General News
#VPTourOfTech: NITDA Is Paying Close Attention

By Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, PhD
When the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, gave his steering speech at the 2016 e-Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition, emphasising the point that the President Buhari administration is set to reset Nigeria’s economic architecture by diversifying from oil dependency and leveraging on ICT as a critical contributor to the economy, some people felt it was the usual talk by political leaders, without any intention to bring the vision to fruition.
But events have come to prove that real change is happening in the way government is engaging with Tech.
In 2017, Mr President himself attended the e-Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition to give his scorecard on support for the Information Technology sector and his plans for its further development.
It was therefore not a surprise when I received the mail that I was to join His Excellency the Vice President (VP) for a tour of the Innovation Hubs in Lagos.
Although NITDA through its Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) embarked on a similar trip in November 2017, having to accompany the VP is something special.
The purpose of the visit was to gain first-hand knowledge of the innovation ecosystem.
The Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonaya Onu, was also on the VP’s entourage.
This was not a regular official function, it was not a time of talking and lecturing the citizens about what government has done or not done; it was a time to LISTEN.
Indeed we listened to our young, vibrant, passionate and highly motivated youths. They demonstrated to us that the best of Nigeria is yet to be unveiled.
It was a tour that gave hope to all. The young people saw in the government team, a breath of fresh thinking.
They did not see the grand-standing and disruptiveness that such a visit would have caused in the past.
They remained at their work, coding, some were eating some were taking selfies with the VP. It was such a joy to see the glee on everyone that day.
We listened to the Paystack story, how Shola and Ezra began a quiet revolution in payments processing back in 2014.
Paystack has now become one of the most efficient payment processors in the country.
Many did not pay attention to Andela until Mark Zuckerberg announced an investment in the Startup.
Andela set out to solve the problem of top-class IT skills gap in Africa and the world.
Andela recruits interns after a rigorous process in which less than 1% of over 70,000 scale through.
The interns then go through a six-month intensive bootcamp that sharpens them to become world-class.
The energy, intelligence and zeal of the over 500 strong office of young people in T-shirts and Jeans is enthralling.
Sulyman, the VP Global Operations, gave the visitors an expose on the business model, opportunities and challenges of Andela.
Flutterwave is sited in a bunker-like structure. This company was founded by a team of ex-bankers, entrepreneurs and engineers.
In less than two years of its founding this payment gateway has processed transactions valued over $2 billion and has over 45,000 merchants.
Time would fail me to talk about Autogenius, Carido, Asoko Insight, Branch.
These are startups that provide solutions ranging from auto-mechanics, micro insurance, micro loans, corporate intelligence etc.
Indeed the Nigerian genius is unleashed and we at NITDA are paying close attention.
We visited 6 places and listened to 14 Startups tell us what they do.
FarmCrowdy solves the problem of under-utilized arable farm lands, help farmers access capital, help people invest in agriculture without owning a farm and everybody gets a share of the profit.
That is amazing indeed. At Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) operated by Access Bank Plc.
we saw an organisation getting itself ready for the new face of banking and finance.
The final stop was at Co-Creation Hub, Yaba.
This pioneering beehive of innovation is not resting on its oars.
Cc-Hub is giving Nigeria its first home-grown cyber-security platform called Safe-Online.
In the same place we met Re-Learn, a Startup that is working to transform difficult educational concepts into funny cartoons.
We spoke with the Managing Partner of Growth Capital, Tunji Eleso who told us how they are helping fund innovations of Nigerians by Nigerian investors.
Throughout the tour, I as the Director General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA)paid very close attention and took notes copiously.
I noted the opportunities and challenges of the sector as well as the impact or gap of our interventions as an Agency of Federal Government.
Since we came on-board, I had often reiterated my resolve to impact the ‘Forgotten Ones’ in the tech ecosystem.
By this I mean the enterprising Startups, the Women, Children and small enterprises.
One of the things we did was to reposition OIIE not as a competitor with the Hubs, rather to be a facilitator and policy compass to ensure the sector got all what it needed to grow.
In this regard, we prepared a draft of the Nigerian ICT Innovation And Entrepreneurship Framework(NIIEF).
