Telecom
Confusion as Senator, Reps Disagree over Controversial NITDA Bill

The controversy surrounding the bill to repeal the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act raged on at the hurriedly arranged joint public hearing by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on ICT and Cyber Security held in the National Assembly on Friday.
The event kicked off with formalities such as the declaring the hearing open by the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan, the welcome address by the chairman Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security, Senator Yakubu Oseni and his House counterpart, Hon. Lado Abubakar Suleja.
However, immediately the public hearing was called to order by Senator Oseni, a member of the House Committee, Hon. Nkem Uzoma-Abonta raised a point of order.
Abonta, who is the member representing Ukwa East/West Federal Constituency of Abia State called for the public hearing to be postponed to January.
He noted that only a handful of members of the House Committee on ICT and Cyber Security were in attendance.
He also said even those available for the meeting didn’t have a copy of the bill, while the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami, and the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi were absent at the hearing.
The lawmaker stressed that things should be properly done with the Minister and the NITDA boss appearing physically to speak on the bill spearheaded by them, even as members should be sent copies of the bill ahead of time.
The lawmaker opined that the National Assembly should not be in a hurry to host a public hearing on a sensitive bill as members, especially the Christians, were already in a holiday mood but were only sticking around as the 2023 budget will be passed on 28th December.
He said: “This is a bill that will protect the integrity of Nigeria in the Internet space. But the drivers of the bill seem to be running on low gear.
“When the Senate President ably represented here spoke, he talked about people rumouring that we are holding a secret hearing. No, here there is nothing secretive about this, we are here in this hall.
“However, the needed ingredients for us to proceed are not available. I am speaking from the side of the House. We have conferred among ourselves. We have 36 members of the committee and how many of us are here?
“Critically too, we don’t have the required documents here. I can’t find the Director-General of NITDA, the minister is not here. What needs to be done should be seen to be properly done”.
His position was immediately supported by the member representing Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency of Akwa-Ibom State, Hon. Idem Unyime, who stated that he wasn’t sent a copy of the bill which needed to be properly scrutinised and understood by lawmakers due to its importance.
The Senate Committee Chairman, Senator Yakubu Oseni in his response said that members of the House were sent copies of the bill and the notice for the public hearing was properly sent out to members in both Chambers.
According to him: “I want to put it on record that if there are anomalies or any documents that you didn’t see, that should be a fault from your side as House of Representatives members.
“As far as we on the other side are concerned, everything is intact. The bill has been circulated, the necessary documents have been circulated online, that’s on one hand.
“On the other hand, even if the NITDA Director-General is here, he won’t be the one to speak, he has a representative, the legal person will speak on behalf of NITDA. I have not seen anywhere that representatives are not allowed to speak.
“I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t go on with this public hearing. In our end in the Senate we are ready”.
His explanation didn’t stop the murmuring and division among lawmakers present, as another member from the House, Hon Isiaka Ibrahim moved a motion that the public hearing be adjourned based on the issues raised by his colleagues.
Bowing to pressure Senator Oseni announced that the public hearing has been adjourned sine die.
Indications that the public hearing wouldn’t have gone on as usual first came when the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate and representative of the Senate President, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, cautioned those he accused of describing Friday’s public hearing as a secret meeting.
Abdullahi stated that the National Assembly had no ulterior motive and had followed due process in calling for the public hearing on the NITDA Bill.
Stakeholders in the ICT had raised an alarm over the hurried move by the Joint Senate and House Committee on Information Communications Technology, ICT, to pass a controversial bill to govern the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency.
They had expressed suspicion that the Committee wanted to pass the bill without substantial public participation.
It was also alleged that the submissions of the industry stakeholders made during its first public hearing, were discarded.
Telecom
ngCERT Issues High Alert to Nigerians Using Android Phones

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.
Telecom
MTN and Ecobank Launch Chess Championship to Empower Nigeria’s Youth

