The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), through its Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), has entered into a strategic partnership with Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services to startups participating in the iHatch programme.

The collaboration is aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s digital ecosystem by promoting data sovereignty, enhancing digital inclusion, and accelerating the growth of indigenous innovation. Under the agreement, startups in the programme will be onboarding onto the Galaxy Cloud Platform (GxCP), a sovereign cloud infrastructure backed by Uptime-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, a nationwide fibre network, and advanced cybersecurity systems.

Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the initiative underscores the agency’s commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive startup ecosystem by expanding access to critical digital infrastructure.

On his part, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GBB, Ibrahim Adeyanju, stated that the partnership will enable startups to leverage secure, enterprise-grade cloud services at subsidised rates, while hosting data locally to reinforce Nigeria’s digital sovereignty.

Adeyanju explained that the initiative will adopt a tiered, milestone-based model, with cloud credits released across the “Build, Validate, and Scale” phases of a startup’s development. The credits will remain valid for 12 months, after which beneficiaries will transition to standard or pay-as-you-go billing.

To support implementation, GBB has established a dedicated Startup Success Team to drive adoption, alongside automated usage monitoring systems designed to optimise resource utilisation. In addition, all post-credit billing will be conducted in Nigerian naira to shield startups from foreign exchange volatility.

General Manager of Strategic Partnerships at GBB, Abdul Malik Suleiman, described the initiative as a strategic move to bridge the gap between infrastructure and innovation.

Also speaking, National Coordinator of ONDI, Victoria Fabunmi, noted that integrating GBB’s sovereign cloud services into the iHatch programme would significantly enhance startups’ capacity to scale and compete globally.

The iHatch programme has so far trained over 160 startups across 37 hub partners, with the new partnership expected to further accelerate innovation and growth within Nigeria’s digital economy.

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The Federal Government has announced its goal to achieve 70% digitalization of government services by 2025, working in collaboration with the private sector. This ambitious target was revealed by the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, at the one-day ‘1Government Cloud Digitalisation’ Retreat for federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) recently.

Prof. Adeyanju outlined the vision of Galaxy Backbone to enhance service delivery to citizens through the development of a single ‘Government Service Portal.’ This portal aims to provide unified access to services across all MDAs. Key to this initiative is the introduction of the 1Government Cloud, a blend of infrastructure and software designed to support the digitalization efforts.“This vision can only be achieved through the speedy digitalization of the MDAs. For those of you who know us, you will agree with me that the newest entry to our cloud solutions is software as a service,” said Prof. Adeyanju.

He emphasized that the 1Government Cloud Software as a Service framework is essential for accelerating the digitalization process within the federal MDAs. The agency aims to provide MDAs with the necessary software and secure data storage solutions.

In his address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Faruk Yabo, highlighted the importance of data sovereignty.

He stressed the need for Nigeria to govern its data independently to ensure the security and integrity of sensitive national information. “Data sovereignty rules must be wholly governed by Nigeria, ensuring that our sensitive national data is not subject to the regulations or access rights of other governments or foreign technology providers,” said Yabo.

Yabo also underscored the economic benefits of digitization, advocating for partnerships with local Nigerian companies.

He noted that such collaborations would not only enhance the digital capabilities of the civil service but also stimulate national economic growth and innovation.

“By leveraging indigenous talents and solutions, the civil service would not only enhance its digital capabilities but also foster national economic growth and innovation,” Yabo stated.

He further remarked on the necessity of secure and compliant software solutions to handle the sensitive information managed by the civil service.

The retreat underscored the Federal Government’s commitment to advancing digital transformation and ensuring that Nigeria’s digital infrastructure is robust, secure, and sovereign.

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TECHDIGEST – The new Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, says Nigeria, under his watch as minister, technology sector will compete with other countries globally.

Tijani made the pledge during a formal reception organised in his honour by the Ministry in Abuja.

The minister, who took over from Prof. Isa Pantami, was among the 45 ministers sworn in by President Bola Tinubu.

Meanwhile, he charged all heads of parastatals and departments to hit the ground running.

He also promised to initiate policies and regulations that can protect Nigerians from devices that contradict these technologies and transform the industry.

According to him, he would build on the gains recorded so far in the Ministry through effective collaboration with key stakeholders in the industry.

He said: “I think it is always good to also take stock as well. You cannot improve what you do not know. It is impossible for us to move forward if we do not assess what we have accomplished.

