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E-Business

States, Local Govts. Get August Deadline on .ng

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Mrs. Mary Uduma, president, NiRA
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State governments’ ministries and parastatals as well as local governments in the country have till August this year to host their websites on the country’s top level domain name .ng, in a bid to protect state mechanism from deliberate and unintended abuse, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.

.ng is Nigeria’s Code Top Level domain name, an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for Nigeria only.

The aim is to set up and operate a unified ICT infrastructure platform that permeates through all tiers of government and its agencies.

The creation of the .ng domain based websites and email addresses followed discovery that some civil servants have inadvertently transmitted sensitive government data and information through their own free email addresses which pose national security challenges.

Mary Uduma, president, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) said that according to federal government directive to that effect, all state governments, their ministries and parastatals as well as local government are to host their website and emails on .ng by the end of August this year.

Uduma, said, to meet the deadline, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is collaborating with NIRA to ensure a smooth migration for the states and local governments.

She noted that for the federal government ministries, departments and agencies compliance to their directive, a steering committee has been set up under the supervision of head of service of the federation with Galaxy Backbone the federal government registrar for the migration to work out modalities for the migration.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recalled that e 2009, the federal government through Galaxy Backbone Plc, a public enterprise of the government had begun moves to replace so-called free email accounts like Yahoomail, hotmail used by government officials for communication with accounts ending in .ng.

Uduma added that NIRA is expecting to have some 2,000 websites from governments’ ministries, departments and agencies with additional 40,000 emails when the directives are fully complied with.

Aside government ministries and parastatals, she said that .ng registrars with the approval of NIRA are planning promos aimed at creating awareness on .ng.

“Registrars are planning promos such as Centenary promo among others where some websites will be registered free to increase the number of website on .ng. From these promos we are targeting about 150,000 in addition to existing 50,000 registrations and others we could achieve our projection of 250,000 registrations at the end of the year,” she said. 

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations however revealed that most businesses in the country shun .ng but rather prefer to register -ng.com or ng.com as against .ng.

Same is the case with emails where senior government officers are using yahoo, gmail among other email accounts against secured email account of their ministry account.

Ope Odusan, managing director of Africa.com Domain Services, said that the numbers of electronic mail also known as email on yahoo portal which belong to Nigerians are put at 2 million.

He explained that said that yahoo was able to attract this number of Nigerians to its email portal because the company offered the service free. He urged the federal government to replicate similar incentive to encourage Nigerian businesses to register with .ng which is the country’s top level domain name.

According to him, government could offer incentives such as one year tax break for any business that is registered in .ng or enter into public private partnership with information and communications technology companies that are capable of building hybrid data centres using energy efficient power to make the hosting of websites in the country cheaper.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations revealed that there are only 50,000 businesses registered in .ng while .com, .net and .org account for 600,000 of Nigerian businesses.

It was also gathered that other foreign domain names outside the three mentioned has some 50,000 Nigeria businesses on them, bringing the total of 650,000 of Nigerian businesses that are registered with foreign domain names.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has clarified that all its verification service platforms remain fully functional and accessible to all authorized partners, including security agencies.

NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

Abisoye Coker-Odusote, DG, NIMC

In a statement on Thursday, the Commission firmly denied claims that it had denied the Police Service Commission (PSC) access to its verification server.

Dr. Kayode Adegoke, head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, described the reported “inability of the Police Service Commission to access the NIMC verification server” as misleading and inaccurate.

He suggested that any challenges faced by the PSC may be due to internal issues within the commission itself, not from NIMC’s end.

The statement reads: “To set the record straight, the NIMC granted verification access to all Nigerian Police formations for the verification of the National Identification Number (NIN). The NPF, PSC and other security agencies have been enjoying uninterrupted verification services for over five years.

“NIMC has provided top-notch verification services for recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, as conducted by the PSC and at no time have there been any complaints or issues regarding NIN Verification by the NPF or PSC.

“The Commission has a robust and harmonious working relationship with the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission. The Information Communications and Technology (ICT) department of the Nigeria Police Force is actively managing the long-standing verification and integration service between the NIMC and all Nigeria Police formations.Entertainment tourism packages

“NIMC will continue to provide flawless verification services for the purpose of recruitment, security mapping, cybercrime control, and any other security matters.

