Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Connect with us

News

NITDA DG Calls for Collaboration to Unlock Nigeria’s IoT Potential

Published

on

Kindly share this post

In a bid to implement the Digital Transformation pillar of Strategic Road Map and Action Plan (SRAP 2021-2024) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, the  Agency’s Director General, has emphasised the need for collaboration to unlock Nigeria’s potential in the realm of Internet of Things (IoT) and it’s revolutionary impact on the country’s digital ecosystem.

Inuwa made this plea while delivering his keynote address at the IoT West Africa Conference and Exhibition 2023 in Lagos State.

The DG noted some challenges that need unlocking in order to access the potentials of IoT, especially infrastructure, cyber security, and data protection, stating  that most IoT use cloud-based solutions — Alexa, Google, and others.

Inuwa said today’s computer systems are outperforming humans in many endeavours, especially the rise of generative AI, chat GPT, etc, and that is the fabric of the shift humanity is witnessing in accelerating the convergence between physical, biological, and digital world.

Referring to a McKinsey report, Inuwa said that by 2030, IoT has the capacity to generate between 5.5 to 12.6 trillion US dollars in value across different industries. Citing the exponential growth of connected devices, he pointed out that the number of connected devices now exceeds the global population, as reported by Cisco.

“Looking at the areas you can apply them, such as the area of agriculture, we need to increase our agri-products, and IoT can help us to do that with lesser human efforts,” he said.

He explained further that there are wearable plant sensors at the moment, which is one of the top technologies in 2023.

The NITDA boss hinted that farmers can have a sensor attached to their plant to manage its health, watering, fertilizer, pesticides, and this would invariably enhance the increase of food produce.

He said, “According to World Economic Forum, there is need to increase the global food production by 70% in the next seven years to address food security”.

Inuwa then opined that Nigeria, with its  population growth rate, need to do more than any other country, “because we are growing faster than any country in the world.”.

He asserted that by 2050, Nigeria will be the third largest population in the world, therefore, there is need to explore how we can use IoT to increase the country’s food production.

He said IoT can be used to automate farms in the area of precision agriculture, soil moisture, watering, and many other functions within the farm.

In addition to agriculture, the NITDA Director General discussed the role of IoT in addressing security challenges, as IoT devices can monitor activities, movement patterns, and even enable geofencing to prevent incidents such as farmer-herder conflicts and kidnapping.

The DG emphasised that IoT could be utilised to enhance oil theft prevention by monitoring pipelines and sending alerts for quick security response.

He added that, “Today, most wearable IoT devices monitor the heartbeats, blood pressure which is also useful to medical practitioners in providing information for telemedicine and helps people with disabilities or the senior citizens as first point of health consultancy,” he said.

“We don’t have locally manufactured IoT devices, we need to build infrastructure, like data centers, cloud solution where we can put our IoT data,” he urged.

Inuwa advised that there is also the need to develop the talent within the country to enable digital sovereignty for the nation to gain independence of digital offerings.

“We need to build a tailor-made solution that will address our challenges, harness indigenous talents to promote IoT solutions, and this requires the collective efforts of the government, private sectors and all stakeholders.”

“We need you, the ecosystem, to do it because our approach today is no more government sitting in the office using armchair theory to come up with policies or regulations, we work with you, the ecosystem, to co-create whatever we do,” he concluded.

 


Kindly share this post

Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

News

EFCC: Accusations Against Our Chairman Are Baseless and Misleading

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has strongly denied allegations of lack of integrity and transparency directed at its chairman, Ola Olukoyede, by columnist Steve Osuji.

In a statement issued by Dele Oyewale, spokesperson, EFCC. the commission described the claims as “worrisome and unjustifiable,” particularly criticizing the personal attacks on Olukoyede.

“More worrisome was his attack on Olukoyede for no justifiable reason. Allegations of lack of transparency, accountability and integrity deficit are wild and clearly off the mark,” Oyewale said.

He questioned the basis for the allegations and defended Olukoyede’s leadership since taking office.

“The question is: in what way has Olukoyede fallen short? Is it by insisting that the right things should always be done? By moving the nation’s anti-graft war forward radically and unprecedentedly?

“By bringing forth a preventive framework to tackle corruption and reaping bountiful gains for the nation?

“By recovering the globally-acclaimed 753 duplexes and other apartments, which are proceeds of fraudulent dealings for the nation?

“By launching the EFCC into a global map of accomplished anti-graft agencies? By handling 50,000 case files in one year?

“By embarking on a courageous internal cleansing system and other progressive initiatives to deepen and strengthen the anti-corruption fight?

“It is cowardly and uncharitable for any columnist to hide under vague and opaque cover to splash mud on Ola Olukoyede, arguably one of the finest breed of anti-graft czars around the world.”

Olukoyede, through the statement, reaffirmed that the EFCC has consistently submitted its annual reports to the National Assembly as required by law.

“Equally preposterous are claims of re-looting of assets by officers of the Commission. For the purpose of clarification, the Commission does not recover monetary assets into its covers and the non-monetary assets that are recovered are disposed of following clear pronouncements by court and proceeds paid into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account account in the Central Bank in line with provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.