“Our goal is not to come up with policies from the public sector, whether it is from this ministry or not, that will put people in pain before they can access government services.”

On his style of administration, he said that the ministry was open to collaborate with other countries, adding that there is no country that can become strong technically without collaboration.

READ ALSO: NITDA Committed to Creating Life-transforming Opportunities for Girls, Women in Nigeria

“The minister can formulate policies and regulations but if we are not working closely with industry, the things we want to see will never be built to the point where prosperity can come to our nation.

“If we do not collaborate with countries all over the world, we are going to be limited by what is available at the minute in terms of knowledge.

“We are going to be partnering with the best organisations and institutions in the world. So, part of our challenge is how do we connect people to opportunities so that they can build?”

“This ministry is critical to unlocking opportunities for our people regardless of where they are. We are the face of the ministry which means, we have to update and upgrade our skills, ensure that we are connected to modern knowledge, but most importantly, ensure that there is dignity in everything,” he said.

Among the seven agencies under the Ministry include: Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, NIGCOMSAT, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Galaxy Backbone, GBB, and Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, National Identity Management Commission, NIMC.

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TECHDIGEST – The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Muhammad Abubakar, says the federal government blocked over 200 cyberattacks during the presidential and national assembly elections.

Galaxy Backbone is an information and communications technology services provider, owned by the federal government.

Abubakar spoke on Tuesday at the opening session of a two-day ministerial training for GBB’s board members and management staff in Abuja.

“On the election day alone, we were able to block more than 200 attacks and the next day, the attacks geometrically increased to about 1.2 million and all were blocked from our own businesses,” he said.

READ ALSO: Twitter Lays Off 10% of Workforce

This is the first time a government official would be talking about the attempts to hack into the INEC’s server during the last elections.

Political parties have alleged that there were attempts to manipulate the election results by hackers.

Before the election, INEC assured that its system for transmitting election results cannot be penetrated by hackers.

Also speaking at the event, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, applauded GBB’s approach to digital infrastructural development while saving the cost of governance.

“In this training, I will be very much sincere with you to point out some areas where we need significant improvement,“ Pantami said.

“Training is key when it comes to improving our performance and at the same time training is key when it comes to our self-evaluation, self-judgement, self-assessment.

“We need to think out of the box to discover new areas for government revenue generation.

“We need to be proactive in our thinking, let us not maintain the same process every day when it comes to revenue generation.”

The training has the theme “Positioning the GBB Team for Effective Management and Leadership in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.

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TECHDIGEST –  Galaxy Backbone (GBB), the digital and network communication services provider set up by the Federal Government, on Tuesday, met with stakeholders in Kano State where it enumerated its plans to deploy digital services for boosting economic activities of the state through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The Managing Director/CEO of the company, Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar disclosed this in Kano during a stakeholders and customer awareness forum with the theme: Digital Infrastructure Services for Economic and Sustainable Development.

The MD in his remark, stated that, the world is going through the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is knowledge-based and ICT-driven.

READ ALSO: NITDA Determines To Build Capacity Of Nigerians On Creative Technology

‘’It is on that strength that the Tier IV Data Centre in Kano was built to bring the digital infrastructure closer to the citizens so as to enhance their businesses and promote effectiveness and productivity in the public sector organisations,’’ Abubakar said.

‘’In addition to the cloud solutions, collocation and numerous other digital services, GBB is deploying metro fiber optic cable within the Kano city which is aimed at providing connectivity and broadband services to home, small and medium enterprises, academia, hospitality, and market places as way of enabling Nigerians with the requisite capabilities to latch into the fourth revolution by owning and growing more businesses through the evolution of digital entrepreneurs that will foster growth of the Nigerian economy.

The Management of GBB was in Kano specifically to enlighten the community on the digital platform that will transform the hitherto business hub into a digital business hub by making their businesses and commercial activities easier and simpler.’’

According to him, globally, technology is changing the way business and commercial activities are run using digital solutions that link customers to the market place or service providers thereby eliminating the need for middle men and hence lowering the total cost of products and services with increased turn-over. This kind of digital technology is what GBB has brought to the door step of the good people of Kano and environs.