“The framework by which NIMC provides services to the security agencies was recently restructured for standardization and effective implementation, following consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser, and NPF has confirmed the verification services have continued to be available. We therefore believe that any service interruption experienced by PSC may be due to internal matters.

“NIMC is committed to providing excellent verification services to the PSC, NPF and all its partners but the terms and conditions inherent must be adhered to for uninterrupted flow of service.”


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Nigeria Strengthens Cybersecurity, Launches National Cleanup Plan

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Nigerian government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has announced a strategic collaboration to strengthen cybersecurity and clean up the nation’s cyberspace.

Nigeria Strengthens Cybersecurity, Launches National Cleanup Plan

Recognizing that cybercrime knows no borders, Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to fostering stronger global partnerships within the cybersecurity ecosystem.

This announcement was made during a press conference before the inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Abuja from July 9th to 11th, 2025.

Sa’ad Abubakar, national cybersecurity coordinator from the Office of National Security Advisor, said fighting cybercrime must take the whole of society and the whole of the government approach.

According to him, “Apart from the deterrent approach whereby government agencies such as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrest individuals, take them to court and prosecute them, the youth can be nurtured into better citizens who can showcase their capacity in better ways and be useful to the country.”

Similarly, Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA,  also stressed the need for collaborative efforts in fighting cybercrimes.

According to him “Then, in addition to that, we also want to build a stronger global collaboration with the global cyber security ecosystem, because when you look at cybercrime in general, it doesn’t respect the borders.

“Someone can commit a crime from Ghana using a Nigerian ID in the US. So you can look at him physically in a different jurisdiction, pretending to be in another jurisdiction, committing the crime in another jurisdiction.

“So without that kind of synergy and working together, it will be difficult to address these challenges. The third one is challenge. The third one is getting an alternative to cybercrime for our kids in Nigeria. We have this as a major challenge.”

Inuwa further highlighted the upcoming conference’s importance, noting that it would tackle key issues through workshops, discussions on emerging threats, cross-border cybersecurity collaboration strategies, and training programmes.

He also announced that the National Cybersecurity Conference 2025 would feature the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, recognising top contributions in the field.

The DG extended an invitation to global partners to collaborate with Nigeria in building a safer digital future.

The press conference was attended by notable figures, including Ahmad Sa’ad Abubakar, National Coordinator of, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC); Hanniel Jafar, Representative of the President, of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN); Ankit Shukla, Managing Director, QNA Marketing Management LLC and members of the press and other stakeholders.


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AXIAN Telecom Invests in Jumia Post-MTN Era

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XIAN Telecom has acquired an 8% stake in pan-African e-commerce company Jumia Technologies, citing the platform’s fintech and logistics strengths as key drivers of its backing.

This marks the first major telecom investment in Jumia since MTN Group’s exit in 2020.

AXIAN, a fast-growing telecom and digital services provider with operations across Africa, disclosed the purchase in a Schedule 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

While the financial terms were not disclosed, AXIAN Telecom CEO, Hassan Jaber, described the move as a strategic alignment with Jumia’s growth trajectory and digital ecosystem.

“Jumia’s achievements in digital retail and fintech, particularly through JumiaPay and its logistics network, make it a very attractive investment for us. We believe in Jumia’s potential to promote financial and economic inclusion, which aligns with our core values,” said Jaber.

Once dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia became the first African-founded tech company to list on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.

But years of underperformance, leadership changes, and competitive pressures dented investor confidence.

In October 2020, South Africa’s MTN Group offloaded its 18.9% stake for $138 million, well below the $698 million value it once held post-IPO.

Since then, Jumia has undergone a significant transformation. Under CEO Francis Dufay, appointed in 2022, the company exited low-performing markets like South Africa and Tunisia, cut costs, and doubled down on core markets – Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco.

The firm is now focused on high-growth verticals, including everyday essentials and digital financial services.

Jumia’s regional CEO for East Africa, Vinod Goel, recently revealed plans to scale up international brand offerings and open its logistics network to third-party businesses.

Jaber underscored that AXIAN Telecom’s investment signals renewed confidence in Jumia’s long-term potential.

The telecom firm’s CEO said the company views Jumia as a key player in advancing Africa’s digital economy, aligning with AXIAN’s mission through its fintech and digital infrastructure brands such as Yas and Mixx by Yas.

 


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