E-Business
Signal Alliance, SAP Partner on IT Summit for DISCOs
Signal Alliance, one of the most innovative end-to-end technology solution providers in the country in collaboration with their technical partners – SAP and the Federal Ministry of Power penultimate Thursday in Abuja, organized an expository conference for the Successor Electricity Distributions Companies (DISCOs) on the value proposition of information technology tools, processes and solutions in the sector.
The event, which took place at the prestigious Sheraton Hotels in the Federal Capital, attracted the attention of the major players in the reformed Nigeria power sector, consultants and other stakeholders in the sector.
In his presentation, Andrew Strachan, head, Energy Division, SAP Africa, reminded the DISCOs that, though the power sector can have daunting challenges, the role of technology – specifically SAP – is to reduce to the barest minimum these challenges and help create a favourable environment for the business to yield maximum revenue for the investors and best services for the consumers.
He said that some of the factors currently affecting the power sector include changed market structure, technology, and competition.
His words: “With utility companies needing HR, Purchasing, Operations, Billing, CRM, Maintenance, Finance management, there’s need to partner with experienced solution providers like SAP because we have the most experience in the running of utilities globally and in Africa with proof of delivering end-to-end solutions from ERP to CRM and billing Contract Accounting to device management”.
Explaining that SAP does only business application software and has been in Africa since 1988, Mr. Strachan retreated that DISCOs must use the most robust system and processes to capture, cleanse and manage all data entities quickly and ensure shareholder ROI faster.
With issues ranging from managing power grids, to operational and customer service, the organizers of the IT summit expounded on realistic theories and experiences gathered from implementing similar solutions for power companies in more advanced economies. Kaecy Udumukwu, a CISCO expert spoke about the importance of IT tools in the networking, collaboration and tracking of assets.
Describing the focus of CISCO as “ trying to solve our customers’ most important business problems by delivering intelligent networks and technology architectures built on integrated products services and platforms”, Udumukwu stated that CISCO, through its partnership with Signal Alliance, can develop Smart Networks to ensure operational excellence. One way of doing so, according to him, is through the deployment of the CISCO Smart Grid®.
This is explained to be a holistic, cross-technology solution that enables organizations in the power sector to build secure, standards-based IP networks to efficiently meet the demands of energy generation, distribution, storage and consumption. Combining products, technologies, services and partners that use communications, improve resilience and reduce cost and complexity of the energy grid.
In his remarks, Erabor Okogun, chief corporate adviser of Signal Alliance, explained that the motivation for the IT summit was to show the players in the reformed power sector the value inherent in partnering with technology solution providers with proven clout and experience like Signal Alliance, in delivering quality IT solutions and systems. “Signal Alliance is in partnership with major OEMs such as SAP, Cisco and CA technologies, he said, “to combine skills and experience in order to deliver best-of-class services and solutions to ensure revenue management and provide better service to consumers,” he concluded.
With about 17years in the Nigerian IT sector and highest level of partnerships with world-class OEMs, Signal Alliance is said to be poised to bring this experience and expertise to bear in the power sector.
Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) is in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and needs urgent reforms to revive it, according to Isaac Kekemeke, board chairman of the service.
Kekemeke, who spoke at a workshop organised for NIPOST staff in Abuja yesterday, added that it is now time to go the whole hog to reform and make NIPOST fulfill its destiny to compare and compete favourably with multinational postal agencies.
“The approach may not be palatable at all times but we need to take the tough but necessary decisions to exit the intensive care unit. We are either out of ICU in good health or head for the morgue. NIPOST either functions effectively now as a commercialised state operator or gets privatised, so that myself, the PMG, and a good number of you risk the loss of our jobs,” the chairman said.
No doubt, he added, “Change is not always easy as many loathe change because of the uncertainty it brings but it is in my place to urge you all to embrace the change we advocate.”
The Internet Society’s six-month Fellowship Peering program continues to help make internet access affordable, dependable, and resilient. The program, according to the global charitable organisation, is targeted for fifteen professionals in the peering and interconnection sector.
“It offers a unique opportunity to build the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to improve local Internet infrastructure and policy,” according to the site’s description.
The fellowship participants will participate in a comprehensive curriculum that includes virtual training sessions, collaborative forums, and technical and advocacy-based instruction on routing, Internet Exchange Points, and policy.
The fellowship culminates in attendance at a global peering event, which provides direct experience and networking opportunities with important voices in the Internet community.
The fellowship enhances participants’ impact in their particular nations by developing engagement with seasoned professionals and boosting regional and global collaboration. The program invites fellows to return to their communities prepared to expand interconnectivity, improve policy conditions, and make a meaningful contribution to the development of the Internet ecosystem.
Applicants must have at least three years of Internet experience and be based in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, or Asia-Pacific.
Eligibility also required proper travel documentation and availability to attend important events such as African Peering and Interconnection Forum, Latin American and Caribbean Network Operators Forum, or Peering Asia, as well as a commitment of roughly four hours per week over six months.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called for the withdrawal of the amendment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 because it seeks to regulate the activities of bloggers operating within the territorial boundaries of Nigeria.
The organisation in its letter urged Mr Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, and Mr Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to “immediately withdraw the repressive bill.”
The titled A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to Mandate the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Territorial Boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms and for Related Matters among others intends to regulate bloggers, including by requiring all bloggers to register local offices and join recognised national association for bloggers.
Currently, the bill has passed its first and second reading in the Senate.
In the letter signed its deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP asked Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas “to ensure that any amendment to the Nigeria Data Protection Act promotes and protects the rights of bloggers and other journalists and does not undermine the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”
It demanded an end to “the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the rights of Nigerians online and Internet-based content.”
In the letter dated April 12, 2025, the group said, “This bill is a blatant attempt to bring back and fast-track the obnoxious and widely rejected social media bill by the back-door.”
“If passed, the bill would also be used to ban major social media platforms—including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and independent bloggers if they ‘continuously fail to establish/register and maintain physical offices in Nigeria for a period of 30 days.
“Lawmakers should not become arbiters of truth in the public and political domain. Regulating the activities of bloggers and forcing them to associate would have a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression and lead to censorship or restraint.
“Should the National Assembly and its leadership fail to withdraw the bill to regulate the activities of bloggers, and should any such bill be assented to by President Bola Tinubu, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to challenge the legality of any such law and ensure it is never implemented in the public interest,” the organisation warned.
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