On the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new policy on cash transaction, the CEO of Galaxy Backbone reiterated their committment in upscaling the infrastructure already built and expanding connectivity to the underserved and unserved communities with a view to permeate the whole country. He concluded by saying that “by the end of December 2022, GBB would have extended its footprint to almost 23 states with a target of taking connectivity to all the major cities from the 36 states and FCT by the second quarter of 2023”.

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TECHDIGEST – The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, over the weekend, inspected the completed Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Tier 4 Data Centre in Kano, Kano state to set the tone for its formal commissioning in what will alter the business of data centre services in Nigeria for good. The new facility will serve as Galaxy Backbone’s North West Regional Office and Network Operating Centre.

The GBB Tier 4 Data Centre in Kano is designed to improve the total customer experience of GBB’s growing list of clients from the public and private sectors. The new digital infrastructure in Kano will serve as a backup to the Tier III data centre in Abuja.

New facility raises the bar in data centre services 

All Tier 4 data centres add fault tolerance mechanisms to the tier 3 list of requirements. They have multiple physically isolated systems that act as redundant components and distribution paths. Besides all the Tier 3 conditions, a Tier 4 facility must ensure:

All components have the support of two generators, two UPS systems, and two cooling systems.

Each distribution path is independent so that a single failure in one does not cause a domino effect with other components.

Operations continue to run for a minimum of 96 hours following a local or regional power outage.

The power source does not connect to any external source.

The separation between redundant components is vital for a tier 4 data center. 

Physical separation prevents a local event from compromising both systems.

Tier 4 data centers either have 2N or 2N+1 redundancy: 2N redundancy (or N+N) means the facility has a wholly mirrored, independent system on stand-by. If anything happens to a primary component, an identical backup replica starts operating to ensure continued operations.

The 2N+1 model provides twice the operational capacity (2N) and an additional backup component (+1) in case a failure happens while a secondary system is active.

The GBB’s Tier 4 facility can ensure clients do not experience more than 26.3 minutes of downtime annually. In addition,

customers are guaranteed a Tier 4 service level agreement (SLAs) that is near 100% uptime even in the face of required maintenance of redundant counterparts.

According to Managing Director/CEO, Muhammed Bello Abubakar, Galaxy will continuously invest in enhancing digital infrastructure and human capacity to meet the rising and sophisticated demands across agencies including security and other arms of governments.

The vendor neutral facility is benchmarked on performance-based standards in terms availability, redundancy, and fault tolerance.

The GBB officially opened shop in 2007 initially focusing on improving connectivity infrastructure challenges in federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). With more than 800 MDAs in existence, the GBB has routinely faced the challenge of helping MDAs improve their too achieve their statutory mandate.

The new Kano facility is part of the overall plan to provide functional data centres in all the six geopolitical zones of the country.

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The Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE has made the IT sector redoubled its contributions which is inline with President Administration to diversify the economy from oil base to non oil base due to the dwindling fall in crude oil price. This made him set policies and strategies that will generate revenue and at the other hand create jobs for the citizens to  boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

NITDA as the Nation’s apex IT regulator, works to create frameworks for planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices in Nigeria. According to Tech Economy. NITDA has become Federal Government’s digital economy vision bearer.

Prior to the redesignation of the Federal Ministry of Communications, to Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, NITDA has strived to accomplish a lot in achieving the mandate through the implementation of a roadmap for the development of the Nigeria’s IT sector which consists of 7 pillars that are in alignment with the 8 pillars of the Digital Economy Policy & Strategy and the Nigeria IT Policy.

Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi Inuwa’s appointment as the Director General of NITDA did not come to many as surprise, as he was among the most disciplined, committed & talented students of Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, when he served as the Technical Assistant to the erstwhile Director General, and also stepping into the shoe of his Principal as his successor as DG NITDA was another way of how Almighty Allah reward Kashifu’s resilience commitment & honesty.

Upon assumption of office, the introvert intelligent Computer Scientist, set the ball rolling, as he wasted no time towards strategising  for the successful implementation of the newly  minted National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy for a Digital Nigeria as well as keying into fulfilling the President Muhammadu Buharis promise of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.

Mallam Kashifu started his career with Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and served in different capacities from 2004-2013. His positions held are as follows: Network Engineer, IP Network Field Engineer, Senior Network & Lead, IP Operations Team, and Senior Solution Architect & Lead Technical Solution Design.

