E-Business
NOTAP Angry over Nigeria’s IT Consumerism Status

Dr. Abdu Bulama, minister of Science and Technology, has commended the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) for recently launching the Technology Storyboard initiative of the Office and unveiling of the Technology Storybook, saying Nigerians should embrace the initiative to leap-frog technology development in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, NOTAP is not happy that of one hundred and twenty nine Universities in the country and numerous polytechnics and research institutions, the country still import hundred percent of the technologies consumed in the country.
The Minister who was speaking through Dr. Saidu Mahammed, director general of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), at the event recently said that with the Technology Storyboard initiated by NOTAP, Nigeria was at the threshold of demystifying Science and Technology.
He said NOTAP was established among other things, to promote a rapid technological revolution by an efficient assimilation/absorption of foreign technology and a concerted development of indigenous technological capability through a proactive commercialization and promotion of locally motivated technologies.
He reiterated that NOTAP by this laudable initiativehas demonstrated commitment to ensuring that science and technology which is globally the engine that steers development is demystified through a simplified pictorial representation of products production/manufacturing processes.
Bulama told the gathering that one of the objectives of the Storyboard was to use the Technology Storyboard to teach primary and Secondary school pupils about production processes of products so that the story will constantly remind them that science, technology and innovation are key ingredients for product processing and wealth creation.
He said the initiative was an offshoot of the Public-Private-partnership arrangement by NOTAP, conceptualized during the monitoring of technology transfer agreementof production companies in Nigeria.
But, Engineer Umar Buba Bindir, director General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), expressed displeasure that out of one hundred and twenty nine Universities in the country and numerous polytechnics and research institutions, the country still import hundred percent of the technologies consumed in the country.
He said NOTAP for the past five years, has been facilitating the linkage between the industry and the academia.
He added that the registration of technology transfer agreement, gave NOTAP the opportunity of constantly interacting with both bodies which availed NOTAP the opportunity of knowing the challenges of the industry as it affects demand-driven research.
He said the storyboard initiative was targeted at “catching the school pupils young” to begin to develop enduring interest in science, technology and innovation development which is the engine that steers socio-economic growth of every nation.
He said no Nigerian Child will pass through the pictorial product production/manufacturing processes through primary and secondary schools without developing interest in science and technology.
The NOTAP boss therefore pleaded with Federal and State Ministries of education to join hands to ensure that these storybooks are distributed in all Nigerian Schools.
Obaro, SystemSpecs Boss Toasts CBN Cashless Policy
Mr. John Obaro, managing director/chief executive officer, SystemSpecs Company Limited, has assured that Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless initiative has achieved some feat despite infrastructural challenges.
Obaro, while speaking to journalists in an interview stated that some of the challenges facing the cash policy drive remained infrastructural issues adding the it did not stop the rapid spread of e-payment in the country .
“Well, the first thing people always talk about is infrastructural challenges. The mere fact that there are infrastructural challenges has not stopped the rapid growth of e-payment in Nigeria. We are not where we were five years ago. In fact, we are not where we were two years ago.
“Therefore, many things are improving. We know we are not yet there, but we should not discountenance the fact that a lot of progress has been made. We cannot wait and say we cannot practice e-payment until everything is perfect because that day will not come. Even if you go to the developed countries, you still have occasional failures.
“You still have communication challenges. It may not be as much as we have here, but they still happen. Therefore, I really would not want us to focus on a glass that is half-empty, let us focus on the portion that is half-full. We have the opportunities with us here, things are happening, and things are getting better. So, let us focus on the fact that it is growing and the challenges that are coming up are not irresolvable .
Accessing the impact of the policy so far, he noted that initiative has began to gain the peoples acceptance adding that people have seen it benefits.
“Cashless policy is the direction of the world. The convenience is so obvious. Even in Nigeria, the resistance that was there in the early days is beginning to thin out because people are beginning to see the benefits; they are seeing that this thing works, and things can only get better. So I see a situation in which more players will come. With the banks now fully on board on electronic payments, it is obvious that this is the direction things will go in the country as well”, he assured.
Speaking on electronic fraud, Obaro stated that fraud control is more easier in e-business .
“There has always been fraud wherever you have man and money. The bulk of cash are now moving from cash to electronic space; of course the robbers will follow. But the good news is that it is actually easier to put in controls in the electronic space. We are not saying fraud will not happen, but it becomes much easier to put in controls. With tracker, you can monitor where the money is going to and who is doing what.
“Thieves thrive under anonymity. When they know that they cannot be caught and nobody will know they did it, they will continue. But when they know that in the electronic space, they would be tracked though it takes time, they will retract. Yes, there is electronic fraud, but that I believe is more in the short term than in the long term”, he said.
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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