including some that might make it faster for consumers to get a price quote on purchases like custom bicycles.
Oracle has taken a different tack with AI than rivals such as Microsoft. Rather than racing toward general purpose virtual assistants, Oracle has decided to add targeted features that speed common-but-tedious tasks like entering a brief write-up of how a sales meeting went into a corporate records system.
Another such task that is common in the business world is giving a customer a price quote on a complicated purchase that might have a lot of options, when a sales professional would need to sift through materials to come up with a price.
NetSuite on Thursday announced a feature to compile such a quote via conversation with a chatbot asking what the customer wants, which can either be used by sales professionals behind the scenes to speed up their work, or directly by consumers in the case of e-commerce businesses.
“When you buy something like a bicycle, you have to configure it – figure out what parts you want and which parts work together. We all do it when we buy our cars on the web these days,” Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite, said.
“If you can configure (products) for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less.”
To power those features, Oracle has decided to skip the costly race to develop huge AI models and instead works with partners such as Canadian startup Cohere.
Goldberg said that Oracle’s recent agreement to build massive data centers with ChatGPT creator OpenAI could lead to working with it as well, though the two firms have made no formal announcements.
“I think you could safely say that there’s a possibility that OpenAI will be part of this,” Goldberg told Reuters. “We are eager to work with OpenAI.”
E-Business
IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

IBM, the American multinational technology giant, has reportedly announced plans to exit Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring its regional operations to MIBB, a subsidiary of the Midis Group.
The move, which according to TechCabal was revealed in a statement by the company, effective April 1 2025, is part of a new operating model IBM is adopting across select African countries.
Under this arrangement, MIBB will take over IBM’s local operations, customer support, and relationships while marketing and selling IBM products and services across 36 African nations.
“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” IBM stated.
IBM has been a key player in Africa’s tech industry for decades, providing critical infrastructure for banking, telecom, oil and gas, and government services.
However, its planned exit follows a trend of multinational corporations leaving Nigeria.
In December 2024, Swiss cement giant Holcim announced its departure from Nigeria, selling its 83% stake in Lafarge to a Chinese firm.
Similarly, South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay disclosed plans in October 2024 to exit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture.
IBM has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding the specifics of its transition strategy and reasons for the exit.
- News3 days ago
NOTAP to Relaunch Fruit Juice Production Initiative
- E-Financial2 days ago
Fidelity Bank Raises ₦232Bn in First Phase of Capital Raising
- Telecom3 days ago
TUC Threatens Nationwide Strike over Telecom Tariff Hike
- Broadcasting3 days ago
TikTok Deletes over 2m Videos in Nigeria for Policy Violations
- E-Financial3 days ago
FG Seeks Fresh $580m Loan from World Bank
- E-Business2 days ago
UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data
- Telecom2 days ago
Airtel Nigeria’s Communications Director Champions Workforce Transformation at PAU Career Fair
- Telecom3 days ago
Systegra Technologies Partners Amdocs on Mobile Services Offering