General News
2023 General Elections: Pantami Inaugurates Committee for Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure Protection
Prof. Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on Thursday, inaugurated a Committee led by the Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Adeolu Akande, to advise the Federal Government on appropriate measures to take in protection of the nation’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure from potential attacks especially during the 2023 General Elections.
The Minister, who represented President Mohammadu Buhari, announced that constitution of the Committee was on the directive of Mr. President that he puts in place, a committee that will work to coordinate computer security centres in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in collaboration with other relevant institutions towards intercepting potential cyber-attacks.
He said with the increased role of ICT in online activities, and its crucial role in the conduct of the 2023 General Elections, in line with the Electoral Act, as amended, the job of the Committee will assist the nation in conducting a free, fair and credible elections.
He directed the Committee, to which he also belongs alongside the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi, among other CEOs in the ministry, to work round-the-clock from Friday, February 24, 2023 till the morning of Monday, February 27, 2023.
He said the Committee will also ensure it receives complaints around any attacks to critical infrastructure and ensure such complaints are escalated to relevant institutions, public or private, for necessary remedial actions. The CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Mohammad Abubakar, and the Special Assistant to the Hon. Minister on Digital Economy, Prof Aminu Ahmad, are members of the Committee, including key directors in the agencies.
“Our main responsibilities in this Committee are more of advisory. Firstly, when it comes to intercepting potential attacks that may come to our cyberspace. The Committee will coordinate the NCC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team at NCC; the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team at the National Information Technology development Agency (NITDA) and the Galaxy Backbone’ National Cybersecurity Centre.
“These three centres must work together, complement each other and ensure they intercept any potential attacks on our cyberspace particularly on our Critical Infrastructure during the election so that we could either take action or provide necessary advice to the government,” Pantami said.
He said the Committee will work closely with institutions such as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), mobile network operators (MNOs), among others, to collectively safeguard the Nigeria’s cyberspace from potential attacks or cases of vandalism and fibre cuts during the election.
“The challenges of protecting our cyberspace is a collective national responsibility; it is a national assignment. As a sector, we would play our own responsibility objectively and professionally. We would work collectively rather than working individually as agencies since we are in the same sector,” he added.
Chairman of the Advisory Committee, Prof. Adeolu Akande, expressed gratitude to the Hon. Minister for finding him and others worthy to be saddled with the very important national assignment, and assured the Hon. Minister of the readiness of the Committee to work hard towards delivering on its mandates of ensuring, in advisory capacity to the Federal Government and other relevant institutions, the protection of the nation’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure during the elections.
“The committee members will do everything in their capacity to deliver on their Terms of Reference,” he said.
L-R: Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Prof. Adeolu Akande, Chairman, Governing Board, NCC and Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development, at the inauguration of the Committee on Protecting Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure held at the NCC Head Office in Abuja on Thursday, February, 23, 2023 (Today).
The World Bank on Tuesday disclosed plans to support Nigeria with $800 million to boost the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) initiative of the present administration.
Mr. Ousmane Diagana, Vice President of World Bank in Western and Central Africa, stated this in Abuja, during a meeting with Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Hon. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; and Dr. Yakubu Kofamarta, permanent secretary.
While giving update on the initiative, Mr. Diagana said the delegation is Nigeria’s assess to the level of progress and challenges of social investment programme in the Ministry and pledged to support the initiative to meet the desired objective of reducing poverty in Nigeria.
While stressing the Bank’s support for Nigeria as a developing country to provide quality services by continuing to create jobs among others for the Citizens, he disclosed that World Bank has “a very large programme here in Nigeria worth more than $17 billion.”
Yilwatda, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, described the World Bank as a dependable partner and maintained that the Ministry would continue to collaborate with relevant agencies including the United Nations with a view to ensure that more funds are provided to reduce poverty in the country with a target of 15 million households.
While applauding the clear leadership being provided by President Bola Tinubu for the success of the social investment programmes in the country, the Minister explained that “everybody who is going to benefit from this conditional cash transfer will be given a digital identity, so you have digital trust.
“And that is not just identity, but it’s a social inclusion and financial inclusion to hundreds and thousands of Nigerians who before now were not socially inclusive. They were not also financially included in Nigeria.
“You know, having over 70 million of Nigerians who before now have no account numbers, have no identity, you cannot trace their homes; you can’t trace their addresses.
“And today, while you’re taking all their homes, we also give digital identity, and we’re paying them conditional cash transfer.
“This the largest financial inclusion ever the history of Nigeria, and this is a bold step by Mr. President to ensure that the effect of the reforms that the government is doing is also being cushioned by this social investment that we’re having in the country.
Professor Yilwatda disclosed that the administration is “targeting 15 million households. Nigeria has roughly about we have roughly about 41 to 42 million households, the total number of household that we have in the country. So we are targeting 15 million households out of these 42 million households.