The objective of the Framework is to cast a vision for the ICT innovation ecosystem, identify the stakeholders, define critical roles of NITDA in their development and responsibilities of all stakeholders.
A stakeholders’ engagement was held in the 4th quarter of 2017, where representatives of the Hubs, Academia, States and Federal Government all made inputs to the Draft.
The Draft was further scrutinized at the recently organised I4Policy Hackathon held in Lagos and Abuja.
Inputs of stakeholders have been taken and would continue to be until we have a document fit-for-purpose.
The IT Projects Clearance function of NITDA has also become a veritable instrument to empower Startups in Nigeria.
The Committee has been gathering data to identify IT projects that can be reserved for the small-scale tech companies.
Our goal is to engage the relevant Agencies to find a way to reduce the entry barrier for young people to bid and win government contracts in areas they have shown relative competence.
Also, we have insisted on local content where such capacities exist. Another initiative we are experimenting at NITDA is to match Startups and Hubs with successful winners of our project bids.
This has proven successful in some of our programmes and projects as the young innovators bring agility and fresh-thinking to the process while getting experience and finance.
We would ensure this programme continues and grows to become a model for implementing IT and other projects in Nigeria.
Indeed, the creative zeal and passion of the Nigerian youth has caught the attention of the world and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is paying close attention and giving the necessary support without disrupting the disruptors.
General News
FG Faults AfDB’s Adesina on Nigeria’s GDP Per Capita Figures

The Presidency has faulted claim of Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank (AfDB), on the current Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita figures versus the level it was in 1960 when Nigeria attained independence.

Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank
The outgoing AfDB President had in a recent viral statement claimed that Nigerians are worse off today than in 1960 when Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1847..
The AfDB President claimed that in contrast to the level of the GDP per capita at Nigeria independence, the country’s current GDP stands at $824 today, a reflection of the current rampant poverty and low human development in the country.
But in a rebuttal of the claim, the presidency, in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu accused the AfDB President of failure to carry out proper research and speaking like a politician in his assertions.
“Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” the presidency said while faulting the claim of the AfDB President.
While countering the claim of Adesina, the presidency noted in the statement that available data indicated that Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not even one hundred dollars.
“Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned. In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981. Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982. In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200.
“These facts raise questions about the source of Dr Adesina’s figures,” Onanuga said.
However, the presidency also faulted the AfDB President, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture of making inferences on the state of poverty or human development in Nigeria solely based on the GPD per capita numbers. .
“Dr Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards.
“Its primary usefulness is in giving us the metrics to compare economic output in a country or between countries.
“GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy. It neither discloses wealth distribution or income inequality nor accounts for the informal economy, which experts have said is enormous. It does not account for subsistence farming or income transfer from one family member to another,” the presidency said.
The Presidency also noted that GDP per capita is not reflective of the fact that Nigerians in 2025 have better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport, than in 1960.
“This premise alone suggests why Dr Adesina should not have arrived at his conclusion.
“Compared with 1960, Nigeria today has more primary, secondary, and tertiary schools.
“We have more road networks and more medical facilities, private and public. We have phenomenal access to telephones.
“At Independence, we had 18,724 operational phone lines for a population of about 45 million. Over 200 million Nigerians now enjoy near-universal access to mobile phones and digital services, indicating we are better off today than 65 years ago.”
Furthermore, the presidency noted that Nigerian policymakers know that whatever GDP figure NBS publishes may not capture our economy’s full depth and breadth as it usually excludes the greater part of the informal economy, which some pundits have said may even be more significant than the formal economy.
“This underscores why Dr. Adesina should have considered all aspects of our economy before concluding.”
“When Vodacom, a telecommunications company, considered entering the Nigerian market in 1999 or 2000, its consultants, using the available GDP metrics, advised against it.
“They believed that Nigerians were too poor to afford GSM services. However, MTN and other companies that entered the market later proved them wrong, demonstrating that GDP figures alone do not provide a complete picture of a country’s economic potential or the living standards of its people.
