New chapter @African Development Bank Group as Sidi Ould Tah takes over presidency - ITREALMS

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The African Development Bank Group is embarking on a new chapter with the inauguration of Dr. Sidi Ould Tah as its 9th President, reports ITREALMS.

Born in 1964, the same year the bank was founded, Dr. Tah brings a wealth of experience and a legacy of unity to his new role.

NNPC Ltd/TotalEnergies' $550m Ubeta upstream gas project takes off - ITREALMS

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The $550 million upstream gas project between the NNPC Ltd and TotalEnergies on the development of the Ubeta field has taken off, the Presidency announced on Tuesday.

Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this during an inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.

Tiwa's 'Water and Garri' movie premier: TECNO booth takes center stage - ITREALMS

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The recent premiere of the highly anticipated film Water and Garri was nothing short of a star-studded affair. Its compelling storyline and stellar performances captured audiences. Held at the Livesport Event Center, the event drew A-list celebrities, industry insiders, and eager fans, all eager to witness the cinematic spectacle unfold.

One of the most memorable aspects of the evening was the irresistible allure of the TECNO booth, where celebrities couldn't get enough of the state-of-the-art devices on display. From snapping selfies with the latest TECNO smartphones to exploring the myriad features and functionalities, it was clear that TECNO had struck a chord with its audience.

Lagos SAT takes campaign to Eti-Osa East chairman – ITREALMS

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The Lagos State Advocacy Team (SAT) has taken campaign to the office of the Executive Chairman, Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. John Campos Ogundare, reports ITREALMS.

They also called for scaling up in addressing facilities and personnel challenges identified at the Addo and Araromi Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) for appropriate actions.

FG takes crucial step towards sustainable waste with regulations - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian government has taken an important step towards sustainable waste management today, with amendments to national environmental regulations to tackle the country’s growing e-waste problem.

Nigeria is the leading importer of electrical and electronic equipment on the African continent, processing over half a million tons of discarded electronics each year.

INEC takes last BVAS delivery for 2023 elections- ITREALMS

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken delivery of the last consignment of the BiModal Votor Accreditation System (BVAS) reports ITREALMS.


The National Commissioner & Chairman, INEC, Festus Okoye Esq, confirmed this to ITREALMS on Wednesday.

This, he said was in furtherance of the preparations for the 2023 General Election, the Commission, on Tuesday, 3rd January 2023, received the last consignment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation (BVAS) machines with 52 days to the election.

The Hack: 9mobile takes entrepreneurship mentoring to Port Harcourt - ITREALMS

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Acclaimed Nigeria's innovative and SME-friendly telecommunications company, 9mobile, has taken its third edition of the The Hack to the city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, reports ITREALMS.

The Hack, ITREALMS gathered is an initiative to spur growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

Airtel Touching Lives Season 7 takes stage - ITREALMS

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Telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering and uplifting underprivileged people across communities where it operates as it announces the commencement of the seventh edition of its flagship CSR and sustainability initiative, ‘Airtel Touching Lives’.

Speaking during the press conference held in Lagos, Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil, noted that Airtel Touching Lives Initiative is an opportunity for the telco to further connect with the several communities where they serve as well as focus on Airtel Africa sustainability agenda.

Pantami takes digital economic agenda to Minna - ITREALMS

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The Federal Government’s agenda to transform the country to a robust digital economy, became the focal point in the message of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, who was the special guest at the weekend commissioning of a ‘Digital Nigeria Centre’ at the Father O’Connel Science College, Minna, Niger State.

Hosted at the occasion by the college community led by its old student and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada who facilitated the project executed by the Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF, Pantami said through diligent implementation of the digital economy agenda, Nigeria has the potential of critical mass of ‘digital natives’ that can transform the country into a regional and global digital powerhouse.

Muoka takes over from Adinde as DPA @NCC - ITREALMS

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Former director, Special Duties at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Reuben Muoka has assumed office as the new Director of Public Affairs (DPA) Department of NCC, reports ITREALMS.