“So, if you look at the numbers, it means we are doing roughly about the neighborhood. Over 30% of the households that will benefit from this conditional cash transfer.
“Multiply that number by five, we’re taking off roughly about 60 million people will benefit from this conditional cash transfer, that’s targeting about 60 million people.
“15 million households, targeting about 60 million individuals within the households.
“Now if you look at these numbers, because the numbers are saying that roughly about 42% of Nigerians are living in poverty, those numbers simply shows that roughly about 90 million people, which means this cash transfer alone is targeting almost over 70% but people who are living under poverty in Nigeria by this conditional cash transfer, which is the largest ever in the history.”
According to him, each of the CCT beneficiaries is to receive the sum of N75,000.
“Already we’ve paid almost 6 million people, almost 6 million households, targeting about 30 million people have already been paid, and there are already evidences.
“We are going to even do a media talk for the to see the communities, because we are covering about 230,000 communities, cutting across all the 774 Local Governments, which means that, averagely almost every community in Nigeria has been captured under that is on this programme, and every village in Nigeria has been captured under this programme, and every village has a beneficiary. Every committee has beneficiaries across the entire country.
“I think this one of the most extensive program that has covered the entire country, you know, and effectively also, because the people that were targeting this program, we actually community based.
“So each village selected people that they are poor in the village, the women, the youths and the men, independently selected people that they feel they are poor, and they brought the name together.
“It is a community that signed off the name and sent to us. So they are not names from us, but their names from the communities that came up to us.
“And that’s why is the best way of targeting people when the village itself feel they can select the people that are poor within themselves, and they should be supported.
“So it is the communities that are telling us that these are people that you can support. So, we are supporting people that have been given to us by individual communities.”
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc has released its audited consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, delivering a robust performance marked by double-digit growth in revenue and profitability.
Total revenue surged by 37 percent to N26.1 billion in 2024, up from N19 billion the previous year. Profit before tax also rose significantly, climbing 24 percent to N13.8 billion, compared to N11.2 billion in 2023.
The impressive results were largely driven by a 62 percent year-on-year increase in fee-based income, which rose to N11.9 billion from N7.3 billion, fuelled by heightened capital market activity. Ancillary services also contributed strongly, growing 27 percent from N8.1 billion in 2023 to N10.3 billion, buoyed by optimised service delivery and increased customer engagement.
CSCS maintained a strong balance sheet, with total assets rising 22 percent to N64.4 billion from N52.8 billion in the previous year. Key financial ratios also improved, with return on average equity at 30 percent, return on average assets at 20 percent, and earnings per share increasing to 239 kobo from 202 kobo in 2023.
Temi Popoola, chairman of the Board of CSCS, praised the performance amid a challenging economic climate.
“Despite the macroeconomic headwinds of 2024, we delivered strong results across key financial and operational indicators. Our strategy of consolidating our core offerings while expanding into new business areas enabled us to grow gross earnings by 37 percent, reaching N26.1 billion”.
Popoola added, “In light of this strong performance and our commitment to delivering long-term value to shareholders, the Board has proposed a dividend of N1.76 per share, amounting to a total payout of N8.8 billion.”
Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CSCS, emphasised the resilience and adaptability of CSCS’s business model. “Our 2024 performance highlights the sustainability of our revenue streams across both traditional and emerging segments.
“We continue to diversify into new areas and leverage technology to enhance scale and capacity in line with our strategic objectives. Amidst economic challenges, we grew operating income by 44 percent to N22.2 billion, while maintaining a cost-to-income ratio of 47 percent, reflecting our focus on operational efficiency.”
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SecDojo, SAS, a France-based cybersecurity training company, during the GITEX Africa 2025 event in Marrakech, Morocco.
L-R: Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, and Chief Executive Officer of SecDojo, Mr. Younes Benzagmout at the signing ceremony, which took place during GITEX Africa 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco.
This collaboration aims to bolster Nigeria’s cybersecurity framework through targeted capacity-building initiatives.
The partnership will focus on establishing a Cybersecurity Academy, delivering advanced training programs, developing customized curricula, and fostering research and professional exchange.
NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, emphasized the importance of investing in human capital to drive Nigeria’s digital transformation and address the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals.
He highlighted Nigeria’s youthful population as a key asset in filling this talent gap.
Inuwa also advocated for integrating digital literacy and cybersecurity training into Nigeria’s formal education system, calling for collaboration between technology stakeholders and the Federal Ministry of Education.
He stressed the need for systemic integration of digital skills into academic curricula to prepare for the future.
SecDojo’s CEO, Younes Benzagmout, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s cybersecurity professionals.
This collaboration marks a significant step toward securing Nigeria’s digital economy and enhancing its global competitiveness.
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