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NITDA Launches Board to Teach Emerging Tech Skills

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National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has launched its indigenous ‘Unity Board’, a technology hardware platform for teaching emerging technologies.

 

The agency launched the board as part of its activities at the 39th ongoing Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) holding in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

 

GITEX is a global technology exhibition that brings together over 200,000 trade visitors, investors, innovators, IT experts, countries, Information Communication Technology startups from over 145 countries of the world to share trends in ICT and ways of advancing technology innovations.

 

Nigeria’s participation in GITEX, which is driven by NITDA, is a week-long programme holding from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10.

 

The launch of the board was targeted at attracting novel investors toward promoting the indigenous product and showcasing the capacity of Nigeria in developing home-grown technology.

 

The board is an initiative of Dr Isa Pantami, present minister of Communication,when he was the director general of NITDA.

 

Dr Agu Collins, the Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy Department, also a co-author of the unity board, said it would ensure the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) from the basics.

 

He said “STEAM Education Kit is to drive learning and teaching of Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics and Artificial Intelligence to accelerate local content development and indigenisation of technology through human capital development in emerging technologies.

 

“Unity Board is a creative medium for advancing teaching and learning designed, specifically as hands-on learning tool to help today’s students to build skills for the creative and digital economy through critical thinking,” Collins said.

 

According to him, it is a board that brings all Nigerians together, showing local content which is one of the cardinal policlies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

 

The director said that “by deploying learning with the board, the agency is ensuring that Nigerian youths have valueable skills.”

 

He added that skills required in the ICT industry was becoming dynamic everyday, hence the need to train the youths to be abreast with modern technology trends.

 

“The board is designed for school children from five years upwards, for programmes to catch the young ones early.

 

“It can be used in tertiary schools, deployed in the field, it can create an IoT system that can give pre-warning on flooding, remote sensing and in other areas.

 

“There is huge economic potential because we can engage young ones to learn lacking skills across Asian, African countries which they can use to develop their systems,” he said.

 

He explained that getting back from GITEX, the agency would engage relevant stakeholders to introduce the board and design a programme for adoption.

 

The agency official said initiating the board was a Research and Development idea that took three years to innovate


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E-Business

US Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning TikTok

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The United States Supreme Court has upheld a law seeking to ban TikTok in the United States.

US Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning TikTok

The court ruled that the law does not infringe upon free speech rights, citing the US government’s legitimate national security concerns about the Chinese ownership of the app.

Last week, the Supreme Court listened to the arguments from ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, claiming the law violated free speech.

“There is no doubt that TikTok provides a unique platform for expression, engagement, and community to over 170 million Americans,” the justices stated.

With this decision, the ban set for Sunday remains in place, despite calls from lawmakers and officials across the political spectrum for a delay.

Last year, Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or shut it down in the US by January 19, reflecting widespread concerns in Washington that the app could be exploited by China for espionage or propaganda.

On Friday, White House officials informed the media that the ban would not be enforced, leaving the final decision to President-elect Donald Trump, who assumes office the next day.

In December 2024, TikTok asked the US Supreme Court to temporarily block a law that would force its Chinese owner to sell the popular video-sharing platform or shut it down by January 19.

The appeal came the same day TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, CEO, met with US President-elect Donald Trump.

 

 

 


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FG Says NINs will Facilitate Cash Transfers to 18.1m People

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Federal government has plans to expand the national social register to 18.1 million names and to reach at least 70 million poor households across the country by the end of this year, according to Prof Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda,  minister, Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD).

FG Says NINs will Facilitate Cash Transfers to 18.1m People

Federal government has been distributing cash assistance to poor citizens through a program that requires verification using the National Identification Number (NIN).

The rate of poverty in the country is alarming, the minister said in an interview with Arise News, reason why the federal government plans to extend the humanitarian outreach program to target more homes. Each household receives the sum of N75,000 ($45).

Giving update on the payments, the minister said the first tranche of the conditional cash transfers were paid to five million households between October and December 2024, while the second and third tranches were paid to 2.8 million households.

“The president has directed, based on CBN’s new regulations, that before any payment is made to an individual or household, they must have a digital identity we can trace. That is the NIN number,” the Yilwatda told Arise News.

The cash transfer enabled by digital ID was launched in 2023, and last year, the federal government said around 25 million Nigerians had already benefitted from the scheme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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NIMC Grants NCoS Licence to Register Inmates for NIN

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has granted licence for the Nigerian Correctional Service, (NCoS) to register inmates in the over 252 custodial centres across the country for National Identity Numbers, (NIN).

NIMC Grants NCoS Licence to Register Inmates for NIN

The approval followed the request made by Sylvester Nwakuche, acting controller general of the NCoS, who paid a visit to Engr Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general/chief executive Officer of NIMC, in her office.

The acting controller-general, said the licence to carry out registration of inmates for NIN would eliminate exclusion of inmates from the country’s National Development plans, ensure their safety and security and facilitate their smooth recapture in times of jailbreaks.

The NCoS boss said the visit to the headquarters of NIMC was in search of collaboration that would enable the Service carry out its mandate seamlessly following on going reforms of the Correctional Service system.

According to Nwakuche, there are lots of socio-economic developments within the Correctional Service systems which had led to a number of inmates obtaining University degrees, Masters Degrees and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in various fields.

He said such inmates should not be excluded from the national development plans of the country as they should be integrated into the society to become useful for their families and the country.

Nwakuche said inside the Correctional centres are those awaiting trials whose innocence and otherwise has to be decided by the Courts, but argued that in times of National planning, census and other critical national development issues, they should not be disallowed from participating.

Coker-Odusote who granted the licence said NIN has become critical and essential to the country’s national development plans, stressing that NIMC has gone far with the private sector, especially the banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as all banks accounts are now linked with the NIN.

Coker-Odusote said the Eight points Agenda of President Bola Tinubu are also anchored on the Country’s digital identity or National identity Number, stressing that for instance NIN was tied to students loans to eradicate duplicity and prevent ghost beneficiaries.

Coker-Odusote expressed delight in the partnership with the NCoS, saying that the Commission had already entered into partnership with the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS and other agencies in order to facilitate the smooth delivery of their constitutional mandates.

She commended Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of Interior, for his dynamic leadership and role in ensuring the delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigeria through various reforms.


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