E-Business
Gbajabiamila Extols Impact of ICT in Addressing Poverty in Africa

Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the House of Representatives, has said that the effective deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools in rural communities would help empower rural dwellers and stimulate increased economic activities in Africa.
He said by having access to adequate and the right information, the poverty level in rural communities in Africa could greatly be reduced.
Speaker Gbajabiamila expressed these views in a paper titled ‘Enhancing Information Communication Technology (ICT) Use in Providing Life-Changing Solutions in Rural Communities’ which he delivered at the ongoing 50th Regional Conference and the Annual General Meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Africa Region, taking place in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
A statement from the Speaker’s office signed by his Media Adviser, Lanre Lasisi stated that Gbajabiamila, who led the Nigerian delegation to the conference, moved a motion for the commencement of proceedings and the debate on the second day of the conference, saying policymakers must, through the policy-making and legislative process, ensure that the opportunities created by technological advancements are available to the people.
“Everywhere, from Africa to Europe, Asia to the Americas, policymakers are still trying to figure out this brave new world. It often feels as if the moment we reach an understanding of one paradigm, it changes again to reveal new vistas, new challenges, and opportunities. We cannot, and we do not seek to halt the march of technological progress. “In fact, we embrace it because we have seen how technology properly used can improve the circumstances of human life in every sector from education to health care, security, and commerce,” he said.
On how ICT could address poverty, Gbajabiamila said: “it can play a major role in addressing rural poverty and improving the economic well-being of the people through access to the adequate and right information.
“Rural communities in Nigeria and Africa as a whole are faced with the challenges of infrastructural deficit that would help stimulate development.
“This affects access to adequate and right information by the rural communities. The challenge is how to leverage the bountiful opportunities in the sector to improve service delivery in rural communities.”
In the area of agriculture, the Speaker said the deployment of ICT in the sector would increase efficiency, productivity, and sustainability of small-scale farms.
“The agricultural sector will be strengthened with the application of ICT as it opens up access to information. ICT increases the knowledge base and choices of farmers in terms of quality of soils, seedlings, management of drought and erosion as well as pest and disease control.
“It also provides farmers with useful and timely information on crops, animal husbandry, fertilizer and market prices. The corollary effect of all these is increased productivity and high income.”
On education, Gbajabiamila said: “The use of ICT in a dedicated manner within the education sector in the rural areas would help increase the literacy level of the rural population. There is a need to embark on an aggressive sensitization drive to educate the rural communities on the importance of ICT.
Speaker Gbajabiamila added that ICT could help connect rural areas to the outside world, which would make them enjoy access to information sharing for greater economic activities.
“The contact with the outside world would no doubt increase the volume of economic activities in the rural areas as the rural population becomes more aware of untapped opportunities and new ways of doing business.
“ICTs can increase access and mobilization of financial assets, particularly through the instrumentality of mobile banking and mobile finance. This would ultimately increase general economic activities in rural communities.”
In the area of healthcare, the Speaker said: “The use of ICT to deliver healthcare will enable healthcare professionals and institutions to address the critical medical needs of rural communities. This will bring about improvement in the health of rural dwellers and their economic well-being.”
E-Business
NFIU Credits AML/CFT Reforms behind Nigeria’s Nears Exit from FATF Greylist

Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has credited a series of strategic reforms under the national Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Financing of Terrorism, and Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) framework, behind Nigeria’s significant strides toward exiting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist, marking a critical milestone in the country’s fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and financial crimes.
In a statement, Chief Executive Officer of NFIU, Hafsat Bakari, praised the collective efforts of government agencies and stakeholders. “Congratulations and a job well done as Nigeria comes closer to exiting the FATF grey list. The results achieved as part of the strategic reforms must be applauded,” she said.
She said the NFIU, serving as the Secretariat of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on AML/CFT/CPF, spearheaded the development of a comprehensive roadmap to address deficiencies highlighted in Nigeria’s 2021 mutual evaluation report. She explained that the roadmap was recently reviewed and endorsed at the FATF Plenary in Strasbourg, France, where it was acknowledged that Nigeria has completed the implementation of its Action Plan within the agreed deadline—a rare achievement among listed jurisdictions.
Bakari emphasised the pivotal role of political leadership in this success: “The clear focus and leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, provided an enabling environment for the reform processes. His dynamic leadership, alongside the support of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly, has been a critical success factor.”
She also highlighted the crucial contributions of the Judiciary, which has demonstrated the effectiveness of Nigeria’s legal framework in combating financial crimes. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the Minister of Interior, who led the Inter-Ministerial Committee, were credited for providing strategic direction.
“The commitment of these key officials, along with support from the National Security Adviser and various ministers, has been instrumental in driving the reforms forward,” Bakari noted.
A broad coalition of agencies formed the backbone of the national effort, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Police Force, and many others. Their coordinated efforts have strengthened Nigeria’s defenses against illicit financial activities.
Despite the progress, Bakari cautioned that key steps remain before Nigeria can officially exit the greylist. “A critical upcoming milestone is the onsite assessment by the FATF in the next few weeks. This assessment is an opportunity to demonstrate Nigeria’s highest political commitment to sustaining the reform programme and to showcase the impressive results achieved by both public and private sectors in preventing, detecting, and disrupting serious crimes.”
She reaffirmed the NFIU’s dedication to the ongoing fight: “The NFIU remains committed to supporting and working with all stakeholders in strengthening our collective defenses against money laundering, terrorist financing, and other serious crimes.”
E-Business
AfCFTA Positions Africa to Tap into $712bn Digital Trade Market by 2035

