E-Business
NOTAP DG Cautions Regulators on Policy Implementation

Dr. Dan-Azumi Mohammed Ibrahim, director general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has cautioned regulators in the country to be firm in implementation of government policies for impact.

Chris Uwaje, chairman, Connect Techologies (l) presenting award to Dr. Dan-Azumi Mohammed Ibrahim, director general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) at the National Software Think Tank (NSOFT) cocktail held in Lagos last week.
He said that government policies cannot deliver good results if regulators implementing such policies are not firm and greedy. “If regulators are not firm with government policies there is no way you can see impact of those policies,” he said.
Dr. Dan-Azumi, stated this at a cocktail organised in his honour by the National Software Think Tank (NSOFT) in Lagos. He reiterated how NOTAP started local vendor policy which is aimed at building capacity in software ecosystem. The vendor policy means that before any agreement on software is registered in NOTAP, there must be a Nigerian IT company involved in the deployment and maintenance of that software.
“It was a very bold initiative but not without resistance from many angles, the idea is that if Nigerian professions or talents are involved in the deployment and maintenance, original equipment manufacturers have no reason not to come and develop our talents. So, this software local vendor policy became fully entrenched and we insist that at no time will any agreement be registered without a local vendor company.
“We have had blackmails, threats among others, but it is a regulator, if you remain firm those companies coming into this country have no choice than to queue into the policy provided you are not greedy. If you are greedy they can compromise you and that is the end of any regulation.
“After our joint seminar with CWG Plc we discussed freely and found out that software is a sector that must have a deliberate policy not only to develop capacity but to ensure that the policy put in place will force the system to begin to materialise to what is known as locally developed software.
To this end, we set up a Think Tank committee that did a very thorough work. I must commend you, when I saw the quality of work that you produced, if we are able to work along that line I belief it is a matter of time Nigeria will be like India. With the quality of people we have what we need is the policy to strengthen the implementation of those recommendations, he noted.
In his remarks, Chris Uwaje, chairman, Connect Technologies, organiser of the Cocktail, said that no other sector can provide the strategic, prosperous and sustainable solution for Nigeria’s future, development, security and survivability other than software.
“Software is not just about information technology, but indeed the oxygen for human existence. Our entire life is an infinite genetic Code. That is the absolute significance of software ecosystem.
“The National software think tank (NSOFT) is a convergence of ICT expert group setup by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) as a significant fallout on the resolution of the 2-day ICT stakeholders roundtable on the application and use of software in the financial sector- jointly hosted in Lagos by NOTAP and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
“The main thrust of NSOFT is to advance a 5 year strategic plan to encourage adoption of indigenous software for the security and growth of the economy, build commensurate capabilities and capacities to alleviate the critical challenges of the indigenous software ecosystem and provide a formidable roadmap for the advancement, sustainable development and competitiveness of software Nigeria.
“Ultimately, this strategic plan aims at ensuring the provision of massive employment opportunities for millions of Nigerian youth, contribute to the GDP and become a viral export resource for wealth creation and national security,” he said.
According to him, “in the UNCTAD 2012 edition, special attention was given to the role of software capabilities in accelerating progress towards a more inclusive information society – with particular reference to developing economies including Nigeria”.
He outlined the key issues covered which included but not limited to the following;
- The link between software capabilities and development
- Critical and regional trends in production, spending, trade, investment, venture capital and employment in the software sector.
- The evolving ICT landscape and its impact on software production patterns
- Trends and implications related to free and open source software (FOSS)
- An analysis of the market orientation of software production in developing in countries.
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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