Stakeholders unveil gender-sensitive media guidelines to drive inclusive election reporting in Nigeria - ITREALMS

Media professionals, editors, and democratic governance advocates have been presented with a practical framework aimed at transforming election coverage across Nigeria: the newly released Gender Sensitive Media Guidelines for Media Coverage of the Electoral Process in Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

Developed to address the long-standing underrepresentation and stereotyping of women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), youth, and other historically marginalized groups, the comprehensive publication promotes ethical, balanced journalism designed to strengthen democratic participation and institutional accountability.

UK deepens digital partnership with Nigeria to drive inclusive economic growth - ITREALMS

The United Kingdom government has announced a major expansion of its bilateral collaboration with Nigeria, launching a robust suite of technical and regulatory initiatives under the UK’s flagship Digital Access Programme to accelerate the country’s burgeoning digital economy, reports ITREALMS.

At the core of this deepened partnership is the introduction of the State-level Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Reforms Enabling Digital Transformation (SPRIRET) initiative. The project was officially unveiled following a diplomatic visit by the UK Minister for Africa and International Development, Baroness Chapman MP.

DEMOCRACY DAY 2026: DigitalSENSE Africa calls for inclusive digital governance and public trust - ITREALMS

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As Nigeria commemorates Democracy Day today, June 12, 2026, leading tech-policy advocacy and research group, DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA), has urged stakeholders across government, the private sector, and civil society to intentionally strengthen the nation's democratic structures by deepening digital inclusion and protecting digital rights, reports ITREALMS.

In a statement marking the national holiday, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, Lead Convener of the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF) and Group Executive Editor of ITREALMS Media Group, noted that modern democracy is fundamentally intertwined with digital equity and public access to information.

FirstBank, Visa partner to deploy Naira Visa debit card for inclusive retail payments - ITREALMS

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Premier banking giant First Bank of Nigeria Limited has partnered with global payments leader Visa to launch the Naira Visa Debit Card, reports ITREALMS.

The deployment represents a standardized transformation in retail banking, strategically engineered to lower the entry barrier for electronic transactions and bring secure, everyday digital payment capabilities within seamless reach of millions of Nigerian consumers.

Digital Visionary: Uwaje pays tribute to late Prof. G.O. Ajayi, pushes for inclusive IT history - ITREALMS

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Former President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chief Chris Uwaje, has paid a profound tribute to the late Professor Gabriel Olalere Ajayi, hailing him as a "true cerebral digital enigma" whose vision was instrumental in institutionalizing Nigeria's National IT policy, reports ITREALMS.

The tribute was delivered at the lecture and launch of the Prof. G.O. Ajayi Foundation, an initiative established to honor and "reincarnate the overwhelming vision" of the late Professor.

GOCOP, IPC sign MoU to advance inclusive reporting of gender issues in democratic process - ITREALMS

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The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the International Press Centre (IPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote inclusive reporting of gender issues in Nigeria's democratic and electoral process, reports ITREALMS.

This partnership, signed on November 3, 2025, aims to ensure women and minority groups, such as Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), have a platform to participate in politics and governance.

Telecom, fintech leaders push for strategic partnerships, inclusive policies @WATISE 2025

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The 2025 edition of the West Africa Telecommunications Infrastructure Summit & Exhibition (WATISE) concluded in Lagos with a resounding call for governments, regulators, and industry players to deepen collaboration, protect telecom infrastructure, and accelerate inclusive digital access across the region.

Held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos, the summit convened key stakeholders from the telecommunications, technology, and financial services sectors under the theme: “Digitalising the West African Economy: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities for Critical Stakeholders.”

2023 loading: Atiku promises inclusive government of national unity, if elected - ITREALMS

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The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has revealed plans to run an inclusive government of national unity, if elected next year, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at Editors' Forum hosted by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Lagos on Wednesday, Atiku who commended the guild for making efforts at ensuring that the meeting held, noted that media roles in democratic restoration cannot be over-emphasised.

Impact of Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Opportunity to build resilient, inclusive food systems in Africa - ITREALMS

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While Africa is yet to fully recover from the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses another major threat to the global economy with many African countries being directly affected.

Just within a few weeks, global wheat, sunflower, and oil crude prices have soared to unprecedented levels. Africa is heavily reliant on food imports from both countries, and the Continent is already experiencing price shocks and disruptions in the supply chain of these commodities.

Exclusive! Okere advocates business leaders must run inclusive enterprises - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The founder of the CWG Plc, Mr. Austin Okere has charged Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders on improving business climate by ensuring and running an inclusive enterprise, reports ITREALMS.

Okere in a keynote address to the Indian Professional Association (IPA) at the December 2018 monthly Forum, while dwelling on ‘Re-Imagining the Workplace for Greater Productivity’ advocated an inclusive business climate that disabuses employees suspicious of the leadership of their organisations.

He noted that over 70 per cent of the delegates had a deep distrust of their employees, stressing that staff is usually suspicious of the motives of the leadership initiating change.

“This is accentuated when the change does not seem to have the three distinctive characteristics of – Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence,” he said.

Okere said that many organizations do not clearly define their purpose or their cause, that is, why they exist and why anybody should care, to an extent that they become “a purpose and vision that employees can believe in and want to be a part of.”

According to him, it is not all about the pay but also about self-worth and pride in the job; the notion of being part of something special.

“Employees reported having more trust in their companies when the organization recognizes them for their contributions, provides opportunities for involvement and communicates effectively,” Okere said.

