Telecom
Shittu Commends NCC on Impeccable Use of social Media
The Nigeria Communications Commission,NCC, has been recently commended by the Minister of Communications, Honourable Adebayo Shittu, for impeccably deploying social media networks for public communication and urged all stakeholders to emulate the Commission to expand the frontiers of public sector communication, good governance and national development.
Shittu’s voice was amplified by Abdulaziz Mashi, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Communications at the 2-Day Seminar on “Social Media for Good Governance Seminar: Leveraging ICT for National Development”, held at Treasure Suites and Conference Centre in Abuja.
The Seminar Organized by the Federal Ministry of Communications was supported by Facebook, Google and Microsoft, as well as by all the agencies supervised by the Ministry – NCC, NITDA, NIPOST, NIGCOMSAT, and Galaxy Backbone Plc.
Shittu said “in an era when the social media have become very strong platforms for information dissemination and public discourse, it is imperative for government and key players in the private sector to pay extra attention to feedback from, and utilize these new media to provide platform for government-citizen and business-public engagement in an online, real-time and interactive manner”.
He added that the seminar and retreat was designed among other goals, to share knowledge and information oriented in recent research and analysis of social media use; and to review good practices on policies and programmes promoting social media for good governance and other effective uses of the communication networks.
The Minister noted those uses to include creating means to improve governance, opening up access to government and government officials, saving time and money, and creating new ways of working.
Accordingly, “government will not limit Nigerians’ access to social media solely on the basis that it may be used to express views critical of government or the social-political system.
“Protecting critical expressions on the Internet is the standard by which governments are now held to be genuinely democratic” Shittu told the large gathering of delegates from all the agencies in the Ministry, journalists and other communication professionals and a galaxy of other stakeholders.
The Minister however bemoaned the use of the social media networks for “divisive, tribal, parochial, fabricated and sentimental information, messages and ideas capable of disintegrating the country”.
Shittu urged Nigerians to draw inspiration from enterprising young Nigerians across industries who have used social media to achieve phenomenal strides that have shaped our lives qualitatively.
Tony Ojobo, NCC Director Public Affairs, who presented the lead paper on Public Communication in the Era of New Media, and drawing on NCC’s and other exemplary practices, demonstrated in a concrete sense how social media can be deployed for greater effectiveness in public sector communication in Nigeria.
There were other presentations by Ade Atobatele, Akeem Adeniji-Adele, and Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, which focused respectively on The Magic of Words; Digital Transformation; and Social Media as a Tool Against Weaponization: Hate Speech, Fake News, were also enthusiastically received and discussed by the audience.
The Ministry of Communications plans to organize series of seminars and a Social Media Week for communication professionals in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government in 2018.
Clean and reliable power for telecom networks in Ethiopia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be expanded following a $45 million investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in IPT PowerTech.
The investment targets countries where limited power supply continues to slow digital connectivity and broader economic participation, the institution stated earlier this week.
To enable this expansion, the IFC is providing a $45 million corporate financing package consisting of an A-loan of $27 million and $18 million in blended finance.
The blended portion is sourced from the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Programme and the IDA20 Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.
The initiative marks the IFC’s first direct infrastructure engagement in Liberia in a decade and in Sierra Leone in six years.
It will help scale solar- and battery-based power systems that reduce reliance on diesel and support greener, more resilient telecom networks.
By improving the quality and stability of power to telecom towers, the initiative will strengthen mobile coverage and ensure that households, schools, health centres, and small businesses can depend on consistent digital services, said the IFC.
The funding supports the modernisation, operation, and maintenance of 2 235 telecom sites across the three nations. More than 90% of these are located in off-grid or weak-grid locations.
With new solar and battery systems powering these sites, mobile networks will experience fewer outages and improved service quality.
Optimising the energy mix is estimated to reduce power costs for operators by up to 30% in Liberia, 26% in Sierra Leone, and 52% in Ethiopia.
This transition is also expected to cut emissions by more than 10 624 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Furthermore, the partnership will promote gender inclusion by expanding opportunities for women in technical, operational, and leadership roles within the sector, says the IFC.
This agreement reflects a shared vision for a greener telecom industry and empowers the company to scale its innovative energy platforms, according to Nabil Haddad, CEO of IPT PowerTech Group.
Reliable and affordable power for telecom networks is a cornerstone of Africa’s digital transformation, said Nathalie Kouassi-Akon, IFC regional director for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
Through this partnership, the institution is supporting a scalable, private sector-led solution that enables mobile operators to reach underserved and fragile communities more sustainably, added Kouassi-Akon.
The project advances the World Bank Group and African Development Bank’s Mission 300 initiative, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
Expedier has unveiled “Expedier for Business,” an online pro-banking platform to simplify global payments, multi-currency transactions, and financial operations for expanding companies.
Kingsley Madu
The tool centralizes payments, invoicing, payroll, and treasury into one secure dashboard, tackling challenges like fragmented systems and poor visibility that hinder international scaling.
Kingsley Madu, Co-Founder and CEO of Expedier, said: “African businesses are increasingly global… Expedier for Business was built to simplify how companies manage money across borders while maintaining visibility, control, and compliance.”
Key features include customizable dashboards for payments, invoices, and workflows; support for USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, and more; virtual cards; automated payroll/invoicing; currency swaps; and real-time tracking.
Security measures cover two-factor authentication, KYC/KYB verification, and team access controls.
As cross-border trade and remote work boom in Africa, the platform aids firms dealing with international suppliers, teams, and customers. It is now available for organizations scaling globally.
Nigerian fintech unicorn Moniepoint Inc. has finalised its acquisition of a 78% stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank, gaining a key deposit-taking licence for credit expansion in East Africa’s biggest economy.
The deal, marked by a Nairobi reception, bypasses the Central Bank of Kenya’s licence freeze, letting Moniepoint rival giants like Safaricom and Equity Group after a stalled Kopo Kopo bid.
It signals Africa’s fintech shift to licensed banking and mergers, equipping Moniepoint to roll out high-speed SME lending via Sumac’s 20-year-old infrastructure and branches.
The acquisition builds a cross-border merchant ecosystem beyond fees, integrating recent Orda buyout (cloud restaurant software) for “business-in-a-box” tools like inventory, payroll, and capital amid Kenya’s digital lending scrutiny.
Moniepoint, which hit $294 billion annualised transactions in 2025, eyes Kenya’s SMEs with Nigeria-honed retail expertise.
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