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Opeke, Others at NSE/Bloomberg CEO Roundtable Bemoan Forex Challenge

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Funke Opeke, CEO MainOne Cable
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Top chief executive officers (CEOs), policy makers and key players from all the sectors of the Nigerian economy who converged at the third edition of the Bloomberg CEO Roundtable believe that addressing the macroeconomic problems has become inevitable to move economy forward.

“This situation has prompted a difficulty towards accessing forex in Nigeria, and there is no domestic substitute for Naira, said Funke Okpeke, CEO, MainOne during an interactive session at the event.

The Nigerian technology industry has been under serious threat following the numerous challenges, a situation which has triggered an outcry from various telecom operators.

“We have seen lots of retrenchment; quality of service has been eroded; operational inefficiencies are becoming high due to low investment. And we are not able to invest as a result of forex inaccessibility.

Funke said that some of these issues need to be addressed by focusing on fundamental macroeconomic problems, adding those policy implementations need to be prioritized to get results.

Nigeria Needs More Commitment To Economic Reforms
“Nigeria must quickly show a high level of commitment to some of the economic reforms that are work in progress.” said Dr. Doyin Salami, Senior Lecturer at Lagos Business School, while delivering a lecture titled “Economic Roundup.”

He explained that the reform elements in the economic plan must be quickly addressed for Nigeria to build a sustainable, inclusive and rapid economy.

The renowned economist said hoping to get out of recession is a limited ambition, stating that the priority should be what Nigeria must do after getting out of recession.

“If we don’t get the figures right in the second, definitely it will reflect on the third quarter, the issue remains the reactions to achieve sustainable, rapid and inclusive economy.

He lamented about the low level of investment, cost and the severe constant pressures on consumers, adding that inflation currently seats at 16.3 percent, a situation which has triggered a disadvantaged competitiveness to Nigeria.

“Despite the rising cost, wages and salaries were not increased, and it has been on a constant shrink, thereby mounting pressures on consumers.

“Also, investment is pretty small; we are only investing 13 percent of its GDP, which ought to have been twice.” He added.

Fed Govt Engages Foreign Investigators To Trace Illicit Funds
In a keynote address, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun,  minister of Finance, said the Federal Government had engaged a global investigation agency in a bid to trace illicit funds originating from Nigeria to different parts of the world.

Adeosun stated this while in a keynote address at the Nigerian Stock Exchange-Bloomberg CEO roundtable in Lagos.

She said, “We have just 40 million active taxpayers out of an estimated 69.9 million, who are economically active in Nigeria. And of that 40 million, the majority are PAYE (Pay As You Earn), that is, those who have their tax deducted at source.

“Among those who are even paying taxes, there is widespread malpractice that results in only part of the actual income being subjected to tax.”

She noted that the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday granted permission for the Ministry of Finance to sign the global convention on base erosion and profit shifting that allowed companies that generate profits in Nigeria to evade taxes by shifting the profits to countries or jurisdictions where little or no tax was payable.

“These practices harm Nigerians and must stop,” said the minister, who described the nation’s tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of six per cent as one of the lowest levels in the world.

“We have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver the growth we desire. Even within our tax-paying community, only 214 people in the entire nation pay taxes of N120m in spite of having some of the richest people in Africa and some of the best capitalised companies in Africa; only 214 in the entire country, all of who are in Lagos State,” the minister stated.

Adeosun said the issue of tax evasion must be addressed aggressively for the country to grow, adding, “And to do so, we will have step on some big toes, and we will need to step on them hard. But we really have no choice.

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“Those who have more must carry their fair share of the tax burden, and so to this end, for the last 15 months, we have engaged in a huge data-gathering exercise. We have engaged one of the world’s leading global investigating agencies and we have traced funds originating from Nigeria to all parts of the world.”

The minister said the illicit flow of funds out of Nigeria was harming the country, adding, “It deprives us of essential funds and those same funds are then used to finance developments in other nations. This must stop.”

Speaking on the nation’s debt profile, she said the government would always have a conservative appetite for borrowing.

“However, in the short term, we will all have to bear the discomfort of an imbalance between our debt service and our revenue as we exit the recession and return to growth,” Adeosun added.

While describing more efficient revenue mobilisation as an important financing strategy, the minister said, “I am sure you are aware of the controversies about the amount of money that we are using to service our debts at the moment. The solution is revenue; if we have more revenue, we will borrow less.

“If we have more revenue, our debt service to revenue ratio will improve. So, the solution to the problem is not to reduce our debts. At this point in time, we have no choice; we must borrow to fund our infrastructure. The solution to the problem is to increase our revenue and that we are doing.”

According to her, the nation’s infrastructure deficit is so deep and so critical, and government cannot do it alone, even if the entire budget is dedicated to capital projects.

“So it is critical that we will engage with the private sector and to this end, we intend to revive public-private partnership in Nigeria,” Adeosun stated.

She said the government was reviewing the PPP framework as well as trying to resolve outstanding issues with existing and even failed projects.

 

 


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Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

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President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, reigniting a sensitive debate over religious violence and foreign intervention in Africa’s most populous nation.

Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

President Donald Trump

Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day.

At the time, the US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.

Nigeria, however, described the operation as a joint counterterrorism effort, stressing that it was aimed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”

Pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.