This is coming as Muoka took over from the immediate past DPA, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde whom he swapped portfolio with as the Director, Special Duties.

Samory Kpotufe takes Bell prize 2018 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Nokia has revealed the top three winners of its fifth annual Bell Labs Prize with Samory Kpotufe, taking the top prize for this year as star winner, reports ITREALMS.

The prize, ITREALMS gathered is an international competition for innovators with ideas that will significantly 'change the game' in the field of information and communications technologies by a factor of 10.

The winners collectively earned $175,000 in cash prizes and are given the unique opportunity to collaborate with Nokia Bell Labs researchers to help realize their vision.

First Place: Samory Kpotufe, currently an Assistant Professor at Princeton, and joining Columbia University next month, won the First Prize and $100,000 for his pioneering work on the critically important field of 'transfer learning' in machine learning that answers the question of how and when can learning from one machine learning tool, be applied to another; this is a question that lies at the heart of all machine learning - is each model a 'one off' or can the learnings be applied to other scenarios, and if so when? Samory has answered this question with a breakthrough theory that provides a quantitative answer.

Second Place: Aydin Babakhani of UCLA won Second Prize and $50,000 for his work on novel terahertz devices that can produce and receive a broad spectrum of Terahertz radiation at low cost and tiny form factor, opening the door to the imaging of our world in profoundly new ways.

Third Place: A team comprised of Benjamin Zaidel of Bar-llan University and Shlomo Shamai of Technion Institute of Technology, won Third Prize and $25,000, for their pioneering work on a practically implementable optimal air interface solution for connecting millions of IoT devices over radio network resources that is extremely close to the theoretical performance limit and cost-optimized.

Marcus Weldon, President of Nokia Bell Labs and CTO of Nokia, said, "The Bell Labs prize is a unique opportunity for innovators to collaborate with Bell Labs researchers to invent the future and solve the critical problems confronting humanity. This year's collection of proposals elevated the competition to new levels, reflecting the ever-increasing role that technology has in improving nearly every facet of our lives. The top three projects were extremely close in the final judging, but Samory is a well-deserved winner of the 2018 Bell Labs Prize as his research in transfer learning takes the much-vaunted field of machine learning and puts it on a much firmer foundation for the future. The team here at Bell Labs looks forward to collaborating with all top three winners to help realize the full potential of their research ideas, in the coming years."

This year's Bell Labs prize competition attracted more than 250 proposals from around the world. Proposals were reviewed by Nokia Bell Labs researchers and evaluated based on three criteria, including whether the idea has a "10X innovation potential" to change the world; the proposal's technical merit; and the overall feasibility of the proposed idea.

The proposals were narrowed down to a select group of outstanding candidates who were given the opportunity to partner with Bell Labs experts to help expand the impact of their proposals. Five finalists were then invited to the final judging event held this week at the iconic headquarters of Nokia Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J, with the judging panel comprised on Nobel Laureates, and former Bell Labs Prize winners, as well as Bell Labs alumni.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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DBI takes delivery of Huawei’s N100m ICT equipment - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Chinese Information and Communication Technology (ICT) company, Huawei Technologies, has donated N100 million ICT equipment to the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) to boost capacity building, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking Wednesday in Abuja at a delivery ceremony, the Administrator of DBI, Dr. Ike Adinde noted the partnership with Huawei started in 2016 and that the equipment donated would help DBI reshape and redefine the institute’s capacity building process, especially in the area of telecommunications.

“This partnership will support a number of DBI training programmes and help build skills.

“Equipping this lab would have taken another three years to get there but coming together with a solution provider to build core competencies in a synergistic manner is a milestone.

On his part, Mr Uwazie Kingsley, Training Director of Huawei said the company’s training centre has been in existence since 2004 to meet the company’s career capacity building requirement.

