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Nigeria Eager to Embark on Smart City Project- Shittu
Although, there is never a time to be fully ready for a smart city project, however it remains critical process in the wheel of city urbanization and renewal, said Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications.
According to Shittu, Nigeria is ready and eager to embark on that process. He made the remark during a presentation on the Proposed “Smart Cities Nigeria Summit”, scheduled to hold 8th -9th of August, 2017 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Having said that, Shittu reminded the Local Organising Committee that (LOC) that it is a common knowledge that more than fifty four percent of the world’s population live in urban cities.
He said that continued urbanization will add more people to the urban population and invariably more challenges on government to make our cities more efficient, safer and conducive for our citizens.
“Our world is becoming more globalised, interconnected and intelligent. The systems and technologies that underpin so much of how the world works are smarter. We live in a time of unprecedented advances in every sector of human endeavour. In the ICT industry of developed economies alone, we are seeing the coming of age of a whole new generation of intelligent systems and technologies: more powerful and accessible than ever before.
“Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of our country. We are wrestling with both an infrastructure gap, after years of underinvestment, and an innovation gap from poor innovation performance in the business sector over the years. Improving both is essential to improve our fundamental economic prospects. By linking infrastructure and innovation, we increase the potential to help close both our infrastructure gap and our innovation gap”.
On the Nigerian Smart City Initiative, the Minister said, is not a silver bullet or a magic wand from government designed to make all cities and government operation ‘smart’ with one shot. “Rather, it is a conscious effort by government, working with the private sector and all other stakeholders to forge a public private partnership to develop scalable, replicable, interoperable and measurable solutions that will make our cities and citizens smarter.
“It starts by doing simple things, the smart way. One step at a time. That is why we are willing to work and partner with everybody in the IT space towards this unique and sustainable project.
IT companies will have the chance to team up with cities and infrastructure companies to help advance smart city/smart infrastructure technologies and systems in Nigeria. It is an opportunity to demonstrate and scale up Nigeria IT innovations and to show how IT can be linked with physical infrastructure to deliver business and public benefits”.
He said that the two day multi-stakeholders international summit will, among others, take a critical look at the level of preparedness, unique challenges, and emerging solutions necessary for a sustainable smart city initiative for the country.
Additionally, the summit will offer huge business opportunities for providers of smart city technologies to exhibit and pitch their solutions and products to Federal, States and Local Governments top officials, and private real estate developers who are all expected to attend the summit.
“The ‘Smart Cities Summit Nigeria initiative is not intended to be a one-off summit. More elaborate technical stakeholders’ engagements will continue to take place with different sectors in the ICT ecosystem well after the summit. We will also continue to work with our partners to design and proffer practical steps and solutions that will assist the Federal Government in formulating a unified and robust National Policy that will have a corresponding implementable framework towards the Smart Cities Nigeria initiative.
“That is why we have taken care in constituting members of the Local Organizing Committee of the Smart Cities Summit Nigeria to reflect the different sectors of Smart Cities development whilst also leveraging on their areas of core competences.
“We know that going smart would not be easy. In fact, it is a huge challenge, given the lack of critical infrastructure in the country. Non-availability of constant power, for instance, is a major challenge for any smart city initiative for the country. Cheap, clean and dependable power supply is the bedrock of any smart city project. So also, is effective broadband penetration and affordable data service. The Nigerian ICT Road Map 2017-2020, the National Strategic Plan 2016-2024, the Broad Band Policy and the new Power Sector Reforms of this administration, are some of the ways Government intends to address these challenges.
“There is never a time to be fully ready for a smart city project. It is a process in the wheel of city urbanization and renewal. Nigeria is ready and eager to embark on that process. This does not mean building only new smart cities, it also means making our existing cities and villages more efficient and more effective, using the technology available at our disposal. Again, doing simple things the smart way, one step at a time!
“In order to encourage healthy competition among Cities and States, the Ministry, in collaboration with its Partners, will soon launch ‘The Smart City Challenge’. The idea is to encourage Local Governments, Cities, State Governments, and the built industry to take revolutionary steps to go to the level of digital technology. Details of the competition and the prize money will be worked out with our Partners and made available to the Press”, he said.
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.
eTranzact International Plc has called for increased adoption of digital payment solutions among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), saying access to technology is critical to improving business efficiency, financial inclusion and growth.
The company also said it was deepening its partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to expand digital access and financial literacy among small businesses across the country.
In a statement, the Divisional Head, Merchant Services, eTranzact, Mrs. Abimbola Reis, stated this at the SMEDAN/eTranzact Town Hall Engagement in Lagos recently, themed, “Financial Literacy and Inclusion for MSMEs Leveraging on Fintech Innovation.”
Reis described MSMEs as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, noting that the sector comprises almost 40 million businesses and contributes significantly to economic growth and job creation.
However, she said many businesses continue to face challenges including limited access to finance, inefficient payment systems, weak financial reporting, cash-flow constraints and inadequate access to digital platforms.
She added that trust concerns also affect businesses’ ability to access finance, while heavy reliance on cash increases exposure to theft and makes payment reconciliation more difficult.
Representing the Director-General of SMEDAN, Prof. Yinka Fisher said the town hall was aimed at generating practical ideas and solutions that would support the growth and expansion of MSMEs.
“The essence of this engagement is to share ideas and concepts that will help MSMEs thrive and expand. Our partnership with eTranzact is about expanding the frontiers of MSMEs and ensuring they continue to grow,” he said.
Also speaking, representative of the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Praise Adedigba said businesses could no longer depend solely on hard work to remain competitive.
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