In some cases, he said, staffs are not loyal, ungrateful and always disgruntled, stealing or doing underhand deals, resigning without notice and consideration as well as the biggest complaint by far was that staffs are running their own businesses on the side; most times in the same business segment.

On the other hand, business leaders, he said, are forced to change from both internal and external pressures.

He cited some of the external pressures to include markets and customers, technology, competitive pressures and with leadership as internal.

Leadership, he said, is about change, management is about preservation; and therein lies the source of internal conflict.

The staff is usually suspicious of the motives of the leadership initiating change. This is accentuated when the change does not seem to have the three distinctive characteristics of – Intensity, Integrity and Intelligence.

The survey showed that change at work was linked to Employee Stress, Distrust and Intent to Quit. So, let us say the distrust between employers and employees is mutual. Why is this so, and could there a balance?

Employees reported having more trust in their companies when the organization recognizes them for their contributions, provides opportunities for involvement and communicates effectively.

Many management books, he said, talk about pride in working for great companies such as Coca-Cola, Chrysler and IBM; and more recently, Google, Tesla, and Facebook and Infosys. I recently read that it will be hard to tempt anybody working for Elon Musk even with a 50 per cent additional salary offer.

He further cited an instance in Nigeria with GT Bank, which is a good example of what could qualify as corporate apostles, maintaining that the GT Bank Staff were so proud to belong to the company, and so loyal to the brand, even when they left the bank.

“It is exactly this culture that we created at CWG Plc; the culture of touching a heart and asking for a hand,” he said.

Many employers are so disconnected from their employees that they would easily miss a major tragedy in their personal circumstances, which is not to say that we should run a nursery, but at the same time, employees are not machines, they are emotional beings.

“A little empathy can go a long way. I call it gathering coins of goodwill in your pocket. People joined our company because they believed in our why – providing technology solutions that enable growth.

“It greatly helped that we run an open and equitable system. Nothing is hidden. Nothing needs to be; if we are co-travellers on a common journey to a common destination.

“Openness engenders trust and engagement – lack of effective communication leaves room for dangerous rumours. Everybody knows when we are doing well, and also when the tide is against us.

“At one of our most challenging periods, following the global financial meltdown, we all agreed to a temporary 30 per cent cut in commissions, which will be accumulated and paid when our fortune turned (and Yes; everybody had a fixed and variable salary as part of skin in the game). Our contemporaries asked jokingly what I had given the staff at CWG that made them so loyal to the company.

“Perhaps it is this something about CWG that interested both Columbia Business School (CBS) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to write case studies on the company for their MBA curricula. I speak about CWG Plc because this is the company I know.

“Our mantra was to treat everybody as an owner so that they see the big picture. The staffs have very high autonomy and there is a deep alignment, and therefore they displayed a deep sense of responsibility and accountability. We embrace mistakes as part of learning, albeit you cannot make the same mistake twice!”

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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US committed to inclusive women @workplace - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The United States Consul General F. John Bray has reiterated the commitment of the US government to inclusive women at the work place, reports ITRealms.

Speaking in Lagos on “Transforming the Future:  Women Mentoring Women in the Workplace” Tuesday, Mr. John Bray said they are committed to advocating for and including women in the workplace both in the United States and abroad.

He pointed out that the first female diplomat was hired in the 1920s but she had to resign when she married.

“The ‘marriage rule’ was not abolished until the late 1970s,” he said.

John Bray recalled that when he joined the Department, the State Department workforce was 27 per cent, were most of these people doing clerical work. 

“It is now 40 percent, but still not the 50 percent we are committed to achieving,” he said, stressing that the number of female diplomats has remained steady at 30 per cent for the past decade. 

“The percentage of senior positions held by women at the State Department is at an all-time high – 30 per cent,” he declared.

Pointing for instance, that through structured mentoring programmes run by Executive Women at State and our Human Resources bureau, the United States has been working to increase the number of women in line with our goal of having a workforce that reflects the makeup of U.S. society.

“To support women internationally, we established the office of Global Women’s affairs in 1995.  We have identified assisting women to achieve senior positions in both the private and public sector as a priority. One of the many programs that we have includes the Global Women’s Mentoring programme,” he said..

Ogochukwu Nebenanya/GEE

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Airtel CEO says digital Nigeria to drive inclusive growth

ITRealms:

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, has asserted that efforts by the Federal Government to prioritize digitization, will drive inclusive growth for the populace, reports ITRealms.

Addressing audience at the Nigeria Stock Exchange CEO Roundtable, on “Navigating the changing landscape of business in Nigeria,” he said the mass adoption of connected digital services by consumers, enterprises, and governments, will emerge as a major driver and enabler of socioeconomic benefits, driving inclusive growth across sectors.

Implementing a vision of digital Nigeria, he said, will not only help diversify the economy for good but will also create massive employment opportunities and provide citizens opportunities and access to education, health, while opening up other sectors.

He buttressed this position by saying that the massive impact of digitization to economic growth and development, will increase a country’s scorecard and fuel growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.

“ICT is important to every sector as it provides the right platform to drive the economy,” he said.

Further, he urged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to classify the telecoms sector under manufacturing as this will enable players in the sector benefit from the current Foreign Exchange direction.

Ogunsanya noted that the sector manufactures recharge cards and also provide high end telecommunications equipment that helps accelerate growth and adoption of mobile Internet and voice services in the country.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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