“MTN and other adventurers came later, and they laughed all the way to the bank. More than 20 years later, they are still laughing despite some setbacks in 2023 and 2024. In its first-quarter results this year, MTN declared revenue of N1 trillion and an increase of 8.2 percent in subscriptions, which took the number of its voice and data users to 84 million. Does this MTN experience correlate with a country worse off than in 1960, when we had analogue telephones and the number of lines was fewer than 20,000?
“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960. Today, as we await the NBS’s recalibration of our GDP, we can comfortably say without contradiction that it is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence.”
General News
SeamlessHR, AOPN Push Payroll Innovation for Nigeria’s Outsourcing Growth

Nigeria’s outsourcing industry, valued at approximately $980 million in 2023 and projected to exceed $1.8 billion by 2028, is at a pivotal moment. Despite an impressive annual growth rate of 12.56 per cent, the sector is weighed down by financial inefficiencies. Thin margins, inconsistent client payments, and outdated payroll systems have created conditions where salary delays are frequent and talent attrition is on the rise.
Across the industry, many workers now view delayed wage disbursements as normal, with employees often waiting weeks or even months to be paid. For outsourcing firms, the consequences extend beyond cash flow. Delayed salaries damage brand perception, undermine operational efficiency, and threaten long-term growth. The urgency for innovation in payroll and financial operations has never been greater.
In response, SeamlessHR, Africa’s leading human resource and payroll technology company, in partnership with the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), convened over 30 CEOs and managing directors from Nigeria’s top outsourcing firms on Thursday, April 30, 2025. Hosted at Four Points by Sheraton, Victoria Island, the high-level roundtable focused on transforming financial operations across the sector.
Themed “Enhance Business Efficiency Through Automation and Immersive Workflows,” the session spotlighted how intelligent financial infrastructure, fully integrated within HR and payroll systems, can drive business continuity, and improve employee satisfaction.
Key industry leaders in attendance included David Asama Dogeni, Senior Vice-President of Technology, UAC Group; Adebola David, Group Head, Human Capital at Halogen; Victor Adebayo, Chief Executive Officer, Diversity Talent Management Ltd; and Oke Egbi, Director, Embedded Finance, SeamlessHR. Also present were leading outsourcing firms such as Resource Intermediaries Ltd, Phillips Outsourcing Ltd, Workforce Group Ltd, Tribest Corporate Support Ltd, HR Indexx Ltd, among others. Together, they explored how the convergence of financial technology and workforce automation is emerging as a critical advantage for progressive businesses navigating economic uncertainty.
Speaking at the event, the President, Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria (AOPN), Mope Abudu, said, “This roundtable addresses a critical challenge in our industry. As key contributors to Nigeria’s economy, we cannot afford to be left behind in the wave of digital transformation shaping the future of work. The outsourcing sector must lead in efficiency and innovation, and the integration of intelligent systems that support workforce management. Today’s theme speaks directly to that need. By exploring solutions like embedded finance, we open new opportunities to enhance value delivery and improve operational efficiency across our industry. I extend my gratitude to SeamlessHR for bringing this event to life.”
A key focus of the discussion was the transformative impact of SeamlessHR’s Embedded FInance for employers and employees. SeamlessHR’s solution enables workers to access earned wages on-demand, bypassing the traditional pay cycle. Through seamless integration with payroll systems, employees can withdraw accrued earnings in real-time to address emergencies or manage cash flow gaps. Additionally, low-interest salary advances and built-in financial tools empower staff to avoid exploitative lenders and plan their finances with confidence.
For employers, the benefits are equally compelling. The solution provides up to ₦1 billion in payroll credit while offering bulk disbursement capabilities, enabling seamless salary payments for entire workforces at once. Tailored to Nigeria’s outsourcing realities, It eliminates reliance on external loans and equips companies with real-time access to funds, making salary payments faster, more efficient, and more transparent This financial infrastructure not only stabilizes businesses but restores worker trust, a critical factor in an industry where talent retention is of great importance.
