Telecom
NITDA Trains Public Servants to Drive Digital Transformation Agenda
The National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA has successfully trained Batch A of Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups ( DT-TWGs) drawn from Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) to drive the digital transformation agenda in the public sector and digital economy at large.
Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general/CEO of NITDA represented by Dr Vincent Olatunji, director eGovernment Development and Regulation, stated that part of the requirement for the implementation of the National Digital Economy Strategy is to have skilled man power to be able to deliver on the strategies embedded in the plan.
“What we have done in the past five days is like building a foundation and we are the foundation that we have built for our different MDAs”, said the DG.
He made this known during the closing ceremony of training for the first batch of digital economy champions out of four batches in Abuja, noting that the training is a pointer that the federal government is focused on digitalization of the public sector.
Mallam Abdullahi revealed that NITDA is part of the group that developed the National Virtual Meeting Policy for the public service.
This policy he said will soon be launched by Office of the Head of Service of the federation (OHSF); and that will again deploy human capital development infrastructure in MDAs.
This is why government is working hard by developing these policies so that public servants from anywhere can work effectively, give approvals, write memos and many more which is the only way we can really move forward in actualising the digital transformation of the public sector.
“We need to take this knowledge back to our various organisations to impart on those who are not here which is the only way to be on the right path toward actualising the National Digital Economy Strategy”,he advised.
According to the NITDA DG “It is like a collective responsibility that we all have roles to play and we are developing ourselves on the roles that are meant to be played by officials of the federal government of Nigeria”.
He cited that government policies are to be driven first by civil servants before the private sector follows suit, invest in infrastructure and create jobs.
As he said that because of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) a lot of retirees have come out to register as Data Protection Compliance Organisations DPCOs which is a completely different economy of its own under the digital economy platform.
He stated that NITDA in collaboration with KOICA drew up the National eGovernment Masterplan and part of the requirement for the implementation of the masterplan was to create the DT-twg.
Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Monday commended the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMCIDE) for spearheading a new initiative known as ‘Project Bridge’.
Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON, stated in an interview with NAN in Lagos that the initiative aimed to create a robust and resilient telecommunications backbone across Nigeria.
Emoekpere stated that the project was an ambitious public-private partnership designed to connect all 36 states and Abuja, as well as LGAs, via fiber optic cables.
According to him, the initiative is not meant to replace existing infrastructure but to complement it, creating a more resilient network.
“Right now, most of the networks that we have are linear in nature. ’Just imagine, if there’s only one road from Lagos to Ibadan; if anything happens to that road, you would not get to Ibadan.
‘’This project will create alternative routes,” he said.
The ATCON boss stated that the project was modeled after the successful PPP framework in the energy sector, with the government contributing a certain percentage to the Special Purpose Vehicle and the private sector providing the remaining funding.
He stated that the project’s goal was to establish alternative, redundant connections, thereby ensuring that services remained uninterrupted even if one part of the network was compromised.
The president expressed the full support of telcos, noting that the project would enable members to deliver services more effectively in locations where infrastructure was currently a significant challenge.
“With this project, we will have multiple options,” he said.
Project BRIDGE involves building a nationwide fiber optic network to expand digital infrastructure and connectivity, rather than a physical bridge, as part of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan.
The project is a public-private partnership ($2 billion cost) using an SPV to deploy 90,000km of fiber-optic cable to enhance education, healthcare, and the digital economy.
MTN Nigeria has successfully completed a scheduled network maintenance operation that affected 101 sites across 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Adamawa, Borno, and Kano States.
The restoration marks a significant step in the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability in the Northeast region, amidst multiple fibre cuts and vandalism.
The maintenance, which took place on Sunday, August 24, involved the cutover of traffic to a newly installed fiber span along the AFCOT–Bawo Village route in Adamawa State.
This upgrade was necessary to replace a previously damaged section of the network infrastructure. All service maintenance was done within timeframe and restorations before 1 PM on Sunday August 24th.
We can confirm that all impacted sites have been fully restored, and services are now operating normally. We appreciate our subscribers’ patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused during the downtime.
The affected services included 2G, 3G, 4G, and enterprise connectivity, with temporary disruptions experienced in LGAs such as Girei, Song, Mubi North, Hong, and Michika in Adamawa; Askira/Uba and Shani in Borno; and Nasarawa in Kano.
The work was scheduled during daylight hours to ensure the safety of field engineers, given the linear and unprotected nature of the route.
This restoration is part of MTN’s broader strategy to strengthen its infrastructure in underserved regions and ensure consistent service delivery across Nigeria, amidst constant fibre cuts and vandalism.
TikTok has launched its music insights platform, TikTok for Artists, in Nigeria to support artist growth and fan engagement across the country’s vibrant music industry.
The platform, which debuted globally earlier this year, provides artists, labels, and management teams with access to daily-updated dashboards and analytics tools to track music performance, audience demographics, and fan interactions.
Toyin Mustapha, Head of Music Partnerships for the UK, Ireland, and Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, said the initiative was part of the company’s commitment to empowering African creators.
“With the launch of TikTok for Artists in Nigeria, we’re giving artists and their teams access to insights that can help them engage their fans in more meaningful ways and grow their careers globally,” Mustapha said.
The platform offers detailed song performance metrics, including views, posts, and creator engagements per track. It also provides granular post-level data such as likes, comments, shares, and completion rates, alongside demographic breakdowns by gender, age, and language.
In addition to analytics, TikTok for Artists includes educational resources and step-by-step guides to help artists build sustainable careers.
A key feature of the platform is the Pre-Release tool, which allows artists to launch campaigns for upcoming albums and enables fans to pre-save tracks on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
British artist Jordan Adetunji described the platform as a “game changer,” noting its value in helping artists and their teams plan effective campaigns.
TikTok said the rollout reaffirms its investment in Africa’s creative economy and aims to foster deeper connections between artists and fans across the continent.
The platform is now available to all certified TikTok Artist Accounts, with access also extendable to managers and label teams.
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