Kingsley said that the partnership with DBI started in 2016 and amongst the plans we had was for DBI to utilize Huawei lab.

He said Huawei, however, believed that there was the need to go a step further, adding that DBI should be equipped to have a lab where trainings can take place.

“We believe DBI should be equipped to have a lab to carry out its training and this we are experiencing today.

“And the equipment made available would cover various training need in Information Communications Technology (ICT).

“We are looking at not just employed Nigerians but we are also looking at trainings that would benefit unemployed Nigerians that would get them ready to move into the ICT.

Further, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that among the equipment donated by Huawei were core network, transmission and wireless equipment.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE with additional reports from NAN.

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CTO takes telecom management course to Cameroon - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is taking its Diploma in Telecommunications Management Studies(DTMS) to Cameroon in August, reports ITRealms.

Communications Officer at CTO, Osman Siddiqui, confirmed this to ITRealms, saying that DTMS would take place from 20 August – 28 September 2018 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

This session of DTMS, ITRealms gathered, has been developed specifically for CTO francophone members and will be taught in French only.

Siddiqui noted that to be an effective telecom professional all round knowledge about the sector from technical, policy, regulation and management skills is required.

“Organisations in the sector are actively encouraging technical employees to obtain managerial, marketing and other skills while facilitating non-technical staff to gain a greater understanding of technologies, networks and applications,” Siddiqui said.

The DTMS, ITRealms  also gathered is a unique programme suitable for both public and private sector, employees.

“Over the past eight years the DTMS has provided comprehensive training to over 180 telecom professionals from across the World including South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, Swaziland, Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Fiji Islands, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nigeria, Seychelles, and Rwanda, and Cameroon.

The DTMS, position itself as a well-balanced six week programme developed to help personnel in the telecommunications sector gain a thorough understanding of all aspects of the industry, from network operations to marketing and management.

ITRealms further reports that the course is delivered through a combination of lectures and group exercises, to make the learning relevant and practical.

Nenye Dom/GEE 

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NIRA media college takes on DNS industry opportunities - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The 2018 .NG “One-day Media College” event organized by Nigeria Internet

Registration Association (NiRA) is set to hold on Friday, July 20 with the theme “A World of Opportunities: Tapping the opportunities in the DNS Industry” reports ITRealms.

Dean, NiRA Academy and Resource Centre, Mr. Sikiru Shehu, revealed this to ITRealms in a press statement made available to our news room, saying the event venue is the NIRA Office Complex, Funsho Williams Avenue, Iponri, Surulere, Lagos.

As said by him, the one-day .NG Media College is aimed at encouraging creativity and
discourse on Domain Name Industry and its relevance in the Legal, ICT and
Financial Industries in Nigeria.

“We will have presentations on “brand protection and trademarking on the Internet”, “Cyber security: protecting the resilience of Nigeria’s financial services”, “a case study for the
financial services sector in Nigeria to adopt Nigerian online identity”, local hosting etc,” he said.

Pointing out that eminent personalities have accepted to be part of the discuss and participants have until July 15, this year to register for the one-day college.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Andrew Sullivan emerges new ISOC President, takes over Sept. 1 | ITREALMS Online

 ITREALMS:

The Internet Society (ISOC) has named the chairman of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC), Mr. Andrew Sullivan as its latest global President and chief executive officer (CEO), reports ITRealms.

Mr. Sullivan, ITRealms gathered, was selected by ISOC Board of Trustees to become the Internet Society’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, with effect from September 1, 2018.

Chairman, ISOC Board of Trustees, Gonzalo Camarillo, disclosed this to ITRealms, describing Mr. Sullivan, as someone whose work in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) speak for him.

Andrew, Camarillo noted brings with him a wealth of Internet industry and technology experience, having served in a number of past roles, including time at Oracle Dyn managing Doman Name System (DNS) development and architecture departments and as the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) Chair for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016.