His zeal & quest to greatness, paved way for him to become the First Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) in Nigeria’s Public sector. He further acquired  several other professional certifications including Project Management, and Solution Design.

The 41-year-old Kashifu Abdullahi, as the Director General/CEO NİTDA took over the mantle of leadership of the Agency from its erstwhile DG/CEO Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami who was appointed as Minister of Communication & Digital Economy by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Kashifu Inuwa had his primary education in his hometown Hadejia , and later went  to Science Secondary School Kafin Hausa after finishing from an Arabic Junior Secondary School all in Jigawa State.

His intellectual capacity earned him recognition, where he became very popular not only amongst his mates, but the school in general, as he remained the best Mathematics student. Kashifu dedicated his time couching his fellow colleagues the rudiments of  Mathematics & other subjects.

After completing his secondary education, Kashifu secured admission at the famous Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, popularly known as (ATBU), where he studied Computer Science & graduated in 2003.

In 2014, Kashifu Abdullahi joined the services of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as Technology Architect were he devoted his time developing a Technology Architecture Repository that gives 360 views of the Apex Bank’s IT Infrastructure and facilitated the ease of decision making on new IT investment. He was also part of the team that executed software licence rationalization that has increased cost savings for the Bank in annual license subscriptions.

NITDA under the leadership of Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has introduced Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme solely designed to provide opportunities for building the capacity of both hub owners and start -ups to ensure massive creation of technology entrepreneurs and jobs within the Industry.

Another milestone achievement recorded by Mallam Abdullahi’s less than two years stint is the Launching of NITDA Academy for Research and Training as well as unveiling of the Virtual Training program by the Honourable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) piloted in Jigawa state, with 130 beneficiaries, its targeted at providing Nigerian farmers with means of showcasing their produce in the digital world market.

As part of the Agency’s contributions towards realising Mr Presidents promise was initiating and successful execution of several empowerment programs where more than 30,000 Nigerians benefited from. These includes amongst many others: Start-Up Clinic, Start-Up Friday, Future Hack, Capacity Building for Artisans, Girls, Women, Persons Living with Disabilities, and kids Code camp etc.

Kashifu’s leadership has seven focal areas that focuses on; IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Local Content Development, and Cybersecurity.

Under his watch, NITDA conceptualised the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) and Smart Agriculture App for precision farming, Set up the National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Conducted Stakeholders’ engagement on the Service Level Agreement (SLA) framework that will guide MDAS in drafting SLA agreements with service providers, Issued 172 Certificates for Indigenous IT Companies, Contractors Digital Economy Strategy, Developed the National Digital Economy Strategy, Constituted and inaugurated Steering Committee.

The Agency also developed the National e-Government Master-plan, established Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DT-TWG) across the first 100 MDAS, trained 450 women on ICT and Entrepreneurship, Conducted Training for 30 MDAS on Digital Identity for Development, Conducted Training of 20 Staff on e-Government awareness, regulations and enterprise architecture,Trained 145 leading Farmers on Smart Agricultural Practices and modern system of farming,Trained 40 Media Executives on Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and another 45 on ICT Reportage in the digital era.

The Agency conducted training for 200 Centre Managers on Train-the-Trainer Programme for NITDA Intervention Centers,Trained 150 Virtual Library Stakeholders,Trained 150 NYSC and SIWES students on CISCO certification, developed National Infrastructure Back Bone (NIBB), establishment of the National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDEF) for the development of IT in Nigeria, Developed and Published 35 Standards Guidelines and frameworks in various aspects of Information Technology and creation of Nigeria internet registration Association (NIRA) to create, manage and maintain the database of names registered in the .ng country code top level  domain name space in the public interest of Nigeria and global internet communities.

Rukayyat Sadauki is a journalist

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TECHDIGEST – As part of Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB’s) commitment to support indigenous talents and solutions, the company has partnered with Newwaves Ecosystem, a creative Digital Company, to facilitate the deployment of Konn3ct solution in the public service space in line with the local content drive of this administration.

Konn3ct solution is wholly Nigerian unified video communications platform that offers video, voice, content sharing, and chat across desktop, mobile and workspaces.

The solution was developed by Newwaves Ecosystems Limited that is pitching for a major stake in the multi-billion-dollar global online meeting market.

Speaking during the formal agreement signing, Prof. Muhammad Abubakar, director general of the Galaxy Backbone (GBB) represented by Baffajo Beita, head Of Enterprise Business Group, said, Galaxy Backbone is happy to promote indigenous solutions especially, in the areas of aiding business of government.

