E-Business
Stakeholders Seek Review of Approach to Develop Local Software

Stakeholders in the software ecosystem have called for a review of the approach adopted by the federal government towards development of indigenous software in the country.
Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), speaking at a recent stakeholders’ roundtable on indigenous software decried lack of development of the ecosystem which demands new approach.
“The purpose of our learning and knowledge is to solve our problems and to build a commonwealth for all. As professionals we must develop a plan of action and a roadmap to mitigate systemic risk, while we accelerate our own indigenously-developed solutions to meet global standards. We must find resolutions that are useful and implementable within the shortest possible time. We are headed for disaster if we continue on this path,” he said.
Okeke Christopher, director zonal offices directorate, NITDA, admitted that currently there is near absence and/or lack of relationship between software investment in Research &Development and revenue on adoption of finished product.
“It is with this spirit that the proposed indigenous software adoption needs to be thoroughly discussed with all relevant stakeholders so that the old narration can be changed to a befitting one,” he said.
Dr. Yele Okeremi, president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), said that there is need to use indigenous solution to achieve global standard.
He said that NITDA should be a catalyst for IT development and not a bond and that its impact has to be measured through how many successful technological firms have spring up instead of how many regulations.
“NITDA should be seen as encouraging local players to be able to achieve global standards. Today, indigenous solutions providers are faced with certification challenge which organizations have attributed as responsible for their lack of patronage. How many of Nigerian companies have achieved global certification?
“For instance, there are only 3 companies in Nigeria that have attended Capability Maturity Model in Integration (CMMI) they are PFS, Interswitch and upperlink. We should be creating technology companies and scaling them. Pro-business leadership is about removing limits and not about creating limitation. We can focus on world-class and domesticate it. These can be achieved in different sectors such as oil & gas, telecoms, agriculture, health among others,” he added.
Okeremi noted that achieving domestication requires focusing on competence that has to do with setting up specialization training centres just as India is doing with its IIT.
According to Adewale Adeyipo, CEO, CWG PLC, “a viable software ecosystem is where all the market players engage, connect and share ideas across active communities and networks, as well as identify and convert opportunities into business. In the current age of technology-driven financial services, no market participant can afford to operate in silos.
“In Nigeria, the market players are still not fully active as it should be. To achieve a viable software ecosystem in the financial service sector in Nigeria, all stakeholders need to collaborate actively. There must be deliberate policies and regulations that will drive such inclusiveness. The survival of our software ecosystem is dependent on the collaborations between the government and the financial service sector ecosystem.”
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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