Author: ITPulse

The Artemis mission reminded the world that great achievements begin not with perfection, but with the courage to start. Kenya is at that moment now. By Eric Gumbo The writer is a partner at G&A Advocates LLP, a firm with two decades of experience advising on infrastructure, capital markets, and regulatory law across East Africa. In 1961, John F. Kennedy promised the American people something that, by any rational measure, should have been impossible: that the United States would land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth before the decade was out. The technology did not…

A CBN rule designed to curb fraud is exposing small operators to outages, income shocks, and a market tilted toward dominant fintechs, ITPulse’s Epiphanus Obia writes On 1 April 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria activated the most consequential clause in its October 2025 agent banking guidelines: every PoS agent in the country must now operate exclusively with a single financial institution. No more backup terminals and no more switching when networks fail. No diversifying income across providers. The decision is final, the deadline has passed, and the consequences are only beginning to unfold.  The CBN’s stated rationale is coherent…

Digital Realty has activated a new Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) Point of Presence (PoP) at its flagship Ibeju-Lekki data center, marking a significant milestone for West Africa’s digital infrastructure. This activation links the region’s growing digital economy to global networks. Building on IXPN’s existing PoP at Digital Realty’s campus located in Victoria Island, the newly activated PoP at the company’s Lekki data center extends IXPN’s reach, offering access from 12 data centers across Nigeria. IXPN is now available in all major data centers in Lagos, further positioning the city as a hub for local and regional interconnectivity. Strategically…

 By Mirza Bukva In an era of advanced messaging apps and rich digital experiences, SMS remains one of the most fundamental layers of customer communication. It’s the channel that works when everything else requires a download, a data connection, or an app account. Recent data shows SMS open rates at around 98%, with most messages read within minutes – a testament to its enduring importance in customer engagement strategies. The power of SMS lies in its universality. It works on any device and under almost any network condition, independent of operating systems, apps, or data connectivity. As long as a phone…

The African Development Bank has approved a $200 million loan to support Nigeria’s flagship digital infrastructure initiative, Project BRIDGE, aimed at expanding broadband access across the country. The funding forms part of a broader financing package involving multiple development partners, including the World Bank, which has committed $500 million, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, expected to provide $100 million. Project BRIDGE, also known as the Digital Value Chain Infrastructure for Boosting Employment (D-VIBE) programme, seeks to expand Nigeria’s national fibre backbone from about 30,000 kilometres to 120,000 kilometres. The project is designed to connect all 774 local…

By Epiphanus Obia The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline for filing individual annual income tax returns to April 21, 2026, citing heavy traffic on its electronic filing platform. The agency announced the extension in a statement on Monday, noting that the decision follows a surge in usage of its eTax portal as the previous April 14 deadline approached. LIRS said the additional time is intended to enable taxpayers to complete their filings accurately without disruption caused by system congestion. Executive Chairman, Ayodele Subair, described the extension as necessary to accommodate the high volume of users while…

By Epiphanus Obia Nigeria’s Federal Government has approved the rollout of a biometric passenger verification system, known as VPASS (Verified Passenger System), across domestic airports to strengthen identity checks and aviation security. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced the initiative in a statement issued through his spokesperson, describing it as part of ongoing reforms aimed at improving transparency, accountability, and operational efficiency in the aviation sector. The VPASS platform will use facial recognition technology to verify passengers, replacing manual identification processes that authorities say have been prone to abuse. Officials say the system is designed to…

Nigeria is charting a course toward technological independence, prioritizing national interests over the geopolitical tug-of-war between global superpowers, Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has declared. The NITDA DG made the declaration during an engagement with the management of Ericsson at the GITEX Africa in Morocco. He emphasized that Nigeria’s digital strategy is designed to protect data sovereignty and foster local capacity rather than take sides in international rivalries. Inuwa clarified that Nigeria’s push for a robust national software infrastructure is not a political move against specific nations or companies. Instead, it is…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has formally petitioned President Bola Tinubu to launch a comprehensive probe into the alleged disappearance or diversion of ₦2.9 billion from two key federal agencies: the Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT) and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA). The demand follows the release of the Auditor-General’s annual report on September 9, 2025, which reportedly documented significant financial irregularities within both institutions. In a statement posted on its official X handle and released on Monday, SERAP urged the President to direct the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, along with…

…. Advancing Its global ESG vision through renewable energy-powered community infrastructure LG Electronics (LG) has officially commissioned a solar‑powered borehole in Omuafor community in Aboh-Mbaise, Owerri, Imo State, extending sustainable water access to residents while marking the company’s first renewable energy‑driven water intervention in South‑Eastern Nigeria. The project was officially unveiled at a commissioning ceremony attended by community leaders, residents and the Royal Father, highlighting the cultural and social significance of the initiative. The intervention is designed to provide reliable access to clean and safe water while operating independently of grid electricity through renewable solar power. Speaking at the event,…