Konn3ct platform will give the best value for money in terms of ease of communications, improved security, ease of use and payment in Naira which will help to save government foreign exchange.

Williams Olufemi, chief enabling officer/director, Newwaves Ecosystem thanked the Management of GBB for their belief in local solutions that is better than many other competing products in the market.

According to him, “I am sure that Nigerians and the Federal Government will be proud of what we have been able to develop here.

“We are happy to announce that the Konn3ct platform had been registered by NITDA.

“Apart from the retail online meetings and Web conferencing features, we have integrated a Learning Management system to Konn3ct to make it suited for the educational sectors in Nigeria”.

Olufemi said he believes government will not pay lip service to National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content but be seen to consume the content.

He urged the government and its agencies adopt locally developed platforms for their meetings, conferences, webinars, live-classroom, syndicate events, and remote cinema among others, when we have a local platform that is challenging the statuesque.

He said, “We are wondering why Federal executive Council meetings be held on Webex; why should NITDA be using MS Teams or why should the VP’s office be using Zoom and why should the Federal and State legislature be holding their meetings on foreign platforms.
“Government needs to not just preach local content but be seen to consume the content.

“You will notice how vibrant and profitable the entertainment industry is now because Nigerians develop taste and preference for the local content.

“Konn3ct could just be a vehicle for radical change and transformation of the local ICT sector.

“Don’t forget that Nigerian banks collectively spend over 1Trillion Naira on core banking software every year. Imagine if local players are encouraged” he added.

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TECH DIGEST – The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has expressed optimisms that the newly launched Internet Service Provider (ISP) named STORM will positively impact the digital economy agenda of the government.

To this end, Pantami said that Digital Economy cannot be implemented in isolation or in silos hence as such, the path of partnership being pursued by Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) is the right path.

He made the remarks while delivering a keynote address during the launch of STORM.ng in Enugu on Tuesday by GBB in partnership with Interra Networks Limited.

“I would like to congratulate Galaxy Backbone and its project partners for achieving this great feat which provides a platform to deliver fast and efficient Internet and Hosting services for the South-East and South-South region of the country”, the Minister said.

Speaking specifically on Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda, Pantami said that since 2019, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has championed the agenda in efforts to position it as one of the leading Digital Economies in the world.

“To achieve this aim, we developed the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS 2020-2030) with the clear vision “to transform Nigeria into a leading Digital Economy providing quality life and digital economies for all”, and a mission to “build a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship are used to create value and prosperity for all”, he said.

The STORM initiative, he said, is in line with the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria (2020 – 2030).

“In particular, it supports the implementation of Pillar #3 (the Solid Infrastructure Pillar). It is also in alignment with the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020 – 2025).

“Broadband connectivity plays a major role in the economic fortunes of countries around the world and a 10% increase in broadband penetration can lead to growth in Gross Domestic Product in the region of 0.6 to 2.8%.

“Furthermore, the use of broadband technology goes beyond facilitating socialization. Rather, it supports key sectors of the economy, such as the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). These enterprises are a critical part of the Nigerian economy and broadband access enables then to extend their services beyond their physical locations through the use of e-commerce platforms.

“STORM is a significant milestone in support of the Federal Government’s efforts to accelerate broadband penetration across cities and underserved communities. It will support us in meeting the target of the NNBP, which aims to achieve a 90% broadband penetration by 2025”, he said.

The STORM platform has the capacity to provide non-stop high-speed internet and hosting services across Enugu, Ebonyi, Owerri, Portharcourt, Awka, Onitsha and Asaba cities.

“Among others,” Pantami said, “this will increase accessibility to internet services for businesses and residences at these locations, thereby improving the quality of citizens’ lives. It will also provide an enabling environment for existing businesses and create opportunities for new businesses.

“Furthermore, according to a World Bank report, ‘Africa has the opportunity to harness the Digital Economy as a driver of growth and innovation, but if it fails to bridge the digital divide, its economies risk isolation and stagnation’.

“As a nation we are committed to ensuring that we exploit the opportunities of the Digital Economy.

“Through platforms like STORM we are extending the provision of internet services beyond major cities in the country, thereby deepening broadband penetration across the country to overcome the existing digital divide. A 2021 Report by Statistica shows that Nigeria had over 154 million internet users in 2020, the largest in the whole of Africa, followed by Egypt with 54.74 million users.