MTN Nigeria is set to host the National Schools Team Chess Championship, Nigeria’s largest inter-school chess competition, scheduled to take place from June 26th to 28th, 2025, at the Ecobank Pan African Center in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The championship, organised in partnership with Ecobank and the Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), aims to promote intellectual development, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills among young Nigerians, while also identifying and nurturing future chess champions.
The championship is open to primary, secondary, and tertiary level students, and this year’s edition will host an impressive 1,600 students from 400 schools across 36 states and the FCT.
The competition will feature team-based play, with each team comprising four players from the same school. A significant prize pool of over N40 million is at stake, with winning schools also having the invaluable opportunity to represent Nigeria internationally.
Onyinye Ikenna Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at MTN Nigeria, expressed the company’s commitment to the initiative, stating, “Our investment is driven by our commitment to fostering youth development, just as our shared value initiative.
“By supporting, we not only contribute to the growth but also engage with the younger demographic in a meaningful way, as we believe we are good together”.
MTN’s sponsorship of the National Schools Team Chess Championship is a natural extension of its long-standing dedication to empowering young people through various initiatives in sports, education, and skill development, including programs like MTN Champs and MTN Campus Invasion.
The company aims to establish itself as the leading driver of youth empowerment, education, and strategic thinking through chess in Nigeria.
The event will also feature the presence of Tunde Onakoya, a renowned chess master and inspiration, who will join the championship week to share his experiences and further inspire the young participants.
His involvement underscores the profound impact strategic thinking can have on transforming lives and building dreams.
Telecom
NCC and Stakeholders Unite to Bridge Nigeria’s Rural Connectivity Gap

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has collaborated with the Association for Progressive Communications and other institutional stakeholders towards addressing challenges confronting rural network connectivity in Nigeria.
The collaboration resulted in a two-day workshop hosted in Abuja from June 3-4, 2025, to explore policy framework for enabling community networks towards bridging the digital divide and accelerating socio-economic development in Nigeria’s underserved and unserved communities.
The forum brought together regulators, community leaders, technical experts and potential foreign investors, among others, to examine policy and regulatory barriers, explore innovative funding mechanisms, ensure sustainable renewable solutions and strengthen collaboration with stakeholders.
Addressing participants at the workshop, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the workshop is important to bridging the digital divide in Nigeria and foster inclusive social economic development.
“This workshop is an opportunity for all of us to harness the expertise, insights, and experiences of diverse stakeholders present here which includes the regulators, community leaders, technical experts and potential foreign providers to address the critical challenges such as affordable devices, access, licensing, spectrum allocation, infrastructure development, sustainability and institutional monitoring,” said Maida, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC at the event, Abraham Oshadami.
Maida said the workshop demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to advancing digital inclusion, particularly in underserved and unserved areas. “At NCC, we recognise the transformative potential of community center networks in achieving this important goal,” he said.
The EVC said NCC was committed to “this journey and views this workshop as a catalyst for meaningful change,” stating that the expertise, perspectives and commitments will shape the future where every Nigerian, regardless of his or her status, will have meaningful access to opportunities from digital connectivity.
In her remarks, Co-manager of the Association for Progressive Communications’ Local Network (LocNet) initiative, Kathleen Diga, noted that the collaboration was to tackle identified hindrances to digital inclusion. “This is a space where we can be open and exchange ideas of possibilities, opportunities that will remain in realising values of a diversified ecosystem.”
Diga said, “I believe this workshop presents a moment in time that we can explore the bottom-up approach in local communities, small social enterprises, corporative among others, which have the ability to fill some of the digital gaps that remain unfilled,” she said, adding emphasising the need to recognise that community centre connectivity exists and they are grow throughout the global south, which, she said, are a “strategic response to digital exclusion.”
The workshop featured presentations from the NCC, the Association for Progressive Communications and other institutional stakeholders such as the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) all geared towards exploring a joint policy framework to address rural digital divide.
The Association for Progressive Communications is a 35-year-old international network member-based organisation encouraging digital inclusion in the unserved communities, particularly with communities in the global south and the workshop, through its LocNet initiative aimed at crafting an enabling inclusive regulatory framework for community networks in Nigeria.
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