General News
NITDA, Abia Partner on Enterprise Architecture Reform
In alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s priority areas of economic reform, digital innovation, and improved governance, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has reiterated its commitment to supporting sub-national governments in building integrated, data-driven systems that enhance service delivery and drive sustainable growth.
This commitment was reinforced at the Future Enterprise & Data Architecture of Abia State workshop themed “One Citizen, One Identity: Unlocking Data-Driven Governance.” The high-level engagement brought together policymakers, technocrats, and development partners to chart a pathway toward a unified digital public sector anchored on interoperability and citizen-centric governance.
The workshop, organised by the state’s Ministry of Budget and Planning and declared open by Governor Alex Otti, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, focused on strengthening interoperability among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to enhance revenue generation and improve service delivery across the state.
Speaking during a panel session titled “Breaking Silos, Building One Government,” the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, who was represented by the Agency’s Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnership, Dr Aristotle Onumo, emphasised that collaboration remains the cornerstone of successful digital transformation.
“One thing that is very clear is partnership and collaboration. If you want to take advantage of collective intelligence, then partnership is the key. If you want to succeed in building a unified government system, collaboration is the way to go,” he stated.
He stressed that digital transformation is not merely about deploying technology but about transforming people and culture. According to him, resistance to change and entrenched institutional silos can undermine even the most sophisticated technological frameworks if mindset shifts are not prioritised.
“Digital transformation is as much about people as it is about process and technology. If culture resists change, it can undermine strategy at every level. We must move from control to collaboration, and from isolation to integration,” he added.
Highlighting NITDA’s strategic direction, the DG noted that the Agency’s action plan prioritises digital literacy as a foundational pillar for national development. He disclosed that NITDA is targeting 70 per cent digital literacy nationwide through structured interventions, including training 30 million Nigerians across formal and informal sectors using digital learning platforms deployed through community and institutional partnerships.
He further revealed that digital education is being integrated into school curricula at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, while civil servants across the federal public service are undergoing digital capacity development programmes to enhance institutional efficiency and readiness for interoperable governance systems.
On interoperability, Inuwa described it as “not optional but a necessity” for achieving data integrity, efficiency, and innovation in governance. He explained that NITDA is developing a national interoperability framework and advancing Enterprise Architecture (EA) initiatives across government institutions to ensure seamless data exchange.
“When we talk about interoperability, we mean that data generated in one agency should be accessible and usable by another in a consistent and secure format, without contradiction or confusion. That is how you build one government, not multiple disconnected systems,” he explained.
He added that a robust interoperability framework would not only improve internal government efficiency but also create a platform for innovation, enabling startups and young innovators to build solutions on structured public datasets.
While commending the state’s leadership for its vision and commission, he said, “If we achieve even 80 per cent of what has been presented here, Abia will not only lead among states, but it will also become a national reference point for digital innovation.”
The workshop concluded with a renewed call for stronger federal–state collaboration, policy alignment, and sustained investment in digital capacity to ensure that the vision of “One Citizen, One Identity” translates into tangible socio-economic impact.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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