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Poor Data Hinders Nigeria’s Growth- Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hinted at plans by his administration to address what he termed historical inadequacies of policy making hitherto thwarted by a lack of comprehensive data in Nigeria.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu
He regretted the lack of comprehensive data, saying it had been “a technological affliction” that has hindered the growth trajectory of Nigeria and the entire Africa, impeding the ability to make informed governance decisions.
President Tinubu disclosed this during the 2023 Comptroller-General of Customs Annual Conference at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, saying because data is the guiding light in the ever-evolving landscape of the modern world, Nigeria can no longer afford to function in the dark.
The President who was represented at the conference by Vice President Kashim Shettima, noted that the grand vision of his administration is to deploy data to make sound government decisions.
Shettima in a statement by Stanley Nwocha, his spokesman, described Tinubu as an “accounting virtuoso” with an unparalleled understanding of data and its significance to piloting the affairs of the country, noting that it is due to his knowledge of data as the invaluable gold of the 21st century that the President strategically appointed “tech-savvy Nigerians” into critical government positions in order to ensure strategic planning.
He stated: “Even before we were given this mandate, we knew that every facet of our lives is woven with data. We must not only commit to deploying data to make decisions within the government but also address the historical inadequacies of Nigerian policymaking, often impeded by a lack of comprehensive data. Our current governance landscape demands a transformative intervention, and the solution is what has brought us together today.
“There’s no doubt that the chiming of this clock of modernity is inviting us to take action. It’s inviting us to adopt evidence-based processes and innovative strategies to align policies with the objectives of this administration, to streamline decision-making, and to resolve conflict arising from misinformation and inconsistent policies within the government.”
President Tinubu also underscored the need for the integration of complex data to interpret the patterns of transactions and interactions in international trade, just as he disclosed plans by his administration to turn Nigeria into a hub of export and import activities.
Observing that the benefits of comprehensive data go beyond determining revenue generation, he said, “Data provides the sharpest lens for us to connect the dots, even in establishing the security of our borders. We can easily determine the traffic of people and goods around a specific border and share indisputable information with other nations with just a punch on our computers.
“I assure you that we remain resolute in our belief that Nigeria is unequivocally on track not only to accumulate terabytes of factual surveys but also to establish a robust public service system that upholds data integrity at its core.
“Our ambition extends beyond accumulation; it extends to transformation. We aspire to position Nigeria as the preferred destination for all stakeholders involved in export and import activities overseen by the Customs.”
Expressing delight with efforts by the Nigerian Customs Service to accumulate large amount of data to shape a public service system that upholds data integrity at its core, the President noted that the first step is to invest in the training and capacity-building of “Customs officers to stand shoulder to shoulder, terabyte by terabyte, with the best minds in the world.”
Declaring the conference open, he expressed hope that discussions at the annual event would “set the trajectory for a new era in the Nigeria Customs Service”.
Earlier, BA Adeniyi, Customs CG, while welcoming participants at the event, said the significance of technology in global Customs operation cannot be overemphasised and hence the Nigeria Customs’ adaptation to global requisitions.
He expressed optimism that the Theme of this year’s conference would provide guiding standards and principles in helping the Nigerian government open the frontiers, as it is requisite that the Customs streamline and integrate its services in its bid for global service delivery.
In his goodwill message, Dr Kunio Mikuriya, director general of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), praised the Nigerian Customs for upscaling global service delivery in maritime service delivery.
He said he was optimistic that given the dedication and commitment of the Nigeria Custom in adopting technology as a major leeway in global trade, it was just a matter of time before Nigeria became the reference point in Africa’s Customs revolution.
Also speaking, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor, promised that Lagos would continue to adapt to innovations and changing times in global trade.
He promised to ensure seamless infrastructure and a conducive environment to enable the Nigeria Customs Services to not only match global standards and yearnings but to also make the organisation the best in the world.
He praised Customs for adopting technology, stressing that thinking out of the box remains critical to Nigeria’s sustainability and growth, hence the belief that CGC’s theme for 2023 is not only commendable but indeed poignant in Nigeria’s quest for world growth and development.
On his part, the Ooni of Ife, HRH, Oba Adeye Enitan Ogunwusi, praised the commitment of the leadership of the Nigeria Customs to aiding the Tinubu administration in achieving its set eight-point agenda.
He advocated a special economic status for Lagos State, given its contributions to the nation’s economy in terms of revenue generation and developmental impact.
Also in attendance were Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Sen. Isa Jibrin; Chairman, House Committee on Customs, Hon. Leke Abejide; Secretary, World Customs Service, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, and Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Manasseh Daniel Jatau.
Others are His Royal Highness, Oba of Ilaro, Oba Olugbenle Olu; former Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and former Comptrollers of the Nigeria Customs Service, among others.
News
Elon Musk to Become First World’s Trillionaire with SpaceX Historic IPO

Elon Musk is poised to become the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX, his company, confirmed plans to go public.