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is strategically positioning Africa to tap into a $712 billion digital trade market by 2035, leveraging key partnerships and trade-enabling infrastructure to deepen continental integration and economic sovereignty.
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, made this known on Wednesday at the 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2025) in Abuja.
According to him, the Protocol on Digital Trade is central to AfCFTA’s strategy for unlocking the potential of Africa’s growing digital economy.
“We intend to harness this significant market, which is estimated to be over $712 billion by the year 2035, presenting opportunities for young entrepreneurs, investment in data centres, the commercialisation and movement of data, and the development of digital public infrastructure,” Mene said.
He emphasised the critical role of Afreximbank in providing the financial architecture required to support the AfCFTA’s implementation, especially in reducing and eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers.
“Without the support of Afreximbank, the AfCFTA will not succeed. It requires trade finance tools, support for industrial development, green trade, and green industrialisation,” he added.
Among the tools introduced in collaboration with Afreximbank is the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which enables intra-African payments in local currencies, reducing dependence on the US dollar and lowering transaction costs. Mene stressed that trading in foreign currencies like US dollar between African countries is no longer sustainable.
“We must use our own currencies. We must ensure the economic sovereignty of our continent and guard ourselves against ever-shifting global geopolitical tensions that affect payment systems,” he said.
He also disclosed that $10 billion has been mobilised under the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund to support countries implementing the agreement, with an initial ZIP package of $1 billion. Furthermore, a $1 billion AfCFTA Automotive Fund has been established to support component manufacturers and vehicle assembly on the continent. The sector, if well-supported, could generate $46 billion by 2035.
Additional initiatives include the AfCFTA E-Tariff platform, the Rules of Origin Manual, and the soon-to-be-launched Transit Guarantee System, which are all geared towards simplifying trade procedures and boosting intra-African trade.
“We have moved beyond political aspirations to establishing a functional and legally binding multilateral African trading system. This includes protocols on investment, competition policy, and digital trade,” Mene said.
Despite these milestones, he warned that numerous challenges persist. These include inefficient customs systems, high trade costs that limit SME market entry, political instability, and persistent food insecurity which blocks smallholder farmers from accessing markets. He called for continued collaboration between political leaders and development finance institutions to address these obstacles.
“We should be proud of what we have achieved, but also mindful of the difficult journey ahead. Conflict and instability, particularly in rural regions, continue to prevent millions of farmers from accessing markets. We must tackle these issues with urgency if the full potential of AfCFTA is to be realised,” Mene said.
During a question and answer after the launch of African trade and economic outlook report, Yemi Kale, Group chief economist and managing director of Research and Trade Intelligence at the African Export Import Bank, said between May 2024 and 2025 transaction volume through Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) increased by over 1,000 percent, reflecting increased adoption of the payment system.
E-Business
Kaspersky Discovers SparkKitty a New Trojan Spy on App Store and Google Play

Kaspersky researchers have discovered a new Trojan spy called SparkKitty which targets smartphones on iOS and Android. It sends images from an infected phone and information about the device to the attackers.
This malware was embedded in apps related to crypto and gambling, as well as in a trojanised TikTok app, and was distributed on App Store and Google Play, as well as on scam websites.
Experts suggest that the goal of the attackers is to steal cryptocurrency assets from residents of Southeast Asia and China. Users in Nigeria are also potentially at risk of facing a similar cyber threat.
Kaspersky has notified Google and Apple about the malicious apps. Certain technical details suggest that the new malware campaign is linked to the previously discovered SparkCat Trojan — malware (the first of its kind on iOS) with a built-in optical character recognition (OCR) module that allows it to scan image galleries and steal screenshots containing cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases or passwords. The SparkKitty case is the second time in a year that Kaspersky researchers have found a Trojan stealer on App Store, following SparkCat.
iOS
On App Store, the Trojan pretended to be an app related to cryptocurrencies — 币coin. On phishing pages mimicking the official iPhone App Store, the malware was distributed under the guise of TikTok and gambling applications.
“One of the vectors for the Trojan’s distribution turned out to be fake websites where the attackers tried to infect the victims’ iPhones. iOS has several legitimate ways to install programs not from the App Store. In this malicious campaign, the attackers used one of them — special developer tools for distributing corporate business applications.
In the infected version of TikTok, during authorisation, the malware, in addition to stealing photos from the smartphone gallery, embedded links to a suspicious store in the person’s profile window. This store only accepts cryptocurrencies, which increases our concerns about it,” explains Sergey Puzan, a malware expert at Kaspersky.
Android
The attackers targeted users both on third-party websites and on Google Play, passing off the malware as various crypto services. For example, one of the infected applications — a messenger called SOEX with a cryptocurrency exchange function — was downloaded from the official store over 10,000 times.
Experts also found APK files of infected apps (these can be installed directly on Android smartphones bypassing official stores) on third-party websites that are likely related to the detected malicious campaign. They are positioned as investment crypto projects. The websites on which these applications were posted were advertised on social networks, including YouTube.
“After the apps were installed, they functioned as promised in their description. But at the same time, photos from the smartphone gallery were sent to the attackers. The attackers may later try to find various confidential data in the images, for instance, crypto wallet recovery phrases to access the victims’ assets.
There are indirect signs that the attackers are interested in people’s digital assets: many of the infected apps were related to crypto, and the trojanised TikTok app also had a built-in store that accepted payment for goods only in crypto,” comments Dmitry Kalinin, a malware expert at Kaspersky.
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