“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly raised alarms about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.

Nigeria has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians. The government maintains that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.

With a population of more than 230 million people, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.

Nigerian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, arguing that framing the violence along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.

Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it was willing to continue cooperating with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected language suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.

The latest comments are likely to strain diplomatic relations further, as Nigeria balances its partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, security cooperation and the portrayal of its internal conflicts on the global stage.


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OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health

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OpenAI maker of ChatGPT is rolling out a health-focused feature to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s used by nearly a billion users.

Named ChatGPT Health, the new feature aims to provide users with health and wellness information. This, as health is one of the most common ways people use ChatGPT, according to OpenAI.

In a blog post, Microsoft-backed OpenAI says de-identified analysis of conversations show that over 230 million people globally ask health and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week.

ChatGPT Health will also “securely” connect medical records and wellness apps to ground conversations with a user’s own health information, making responses more relevant and useful.

“Designed in close collaboration with physicians, ChatGPT Health helps people take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness – while supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians.”

According to OpenAI, health information is often scattered across portals, apps, wearables, PDFs, and medical notes making it hard to see the full picture, and people are left to navigate a complex healthcare system on their own.

“ChatGPT Health builds on these so responses are informed by your health information and context. You can now securely connect medical records and wellness apps – like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal – so ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the trade-offs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns.”

According to the company, ChatGPT Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care, adding that it is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. “Instead, it helps you navigate everyday questions and understand patterns over time – not just moments of illness – so you can feel more informed and prepared for important medical conversations.

“To keep your health information protected and secure, Health operates as a separate space with enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data. Conversations in Health are not used to train our foundation models. If you start a health-related conversation in ChatGPT, we’ll suggest moving into Health for these additional protections.”

OpenAI adds that access to ChatGPT Health has started with a small group of early users to learn and continue refining the experience, adding that users with ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK are eligible.

“As we make improvements, we plan to expand access and make Health available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks.

“Medical record integrations and some apps are available in the US only, and connecting Apple Health requires iOS.”


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Kaspersky Shares AI Cybersecurity Predictions for 2026

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Kaspersky experts outline how the rapid development of AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in 2026, both for individual users and for businesses. Large language models (LLMs) are influencing defensive capabilities while simultaneously expanding opportunities for threat actors.

Deepfakes are becoming a mainstream technology, and awareness will continue to grow. Companies are increasingly discussing the risks of synthetic content and training employees to reduce the likelihood of falling victim to it. As the volume of deepfakes grows, so does the range of formats in which they appear.

At the same time, awareness is rising not only within organisations but also among regular users: end consumers encounter fake content more often and better understand the nature of such threats. As a result, deepfakes are becoming a stable element of the security agenda, requiring a systematic approach to training and internal policies.

Deepfake quality will improve through better audio and a lowering barrier to entry. The visual quality of deepfakes is already high, while realistic audio remains the main area for future growth.

At the same time, content generation tools are becoming easier to use: even non-experts can now create a mid-quality deepfake in just a few clicks. As a result, the average quality continues to rise, creation becomes accessible to a far broader audience, and these capabilities will inevitably continue to be leveraged by cybercriminals.

Online deepfakes will continue to evolve but remain tools for advanced users. Real-time face and voice swapping technologies are improving, but their setup still requires more advanced technical skills. Wide adoption is unlikely, yet the risks in targeted scenarios will grow: increasing realism and the ability to manipulate video through virtual cameras make such attacks more convincing.

Efforts to develop a reliable system for labelling AI-generated content will continue. There are still no unified criteria for reliably identifying synthetic content, and current labels are easy to bypass or remove, especially when working with open-source models. For this reason, new technical and regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing the problem are likely to emerge.

Open-weight models will approach top closed models in many cybersecurity-related tasks, which create more opportunities for misuse. Closed models still offer stricter control mechanisms and safeguards, limiting abuse.

However, open-source systems are rapidly catching up in functionality and circulate without comparable restrictions. This blurs the difference between proprietary models and open-source models both of which can be used efficiently for undesired or malicious purposes.

The line between legitimate and fraudulent AI-generated content will become increasingly blurred. AI can already produce well-crafted scam emails, convincing visual identities, and high-quality phishing pages.

At the same time, major brands are adopting synthetic materials in advertising, making AI-generated content look familiar and visually “normal.” As a result, distinguishing real from fake will become even more challenging, both for users and for automated detection systems.

AI will become a cross-chain tool in cyberattacks and be used across most stages of the kill chain. Threat actors already employ LLMs to write code, build infrastructure, and automate operational tasks.

Further advances will reinforce this trend: AI will increasingly support multiple stages of an attack, from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools. Attackers will also work to hide signs of AI involvement, making such operations harder to analyse.

“While AI tools are being used in cyberattacks, they are also becoming a more common tool in security analysis and influence how SOC teams work. Agent-based systems will be able to continuously scan infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and gather contextual information for investigations, reducing the amount of manual routine work.

“As a result, specialists will shift from manually searching for data to making decisions based on already-prepared context. In parallel, security tools will transition to natural-language interfaces, enabling prompts instead of complex technical queries,” adds Vladislav Tushkanov, Research Development Group Manager at Kaspersky.

 


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