Also, ITRealms gathered that Andrew played an instrumental role in the IANA Transition as many of you may remember, encouraging members to read his testimony on the IAB Website adding that Andrew is currently serving as chair of the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC), where he leads involvement with discussionsaround updating the relationship between the IETF and the Internet Society.

Most importantly for us as a global community of members, organizations and individuals that care deeply about the Internet, he embodies the core values of openness, transparency, inclusion and diversity that lie at the very heart of the Internet Society. He is committed to the ISOC vision of an Internet that works for all of us, and believes fervently in the struggle to bring an Internet that is open, globally-connected,
trusted and secure to everyone.

Not only that, but he is also committed to strengthening and growing our global community. Together, we have built this global technical infrastructure, this resource to enrich people's lives, and this force for good in society. Because it is a challenging time for the Internet, he knows that it’s also a challenging time for the Internet Society, but he firmly believes in the power of this community to realize its shared vision for the Internet.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kathy Brown for her strong leadership over the past four and a half years. She has been pivotal in the organization’s transformation and I believe that we have never been in a stronger position, not just to face the challenges ahead of us, but to emerge as a true world leader in shaping the path and future direction of the Internet for the good of all humanity,” he said.

Kathy, he further said, will continue in her current role as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Society until September 1.

“On assuming his new role, Andrew will work with Kathy during a period of transition to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities,” he said and congratulated Andrew as “we prepare to welcome him into the growing ISOC family as our new President and CEO.”

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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European Union's GDPR takes effect globally

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Dear readers/visitors

The European Union laws require we give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on ITRealms, other words known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent.

As a courtesy, we hereby explain Google's use of certain platforms and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google.

Our responsible is to confirm this notice actually works, and that it displays.

Group Executive Editor

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Tillerson sacked after visit to Africa, Pompeo takes over

ITREALMS:

Barely 48 hours after reportedly rushing back home from his official visit to Africa including Nigeria and Kenya, the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Rex Tillerson has been sacked by President Donald Trump with immediate effect, reports ITRealms.

Mr. Tillerson is invariably the first official appointee of Mr. Trump to be replaced with immediate effect and only one to be sack formally amidst avalanche of resignation of government officials since Trump became the President.

Mr. Tillerson has since been replaced with Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Investigation Agency (CIA).

As at the time of going to the press by ITRealms, there was no precise reason given for Mr. Tillerson’s prompt removal, but fears abound that it may not be distanced from Russia alleged hacking of the United States elections in 2016, and disagreement over the Iran’s nuclear deal with the United States.

ITRealms reports that while thanking Tillerson for his service via his Twitter handle, Trump expressed confidence in the new state secretary, declaring he (Pompeo) would do “a fantastic job.”

ITRealms recalls that Tillerson was a former chief executive of ExxonMobil, and was appointed barely over a year ago.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pompeo has been replaced at the CIA by a nominee, Gina Haspel, who becomes the first female director of the agency.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Destiny Amana takes over as NIG president, Bayero Agabi, VP

ITREALMS:

The Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) has elected the chief executive officer of IceCool Contract, Mr. Destiny Amana as its president for the next two years, reports ITRealms.

The election of Amana, ITRealms gathered, followed the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the premises of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) in Lagos, Friday, January 5, 2018.

Amana takes over from the immediate past president of NIG, Ms. Oyeronke M. Oyetunde.

Also elected in the current executive committee of NIG is Dr Bayero Agabi as the new Vice President, Mrs. Nkem Uwaje-Begho, Treasurer; and Hilary Damissah emerged the Publicity Secretary.

ITRealms equally gathered that the election was supervised by the representative of Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman, Chief Olawale Ige, and former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Prof. Adeniyi Osuntokun, and former president, Engr. Lanre Ajayi as well Ms. Oyeronke M. Oyetunde were in attendance.

ITRealms recalls that the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), founded in 1995, is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, promoting the Internet in Nigeria, with the objective of engaging Nigerian internet stakeholders on a number of activities which include policy advocacy, awareness creation and education.
  
Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Pix: NIG Election AGM 2018: From left is NIG Executive Secretary, Mr. Fidelis Orji, former President, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, Prof. Adeniyi Osuntokun, newly elected vice president, Dr. Bayero Agabi, new president, Mr. Destiny Amana, immediate past president, Ms. Oyeronke M. Oyetunde and publicity secretary, Hilary Damissah, after the election in Lagos.

Konnect Africa takes SmartWiFi to rural communities

ITREALMS:

The Eutelsat-owned satellite broadband service provider, Konnect Africa, has unveiled SmartWIFI, a new hotspot service, as part of its ongoing commitment to bring digital opportunities to Africans, reports ITRealms.

This new service, ITRealms reports, leverages Konnect Africa’s powerful, reliable satellite broadband network to enable sales outlets (retailers, hospitalities, gas stations, etc.) as well as healthcare centres or schools to become a connectivity point and digital gateway to opportunity for the surrounding population. Users will be able to access the internet from a distance of several hundred metres around the hotspot. Access can be extended to several kilometres through off-the-shelf Wi-Fi repeaters.

Konnect Africa CEO, Laurent Grimaldi, said that users could access the SmartWIFI service through vouchers or mobile payment schemes. In addition, SmartWIFI comes with a unique local data storage system, enabling users in remote areas to access smart digital content free of data charges, including online courses and education programmes, sports and entertainment. Mobile and computer applications will also be available to help support daily business activities.

“This new Wi-Fi hotspot solution is designed specifically to address the needs of the majority of the African population that lives in rural areas, where there is a need to reduce the digital divide. In leveraging the ubiquity of our satellite network and locally operated hotspots we will foster more productive uses of digital technology to make everyday tasks easier for individuals and allow businesses in more remote areas to expand their footprint – let’s just think of weather apps to assist farmers, mobile phones to display bus timetables, or better information on market days that can help small producers enlarge their catchment area”, he said.

SmartWIFI will be available in all countries covered by Konnect Africa’s satellite broadband service. The new hotspot service will be deployed in partnership with local Internet service providers and telecom operators in strategic areas across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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PENCOM takes delivery of N54bn to clear backlog

ITRealms:

The Federal Government (FG) , Wednesday said it has cleared the backlog of N54 billion with the release of this sum to the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) for onward payment to the retirees reports ITRealms.

Director of Information, Mr. Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta who confirmed this to ITRealms, in a press statement, said that FG, has shown concerned about the plight of pensioners who retired under the Contributory Pension Scheme without being paid, hence it took action.

Dambatta who quoted the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun as disclosing that FG has cleared the inherited arrears of accrued pension benefit for the year 2014, 2015 and 2016 by releasing N41.5 billion to the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) for onward payment to the retirees.

The Minister also announced that the sum of N12.5 billion being outstanding for January, February and March 2017 has been settled based on 2016 appropriation, bringing the tally to over N54 billion.

"Despite conflicting demands for available cash, President Muhammadu Buhari has always expressed concern about the plight of workers and pensioners. Consistent with this, we have released N41.5 billion which clears the arrears inherited from the previous administration relating to the period 2013-15 and underpayments in 2016. This will bring relief to thousands of our elders who have served and deserve to be paid their entitlements promptly and fully,” Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said.

The N41, 566, 565, 184 released to PENCOM was the outstanding appropriated for the year 2014 and 2016 by the National Assembly for the settlement of the retirement benefits of Federal Government employees.

She explained further that “the amount we paid includes arrears and the impact is that those who retired as far back as 2013, who had been unable to access pension under the contributory scheme due to non-payment, will now be paid.”

To avoid future accumulation of pension arrears, Mrs. Adeosun assured that henceforth “the monthly allocation to the PENCOM based on the appropriation of 2017 will regularly be paid along with monthly salaries of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”

*Ayo Midele/GEE

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