E-Business
E-PPAN Summit Raises Concerns over Public Sector Revenue Generation
Government decision makers and industry experts meeting at the “E-Payment for Government Summit ” are set to examine the global and regional developments on how governments are transforming key services they provide and returns from the public.
Entitled “Increasing Government Revenue Generation using E-Payment Services”, the two-day forum set to hold on the 8th – 9th of July, 2014 at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, is organized by the Electronic Payment Providers of Association (E-PPAN).
The Summit is aimed at tackling the challenges that face governments in generation of revenue and delivering efficient e-services to a technology savvy and demanding public.
The summit will bring together industry experts, professionals and key government bodies responsible for development of e-government in the country.
They will shed more light on how to implement the most technological advances and solutions in the most efficient ways for enhancement of government services as well as to drive the efficiency of the G2P (Government to People) services through e-payment platforms.
Mrs. Onajite Regha, chief executive officer of E-PPAN, stressed the importance of the summit as it will provide the important decision-makers delegates with the sufficient enthusiasm needed for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to increase Internal Revenue.
This in turn will further drive the adoption and implementation procedures for an end-to-end e-payment as well as support the attainment of the core objectives of the National Payment Systems Vision 2020, which is to ensure the availability of safe and effective mechanisms for conveniently making and receiving all types of payment from any location and at any time, through multiple channels.
“According to Central Bank of Nigeria, only 209 MDAs out of over 600 have fully complied with Federal Government’s directive that all payments MDAs should be made electronically” explained Regha.
She added: “The E-Payment for Government Summit has received overwhelming responses. Experts speaking at the forum are from prominent Industry stakeholders, federal and regional government authorities, network and technology providers and consultants specialized in e-Government initiatives”.
The E-PPAN Boss pointed out that the forum opens with discussions on the global trends in expanding internally generated revenue using e-payment, and goes on to highlight several vital topics including: Leveraging on strategic private partnerships in expanding government payment Citizen Happiness.
She described this as the Formula for Government Success, Automating disbursement and collection process for efficient revenue management, Creating Additional values on e-payment to drive citizen’s excitement, Identifying the role of citizen identification as a driver for revenue generation and delivering outstanding e-services to the public.
In addition to discussions on the methods of developing a secured payment platform for government bodies, reviewing the state of infrastructure, establishing a higher citizen-centered approach to e-Government portals, creating an effective e-Governance strategy to align government activity with citizen demands and the method of examining e-Governance and Information Security from an international perspective.
The executive secretary lauded the efforts and continuous support the summit has received from various industry stakeholders and government bodies, and their keenness in participating to share their expertise and pioneering work in e-government, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS), Unified Payment Services, iTEX integrated Services, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and CitiSERVE.
Speaking on the Summit, Mrs Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology said: “We are pleased to collaborate with E-PPAN on this summit, as it provides a valuable platform to exchange local and regional experiences in the fields of technology. We welcome and encourage all top government delegates from federal and state MDAs and local government councils to participate in the event, as we are certain that their participation will enrich the discussions and contribute to the success of the summit.”
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
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