Telecom
Putting the Records Straight: NITDA Clarifies Engagement with ASUU’s UTAS Platform
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has emphasised that it subjected the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to a review to allow for a comprehensive solution that equals standard.
Mrs Hadiza Umar, head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations of the agency, said this on Saturday in a statement issued in Abuja.
Umar said it became necessary for the agency to set the record straight owing to biased information in the public domain about the involvement of NITDA to the solution.
She explained that the Act establishing NITDA mandated it to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardisation, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology (IT) practices in Nigeria.
To that effect, Umar said the agency had over the years, issued series of regulatory instruments, including the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline issued in 2016.
“This regulatory instrument, currently being reviewed, provides guidelines for the design, development and testing of software projects in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, Section 10 of the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT, 2019, provided detailed guidelines and expectations for Indigenous Software Development and Software Enabled Products and Services.
“In line with its mandate, the agency has been registering indigenous software solutions and part of the registration process requires that solutions are subjected to tests in line with the requirements of the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline, and the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT.
“It is common knowledge that ASUU has been engaging the Federal Government on a number of issues including payment of promotion arrears, earned academic allowance, funding for revitalisation of public Universities, and adoption of UTAS as payment platform for universities.
“On the October 14, 2020, NITDA was invited to participate in an interactive session between ASUU, Federal Government and the Legislature to avail ASUU the opportunity to demonstrate the UTAS platform,” Umar said.
According to her, as part of the conditions for acceptance of UTAS as payment platform for public universities by the Federal Government, NITDA was directed to subject the platform to Integrity Test and advise the government appropriately.
She added that the agency conducted three out of eight tests specified in the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline.
Umar said the tests included User Acceptance Test (UAT), Stress Test, and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Test (VAPT).
She added that NITDA met with ASUU on Oct. 22, 2020, to discuss the modalities of the assessment of the solution, which involved the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
“Furthermore, documents necessary for effective planning and execution of the tests were requested.
“Upon receipt of the documents from ASUU as well as access details of the UTAS platform in January, 2021, the agency’s team carried out basic Functionality/User Acceptance Test on the platform.
“As NUC conducted UAT, NITDA felt it can use the report produced by NUC for its report.
“However, upon review, it was observed that the Solution was demonstrated to the Principal Officers in a similar way it was demonstrated at the Accountant General’s Office.
The Agency decided that further UAT be carried out with actual end-users from the University System,” she said.
She explained that arrangements were made and 46 staff members from 28 Federal Universities, mainly from Vice Chancellor’s Office, Human Resources, Accounts and Bursary participated in the UAT that held at the NUC complex on Aug. 10, 2021.
According to her, although the UAT was carried out as planned, challenges were encountered that negatively impacted on the outcome of the assessment.
Umar added that the agency’s team also carried out series of Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Tests on the UTAS platform, which revealed high risk vulnerabilities that were likely to negatively impact on the platform, if exploited.
“Furthermore, two Low Risk vulnerabilities were identified and all discussed with the ASUU team and a further assessment carried out on the updated version of the Solution revealed that the High Risk Vulnerabilities have been addressed.
“However, one Medium Risk, three Low Risks and 44 Informational Risks were identified and were adequately communicated to the relevant stakeholders including ASUU,” the spokesperson said.
She added that a comprehensive report outlining all the tests carried out and issues identified were submitted to Dr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on Dec. 3, 2021, and also to the Chief Conciliator, Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, as well as other stakeholders in ASUU.
Umar recalled that on Feb. 22, 2022, during the conciliation meeting at the instance of Ngige, it was resolved that NITDA worked with ASUU and subject UTAS to re-assessment with key members of the conciliation team in attendance during the Technical Team’s sessions as observers.
“It may interest the agency’s stakeholders to know that NITDA, as a responsible agency of government, made all arrangements to ensure that the exercise was carried out successfully.
“The interaction commenced on the March 8, 2022, with discussion on the methodology to be used as specified in the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline.
“Upon reaching agreement and starting the actual test on the Solution, a critical error occurred and the test could not continue and as a result, the interaction had to be postponed to enable the ASUU Team rectify the issue.
“Considering the challenge encountered, the assessment methodology had to be reviewed to facilitate daily remediation of critical issues as they occur which is against NITDA’s Standard Operating Procedure for such exercises,” she said.
She recognised the attention of stakeholders and the general public to the need for the UTAS platform to be sufficiently robust with key functionalities implemented before being deployed to the production environment.
Umar reiterated that the solution as currently implemented was limited, adding that there are critical functionalities that needed to be implemented, tested and passed before the Solution could be considered to meet NITDA’s due diligent requirements.
“These areas of improvement have been fully documented and shared with the ASUU team for necessary action.
“It is expected that ASUU will improve on the areas identified, work on the security issues flagged and resubmit the Solution for further assessment.
“The agency wish to use this opportunity to assure stakeholders and the general public of its commitment to its mandate and the vision of proactively facilitating the development of Nigeria into a sustainable digital economy by creating an enabling environment where Nigerians develop, adopt and derive value from digital technology,” the statement read in part.