“In the same year, it seemed as though operations were stalled due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic. It will interest you to know that at the height of the pandemic last year, when it seemed as though government interactions and communications could grind to a halt due to the inability to hold physical Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings.

“I mandated the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone and his team to ensure that the FEC meetings continued virtually in spite of the pandemic.

“I am delighted that Galaxy Backbone used its Digital and Communications infrastructure to achieve this, providing a secure platform to connect the members at the FEC meetings from their respective locations. Since May 13th 2020 when the virtual meetings commenced, we have conducted about 50 successful and hitch-free Virtual FEC meetings using the Galaxy Backbone’s platform”, he said.

The Minister added that Nigeria is endowed with enormous potentials, and it is his belief that Digital Services will expand and strengthen the development of these potentials.

“I therefore encourage us to work together to ensure that we expand the wealth and prosperity of our nation.

“On this note, I would like to thank the team from GBB and Interra Network team for putting this launch together. I look forward to receiving good news on the great value to be impacted by STORM in the coming months. The Digital Economy cannot be implemented in isolation or in silos. As such, the path of partnership being pursued by GBB is the right path”.

Earlier, the Managing Director/CEO, Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar, said that the plan to launch the project in year 2020 was aborted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Now, change is the only constant thing in life and as people living in a fast changing digital world, I am sure you all know how important it is to ensure we embrace change so that we are not left behind at the ‘speed of light’ transformations taking place all around us.

“We are confident that by making fast and reliable internet services available in urban and rural communities, greater number of job opportunities will emanate and we can lift more people out of poverty.

“History has shown us that in every major pandemic, one or two sectors begin to thrive and lead to the transformation of the lives of entire communities and indeed the world. In this case, Digital Technologies has taken centre stage especially in Nigeria where we have noted its great contribution to the GDP of our country in the last quarter of the year 2020. Projections continue to show an upward movement in this even in this year 2021.

“We are not unmindful of the strides recorded by most of our competitors in this industry. However, we are confident that the broadband internet connectivity and hosting service being offered by STORM will lead to an experience that you will find efficient, reliable and with great support.

The MD/CEO added that STORM will bridge the notable gaps in the market in terms of reliable internet service.

Speaking on ‘Partnering to serve: The Storm Value Proposition”, the President/CEO, Interra Networks, Mr. David Onu, said that the service will enable greater youth participation in technology and digital economy agenda of the government.

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TECH DIGEST – As part of Galaxy Backbone’s (GBB) commitment to develop and enhance the digital Skills of its Stakeholders and Customers, the organization organized a Capacity building programme for members of the Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DT-TWG).

All of these individuals were drawn from across the Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments & Agencies.

This training is the first in the series of trainings GBB is committed to embarking on this year.

The new world of work has prompted that Professionals in organizations are well equipped with digital skills that will enable them perform their functions adequately within their respective organizations.

While giving the opening remarks at the Capacity Building Programme, the Group Head Research, Digital Innovation & Skills Department (RDIS) at Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Nasir Suleiman, encouraged the participants to take advantage of the huge opportunities the current Digital Economy brings and learn all they can during this programme.

He also advised them to embrace digital services such as using their official emails to transact their daily assignments; ‘We advise you to commit to making use of your official emails and not your personal email in communicating amongst one another. Your Official email is secure and gives you a professional outlook when interacting with local and international Stakeholders, Partners and Clients’.

At this training, Technical and Service Experts from Galaxy Backbone and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), took participants on courses ranging from Digital Economy And The Nigerian Federal Public Sector, Use of GOVMAIL (the official government email) for digital communication and Network & Cyber security In The Nigerian Public Sector amongst other Digital Service programmes.

The Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups (DT-TWGs), a creation of the Honourable Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, comprise selected members across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that have been tasked to provide digital leadership to their MDAs.

Each DT-TWG in an MDA will comprise of the Director/Head of ICT, a member of the ICT department or unit, and a selected member from some of the following departments/units; finance, procurement, audit, legal, etc.

Among others, they will be responsible for the success of digital initiatives/projects of their respective MDAs. GBB as the Digital Infrastructure and shared services provider to Federal Government organizations, play a fundamental role in the development and success of this group hence this training.

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