“The EFCC does not operate in secrecy. All its operations are regularly communicated to the public, including public auction of assets. To deliberately cast the Commission in the mould of fraudulent engagements or criminality is not only mischievous but also untenable,” the statement concluded.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

IHS Nigeria, UNICEF Donate Oxygen Plant to Bridge Health Gap in River State

Published

on

Kindly share this post

IHS Nigeria and its implementing partner, the United Nations Child Education Fund (UNICEF) has expressed satisfaction that the Oxygen Plant recently donated to Rivers State is helping to bridge the health Gap in the state and its environs.

This observation was made recently when officials from IHS Nigeria and UNICEF, carried out a project inspection visit to the plant located at the General Hospital in Eleme, Rivers State.

During the handing over of the oxygen plant to the Rivers State Government in 2024, the facility was reported to have a production capacity of 123 oxygen cylinders and 720,000 litres of oxygen every 24 hours.

The plant was built under a Public-Private Partnership involving UNICEF, the Canadian Government, IHS Nigeria, in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health through the State Hospital Management Board.

Speaking during the visit to the facility yesterday, the Director of Sustainability at IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, noted that the oxygen plant has saved lives and is helping to bridge health gaps in the eight other states where similar plants are located.

She further explained that the visit reflects the organisation’s commitment “not only to create opportunities for impact but to also continue supporting the healthcare industry by carrying out such interventions that directly impact individuals and saves lives. This plant is one of the nine oxygen plants we have built across the federation,” she said.

“We are particularly excited that it is helping to bridge health gaps—not just in Rivers State and its environs, but in all the states where the plants are currently located.”

Oguntuga informed that in terms of sustainability “we focus our intervention sustainability on four pillars; ethics and governance, education and economic growth, environment and climate change and finally, people and communities”.

She added that “the visit to the Rivers State oxygen plant is to have an assessment of how well the plant is functioning, the impact it is currently making and to generally understand how the operation is going”.

On his part, Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Port Harcourt, Dr Anslem Audu, stated that the plant has been very functional and useful to the people of Rivers State. According to him, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of patients needed oxygen and oxygen was not available. So many children will come down with pneumonia and it will become an emergency, they will need oxygen, but oxygen is not available in the hospital. But with this plant now available no child will die because of lack of oxygen in the hospital. The era of lack of oxygen is no longer there.

Audu added that “You can practically visit any of the hospitals in Port Harcourt and find out that they have oxygen and the product is from this plant all thanks to IHS Nigeria, the Canadian Government and UNICEF”.

The UNICEF field officer, who confirmed that the plant is functioning optimally, said it is producing enough oxygen for the state’s needs.

In his words, “The partnership between these three organizations and the Ministry of Health in Rivers State has really worked, and we are reaping the benefits of the partnership.

He urged the implementing partners, especially the government, to also invest in the sustainability of the facility by providing a source of electricity for the plant to be more functional.

Earlier, the Medical Director Eleme General Hospital, Dr Leechi-Okere Clarabelle, noted that since the day of the unveiling, the plant has been functioning very well. Commenting on impact he noted that “We’ve had success stories whereby oxygen is distributed to public hospitals in the state, including the two teaching hospitals in the state and then we have also extended distribution to some private hospitals within the state.

“We have two hubs that serve as storage and distribution points because of the location of the plant. We produce here and store somewhere in Port Harcourt so that people who come from a far distance can get oxygen from these hubs.

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

JAMB Accuses Student of Securing Admission through Identity Fraud

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused a 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate of manipulating his identity and engaging in online blackmail.

JAMB Accuses Student of Securing Admission through Identity Fraud

Fabian Benjamin, head of public affairs, JAMB, issued a statement on the matter on Thursday.

He said one Chinedu Okeke, currently a 400-level Medicine and Surgery student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), gained admission in 2021 while claiming to be from Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos state.

JAMB said Okeke’s national identification number (NIN) records from 2021 confirm his Lagos origin.

The board stated it does not alter candidate information provided through NIN.

The board, however, said the 400-level student, who is facing potential challenges for incorrect credentials, is now claiming that it retrieved the wrong details for him from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in 2021.

“[This] is unequivocally false, aimed at fabricating a defence for his case,” Benjamin said.

“The evidence suggests that Chinedu altered his records as filled in 2021 before registering for the 2025 UTME, a fact confirmed by even his advocates.”

The board questioned why a 400-level medical student would seek to study mechanical engineering in 2025, especially with “inconsistencies in his claims.”

JAMB alleged that Okeke “took advantage” of Lagos state’s quota in 2021, thereby obstructing the admission opportunities for other deserving candidates from the state.

It added that he then “attempted to manipulate his details with the NIMC” to unjustly claim representation from Anambra state in 2025.

The board criticised “online advocates” for “actively reaching out to Chinedu’s parents to extract emotional narratives rather than factual clarifications, neglecting to seek information directly from the university.”

JAMB affirmed its commitment to maintaining accurate records and preventing candidates from exploiting loopholes.

It warned that if UNN confirms any inconsistencies, it would notify the Medical and Dental Council to consider delisting Okeke.

“When a nation trivialises illegalities, it breeds a future fraught with potential criminality,” Benjamin’s statement concluded.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending