By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Some expired pharmaceutical products and 1.8 tonnes of Cannabis Sativa have been intercepted by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Isah Sulaiman, a Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC), disclosed that the pharmaceutical products are suspected to be pushed into the Nigerian market by relabelling them.

It was disclosed that the items were intercepted based on credible intelligence and enhanced risk profiling systems, in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other relevant regulatory bodies.

In one of the major interceptions, officers of the command seized a 40-foot container numbered CAAU7569127, which was found to contain a large consignment of Cannabis Sativa, popularly referred to as Canadian Loud.

The command revealed that a total of 3,639 sachets of the illicit substance were recovered, each weighing 500 grams, for a total estimated weight of about 1,819 kilograms (1.81 tonnes). Preliminary field tests confirmed the substance as Cannabis Sativa. The drugs were concealed inside a vehicle and within bags and drums packed inside the container.

Speaking on the seizures, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba warned perpetrators to desist from criminal activities, stating that “unpatriotic importers and their collaborators who deliberately engage in smuggling, drug trafficking and the importation of expired pharmaceuticals are enemies of Nigeria’s progress.”

“We have the intelligence, the technology and the resolve to identify and apprehend them. Anyone still contemplating these criminal acts should desist immediately, because the consequences will be swift, decisive and uncompromising,” he added.

He further reiterated that Apapa Port and all Customs-controlled areas remain under constant surveillance, adding that enforcement operations will continue to be intelligence-driven while ensuring legitimate trade is not hindered.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Skite is expanding its push into Nigeria’s rapidly growing knowledge economy with an all-in-one platform designed to help creators, coaches, consultants, educators and other professionals monetise their expertise from a single hub.

The platform enables users to sell courses and digital products, host paid communities, organise live events, offer one-on-one video consultations and monetise audience interactions without relying on multiple tools.

The move comes as more Nigerians turn to knowledge-based businesses as a source of income, creating demand for platforms that simplify how expertise is packaged, sold and delivered online.

While the creator economy has traditionally been associated with content creation and social media influence, a growing number of professionals are increasingly building businesses around coaching, training, consulting and digital education.

However, many creators still depend on several platforms to manage payments, courses, communities, customer engagement and events, often increasing operational costs and complexity.

Skite is seeking to address that gap by consolidating these functions into a single ecosystem built specifically for knowledge entrepreneurs.

According to the company, creators using the platform have recorded an average 30 per cent increase in revenue after consolidating their operations, while premium subscribers enjoy a zero-transaction-fee structure on earnings.

Speaking on the opportunity within the sector, Skite chief executive, Mr Samuel Obinna, said the company was focused on providing the infrastructure needed for creators to build sustainable businesses around their expertise.

“The knowledge economy is creating unprecedented opportunities for professionals to earn from what they know. We are building the tools that make it easier for creators to launch, manage and scale those businesses,” he said.

As Nigeria’s digital economy continues to expand, industry stakeholders expect knowledge entrepreneurship to become an increasingly important segment of the creator economy, with platforms such as Skite positioning themselves to serve the next generation of digital business owners.

Skite is an all-in-one creator monetisation platform that enables knowledge creators to build, grow and monetise their businesses from a single platform. The platform provides tools for selling courses and digital products, hosting paid communities, running live events, offering one-on-one consultations, monetising direct audience interactions and managing sales funnels. Skite is designed to help creators turn expertise into sustainable and scalable income.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has directed all civil servants to immediately discontinue the use of personal email accounts for official communication, as part of efforts to prevent rising cyberattacks and safeguard the flow of information.

It has mandated the adoption of approved government email platforms across the federal public service.

The directive was announced by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, during a digital transformation summit held in Abuja to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Galaxy Backbone.

According to Mrs Walson-Jack, more than 115,000 official GovMail accounts have been activated to enhance the security, professionalism, and accountability of government correspondence.

She emphasised that official government business must no longer be conducted through personal email services or informal communication channels, which often pose challenges for record-keeping and institutional accountability.

She explained that one of the primary reasons for the policy is to ensure continuity in government operations. Official records and communications, she noted, must remain within government-controlled systems even after public officers leave office, preventing the loss of critical information tied to individual accounts.

The Head of Service also revealed that the Federal Government achieved a major digital transformation milestone by successfully digitising work processes across all 38 federal ministries and extra-ministerial departments before the end of December 2025.

Describing the accomplishment as a testament to effective leadership and institutional commitment, Mrs Walson-Jack said the milestone demonstrates the civil service’s growing readiness to embrace modern governance and technology-driven service delivery.

She further acknowledged longstanding challenges associated with manual processes, including delays, misplaced files, and bottlenecks in approval workflows.

The transition to digital systems, she said, has significantly improved document tracking, strengthened accountability mechanisms, and enhanced performance monitoring across government institutions.

The paperless civil service initiative is expected to accelerate decision-making, reduce bureaucracy, improve transparency, and ensure faster retrieval and processing of official records, ultimately creating a more efficient and responsive public service.