MTN Uganda is seeking input from stakeholders on a plan to structurally separate its mobile money service, MoMo, from its core telecoms business.
According to the company, the proposed change will be discussed at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting on July 2.
If approved, the telco’s fintech business will be run by a new company controlled by MTN Group Fintech Holdings B.V. and a trust benefiting minority shareholders following a merger.
Additionally, the restructuring also aligns with MTN Group’s ambition 2025 strategy which aims to unlock value, attract new investors, and strengthen regulatory compliance by creating standalone fintech entities in Uganda, Ghana, and Nigeria.
The company’s fintech division has over 13 million customers, with an 18.4% revenue increase in the first quarter of 2025, driven by 19.0% growth in mobile money services, 19.8% growth in transaction volumes, and a 31.4% increase in transaction value.
Reports say the decision is part of the telco’s compliance with the National Payment Systems Act 2020, which mandates mobile money businesses to operate as standalone entities, and to align with MTN Group’s regional fintech strategy.
MTN Uganda, which is led by CEO Sylvia Mulinge, highlighted that the implementation of the proposed transaction will be subjected to a number of conditions and regulatory procedures.
“The implementation of the proposed transaction shall be subject to a number of conditions, including the company and MTN MoMo receiving all required regulatory approvals and no-objections and complying with any regulatory conditions,” said MTN Uganda in notice.
Netflix has announced plans to invest more than €1 billion in Spanish film and television productions over the next four years, reinforcing its commitment to Spain as a key creative hub in Europe.
The announcement was made by co-chief executive Ted Sarandos at an event held at Netflix’s production studios near Madrid, celebrating the company’s 10-year presence in the country.
Sarandos emphasized that the investment would contribute significantly to Spain’s economy, create jobs, and enable the streaming platform to produce more local content. He was joined by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in unveiling the initiative.
Netflix first established its international production studios in Madrid in 2019, following the success of the Spanish-language hit series Money Heist.
Since then, its 22,000-square-meter facility has become one of Netflix’s major production centers within the European Union.
The company currently supports over 20,000 jobs in Spain, highlighting the nation’s growing influence in global entertainment.
The investment reflects Netflix’s ongoing strategy to expand its presence in European markets through original content and local talent.
Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) has raised alarms over a new wave of advanced cyberattacks targeting Android mobile phones through a malware campaign dubbed Tria Stealer.
The malicious software is designed to infiltrate Android devices, hijack messaging accounts, intercept One-Time Passwords (OTPs), to steal sensitive personal and financial data.
According to ngCERT, Tria Stealer spreads primarily through deceptive tactics, such as fake event invitations distributed via popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Unsuspecting users are enticed to download an infected (APK) file, often disguised as a harmless system application, to evade detection.
Once installed, Tria Stealer requests extensive permissions, including access to SMS, call logs, and app notifications.
It immediately commences data harvesting activities, sending stolen information to a Command and Control (C2) server operated via Telegram bots.
This trojan spreads through fake links, usually disguised as wedding or event invites, and tricks users into downloading malicious APK files
“Account takeover of messaging platforms. Impersonation of victim for fraudulent money transfer requests. Compromise of banking and financial applications. Identity theft and credential harvesting.”
In plain terms, if your phone is compromised, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Your financial apps are vulnerable, your reputation could be ruined by impersonation and even simple personal messages could be twisted into tools for scams.
Here’s what users should be doing now:
Don’t download apps outside the official Play Store.
Be suspicious of random invites or links, even from people you know.
Turn on 2FA for everything—banking, emails, social platforms.
Get a reputable antivirus and keep it updated.
If you run an organisation, you should already be taking this seriously.
ngCERT’s guidance says you should raise awareness, monitor mobile devices, and not let your team click on unverified links.
“Deploy network monitoring for suspicious outbound connections to known C2 domains,” it said, meaning, keep an eye on every digital door in and out.
This isn’t one of those cases where you wait to see if it affects you. By the time you realise it, it may already be too late.
Aliko Dangote Signs out @ Dangote Sugar Refinery as Chairman
Court Declines Access Bank’s Request to Freeze MTNN Account over N180Bn Claims
FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps
Report Reveals New Malware Posing as an AI Assistant Steals User Data
MTN Mulls Establishment of Fintech Firm in Nigeria, Others
News2 days agoCDCFIB Warns against Recruitment Racketeers
Telecom2 days agoMeta, FMCIDE Unveil AI Accelerator to Drive Innovation in Nigeria
News2 days agoFG May Forfeits $4m from World Bank Loan over Audit Flop
Telecom2 days agoNigeria Leads the Charge in Green Innovation @MTN’s Africa PachiPanda Challenge
Broadcasting2 days agoAfia TV and Radio Stamps Footprints in Lagos
Telecom1 day agongCERT Issues High Alert to Nigerians Using Android Phones
E-Financial2 days agoNDIC Begins Final Settlements to Creditors of Liquidated Premier Bank
Telecom2 days agoZinox Technologies Collaborates with FGN for VivaTech Paris 2025