Elon Musk
Because Musk owns the majority of the shares, it could push his net worth over the trillion dollar mark.
The entrepreneur is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI.
Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of May 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $788 billion.
SpaceX has filed for a blockbuster public listing in the United States, paving the way for what could become the largest stock market debut in Wall Street history.
The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, announced plans to begin trading under the ticker symbol “SPCX” as early as next month.
The listing values SpaceX at about $1.25 trillion, with Musk’s majority ownership potentially worth more than $600 billion alone.
Combined with his existing holdings in companies including Tesla, the IPO could push Musk’s personal wealth above the $1 trillion mark.
The long-awaited filing also offered investors a rare look into SpaceX’s finances.
The company reported $18.6 billion in revenue last year but recorded a net loss of $4.9 billion. In the first quarter of this year, SpaceX generated $4.7 billion in sales while posting a $4.3 billion net loss.
Financial disclosures showed the company holds $102 billion in assets, including rockets, launch infrastructure and satellite systems, while carrying debts totalling $60.5 billion.
Despite the losses, analysts suggested investors were unlikely to be deterred given SpaceX’s dominance in commercial space launches and satellite internet services.
Ruth Foxe-Blader, managing partner at Citrine Venture Partners, described the planned flotation as “extremely exciting.”
“SpaceX is just an absolutely sprawling, enormous project with so many different selling points, and so many points that really point to the future,” she said.
SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite internet network and also owns Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI.
The IPO filing revealed that xAI recently reached a major commercial agreement with rival AI company Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot.
Under the arrangement, Anthropic will reportedly pay $15 billion annually to access data centre infrastructure linked to xAI operations in the American South.
The filing also disclosed that SpaceX expects to incur more than half a billion dollars in legal costs from multiple ongoing lawsuits and regulatory disputes.
Among the cases listed were claims alleging that xAI’s chatbot Grok had been used to create sexualised deepfakes of women and girls, alongside patent infringement disputes, music copyright claims, data breach allegations and investigations into compliance with European Union content moderation rules.
Musk has previously said he plans to dissolve xAI as a standalone company and pursue his AI ambitions directly under SpaceX.
The filing came shortly after Musk lost a high-profile legal battle against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman.
Musk had accused OpenAI of abandoning its non-profit mission after shifting towards a commercial model, but a jury dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that he had waited too long to bring the claims.
News
Moniepoint Boosts UK Payments Security

African financial services platform Moniepoint has partnered with open banking software-as-a-service provider tell.money to deploy a transaction security system in the UK market.

The companies said the partnership will allow Moniepoint to implement Confirmation of Payee, an account name-checking service designed to verify recipient details before payments are processed.
The integration will be rolled out through Monieworld, Moniepoint’s UK remittance subsidiary, as part of the company’s broader European expansion strategy.
Tell.money will provide the underlying verification technology, which the companies said is intended to reduce misdirected payments and help protect users against cross-border fraud.
Ravi Jakhodia, CEO of Monieworld, said: “Our goal with Monieworld is to build financial services for Africans in the diaspora.”
He added that tell.money was selected because it manages compliance and accreditation requirements, allowing the fintech company to focus on customer service.
Moniepoint is entering a competitive UK-to-Africa remittance market that includes established providers such as Wise, WorldRemit and Remitly, as well as African fintech firms including Flutterwave’s Send App.
According to data from the World Bank’s KNOMAD programme, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries are estimated at about $620 billion annually, with digital -first platforms capturing increasing market share through open banking integrations and automated compliance systems.
The rollout reflects a broader trend of African fintech firms expanding into developed markets by adopting local regulatory and open banking standards.
Industry analysts expect diaspora-focused platforms to evolve beyond money transfers into services such as multi-currency banking, credit and investment products.
News
Meet the 39-Year-Old Genius Replacing Oloyede at JAMB

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed 39‑year‑old Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), succeeding Professor Is‑haq Oloyede whose two‑term tenure expires on July 31, 2026.

Professor Segun Aina
Aina, who will turn 40 in July, will become the youngest registrar in JAMB’s history, marking a generational shift in the leadership of Nigeria’s premier tertiary‑admissions body.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the new registrar was described as a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience in national examination systems, digital infrastructure and public‑sector institutional reform.
A professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile‑Ife, Aina holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent, an MSc in Internet Computing and Network Security and a PhD in Digital Signal Processing, both from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. He also completed the Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School.
His early career with JAMB began during his National Youth Service Corps scheme, where he gained foundational experience in national admissions and data‑driven institutional processes; those insights have since shaped his contributions to examination reform and systems optimisation.
At 39, Aina became one of Nigeria’s youngest professors of Computer Engineering and has advised federal and state governments on system design, digital transition and operational reform, while also consulting major examination bodies such as NECO and NABTEB on ICT systems and examination integrity.
He is a member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
President Tinubu expects Aina to leverage his experience, knowledge and practical insight to further strengthen JAMB’s operations and to build on the achievements recorded under Professor Oloyede’s leadership.
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