“Outsourcing companies face daily liquidity issues, irregular cash flow, and growing payroll obligations,” said Oke Egbi, Director, Embedded Finance, SeamlessHR. “SeamlessHR’s Embedded Finance closes that gap by integrating capital into the payroll system to ensure people get paid on time, operations run seamlessly, and CEOs sleep better at night. When employees no longer stress about delayed salaries, their engagement and output improves dramatically. ”
The partnership between SeamlessHR and AOPN signals a shared commitment to transforming Nigeria’s outsourcing sector through smarter, more efficient financial systems. By combining SeamlessHR’s embedded finance solution with AOPN’s industry reach, the collaboration delivers a scalable model that boosts competitiveness, simplifies workforce operations, and supports sustainable growth.
General News
How Investments in Reskilling and Trust Help Businesses Succeed in the Agentic AI Era


Linda Saunders
Businesses that fail to adopt agentic AI, however, risk disruption by competitors or savvy upstarts. This demands a proactive and strategic response from leaders. In this new era of human-AI collaboration, leaders must center their efforts around two key pillars: large-scale employee reskilling and establishing a trustworthy AI ecosystem.
Reskilling for the agentic AI era
With just 15% of workers saying that they have the education and training necessary to use AI effectively, reskilling must be a priority for every business leader.
Employees must be given access to learning opportunities so they can adopt human-AI collaboration skills, including a foundational understanding of agentic AI and prompt engineering — a way to provide clear and effective instructions to AI systems.
Consider, for instance, the evolving role of developers. With AI agents capable of handling routine coding, developers can focus on bigger-picture tasks like system design and future planning.
According to Salesforce’s latest State of IT survey of software development leaders, more than nine in 10 developers are excited about AI’s impact on their careers, and an overwhelming 96% expect it to change the developer experience for the better. More than four in five believe AI agents will become as essential to app development as traditional software tools, the survey found.
In addition to technical abilities, cultivating human and business skills is vital for fostering a trusted environment where teams feel comfortable experimenting with AI. And, as every employee increasingly manages individual or even teams of agents, developing basic managerial skills across the workforce will become increasingly important.
Identifying the skills is just the first step. To succeed in the agentic AI era, businesses need to develop a comprehensive strategy that incorporates these skills into their workforce plan. This includes setting clear, measurable goals and actively tracking progress.
Managers need to provide active guidance and support to employees throughout this transformation, ensuring the workforce remains relevant and engaged.
Adopting trusted AI across the ecosystem
As the capabilities of agents grow, so too does the responsibility to manage associated risks. It’s imperative to ensure these systems are fair and prevent stereotypes or alienation. The very qualities that make AI transformative can also lead to biases and erode trust if not managed.
To fully harness the potential of agentic AI, businesses must prioritize trust and safety at every stage of development and deployment. This means implementing strong security measures and adhering to ethical AI practices to safeguard data and ensure responsible use.
Guardrails for AI agents can be established using natural language topics and instructions specifying when an agent should escalate or transfer a task to a human. Concerns around data privacy and potential biases must be proactively addressed through strong data protection protocols and transparent communication.
Equally important are tools that foster transparency and empower users to make informed decisions regarding task delegation to AI. Employees need a clear understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the AI agents they collaborate with, alongside having control over the tasks being automated.
A key feature of Agentforce is its capacity for autonomous operation within specifically defined guardrails. This means that while AI agents can operate independently, making decisions and taking actions, they do so within boundaries established by human teams, ensuring alignment with business objectives and policies. The Einstein Trust Layer enables Agentforce to use any LLM safely by ensuring that no Salesforce data is viewed or retained by third-party model providers.
The power of reskilling and trust to drive innovation
The transition to an AI-powered future will bring challenges, particularly ensuring employees have access to the right infrastructure, high-quality data, and relevant skills.
However, by investing in reskilling and comprehensive training programs, organizations can empower teams to work effectively alongside AI agents, adapt to the evolving nature of work, and ultimately drive innovation in this age of digital labor.
Building a robust infrastructure that prioritizes trust and safety, and fosters transparency, will also be instrumental in mitigating disruptions and unlocking new opportunities for growth.
Ultimately, investing in both AI agents and human employees, and actively fostering their collaboration in a trusted way, will enable businesses to operate at scale and realize their full potential in the agentic AI era.
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