General
AI Adoption: Businesses Express Worry Over Trust, Ethics, Data Security
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Though the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is growing by the day, business owners and organisations still nurse some resentment against it because of a few issues.
Research recently conducted by Salesforce showed that 77 per cent of business leaders interviewed cited nagging issues around trusted data and ethics that could grind their deployments to a halt.
However, nearly half of customer service teams, over two-fifths of salespeople, and a third of marketers say they’ve fully implemented AI to augment their work.
AI is the most significant technology in generations, with one forecast projecting a net gain of more than $2 trillion in new business revenues by 2028 from Salesforce and its network of partners alone.
As enterprises across industries develop their AI strategies, leaders in customer-facing departments such as sales, service, and marketing are eager to use AI to drive internal efficiencies and revolutionise customer experiences, but a lack of trusted data could hamper AI ambitions because trust, data security, and transparency are at the heart of successful AI.
While the report found AI adoption rates are expected to climb dramatically, only 10 per cent of people today fully trust AI to help them make informed decisions, and 59 per cent of organisations said they lack the unified data strategies that boost AI’s reliability and accuracy.
According to the report, 74 percent of the general population is concerned about the unethical use of AI.
Companies that focus on end-user control are in the strongest position to build customer trust as they build their AI strategies, with 56 per cent of respondents to the same survey signalling their openness to AI under such circumstances.
“This is a pivotal moment for the world as business leaders across industries are looking to AI to unlock growth, efficiency, and customer loyalty,” Salesforce Director Solutions Engineering for Africa, Ms Linda Saunders, said.
“But success requires much more than an LLM. Enterprise deployments need trusted data, user access control, vector search, audit trails and citations, data masking, low-code builders, and seamless UI integration to succeed.
“Salesforce brings all of these pieces together with our Einstein 1 Platform, Data Cloud, Slack, and dozens of customisable, turnkey prompts and actions offered across our clouds,” she added.
The Trends in AI for CRM report analysed statistics from several studies. They found companies worried they could miss out on the opportunities that generative AI presents if data underpinning large language models (LLMs) isn’t grounded in their trusted customer records.
At the same time, respondents expressed ongoing concerns about a lack of clear company policies to govern the ethical use of this innovation, as well as a complex vendor landscape of LLMs that prompted 80 per cent of enterprises to report they currently use multiple models.
General
Nigeria Not Planning to Stop Fossil Fuels Soon—Oil Minister
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has no plans to stop fossil fuels anytime soon, despite increasing calls for energy transition because the country intends to harness its oil reserves and increase oil output to fill the gap in Africa.
This submission was made by the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, at the 13th Practical Nigerian Content Forum organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, this week.
Mr Lokpobiri explained that no country in the world will stop the production of fossil fuels when there are still markets for it, noting that Nigeria has a lot of reserves and has not utilised enough to consider stopping the use of fossil fuels, despite several calls from many quarters.
Speaking on the theme Deepening the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation, the Minister observed that even Western countries like the United Kingdom were still giving licenses for exploration.
“All these clamour about energy transition that says we should stop production of fossil fuel, we will never stop the production of fossil fuel in Nigeria, no country in the world will stop it.
“In 2023, UK which contributed 4.8 per cent of global emissions, higher than the entire OPEC countries put together, entire African continent put together and still gave over 100 licenses to new companies for new exploration.
”America is the highest producer of fossil fuel, so why should we stop, those who are telling us to stop are themselves not stopping, so we should know that is about politics.
“Let me also use the opportunity to tell the industry players that with the emergence of Donald Trump as U.S. President, the price of oil maybe battered.
”What I want us to do is to increase our own production, Africa already has enough market. We can produce enough fuel to supply the West African region and the entire Africa, but our biggest challenge is funding,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, urged local businesses in the country to invest in Compressed Natural Gas (GNG) as gas will be a mainstay of the economy after the energy transition.
“Gas will be the mainstay of Nigeria’s energy shift, and we’re giving local businesses a chance to engage in gas distribution, processing and power generation.
”The probable replacement for PMS has been determined to be natural gas in the form of CNG.
“Let me reiterate this administration’s unwavering commitment to advancing local content as a cornerstone of our energy strategy, together, we have the opportunity to build an energy industry that empowers Nigerians, strengthens our economy and contributes to the sustainable future,” he said.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe said the board has achieved 56 per cent in Nigerian Content level in 2024 compare to 26 per cent in 2016.
He stated that some of the achievements of the board include; Commissioning of Amal Technologies in Idu, Abuja; and the Kwale Gas Gathering facility in Delta, approval of 312 Nigerian Content Plans, and issuance of 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs) bythe board amongst others.
General
NUPRC Beats 2024 Revenue Target by 49%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it has exceeded its revenue target by 49 per cent.
According to the regulator, the revenue growth is attributed to its strategic overhaul of Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
Through regulatory reforms, the commission has plugged financial leakages and attracted substantial investments, despite the divestment of some oil and gas assets.
Speaking on the milestone, the Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, highlighted that the commission is dedicated to achieving more through several ongoing initiatives.
The commission, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021, replaced the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and oversees the technical and commercial operations in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
According to Mr Komolafe, the NUPRC has been able to set certain milestones including the Project One Million Barrels Per Day initiative, bid rounds, and the Drill or Drop mandate, all aimed at revitalising the sector.
In October 2024, NUPRC launched the One Million Barrels Per Day production initiative, aiming to boost Nigeria’s daily crude production to over 2.7 million barrels.
Earlier, in May 2024, the Komolafe spearheaded a bid round for oil blocks at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, attracting major investors like TotalEnergies.
The Drill or Drop initiative, which he tagged as another game-changer, requires oil producers to drill within a specified timeframe or forfeit their license areas.
According to Mr Komolafe, this has significantly enhanced revenue collection and ensured optimal use of oil assets.
He also noted that the commission has also emphasised its commitment to transparency and accountability.
According to Mr Komolafe, the commission operates within the framework of the Federation Accounts, ensuring increased revenue flows into government coffers over the past three years.
Mr Komolafe further stated NUPRC’s role in recovering government revenue through royalties, emphasizing the importance of checks and balances in fulfilling its statutory mandate.
General
Ekiti Court Remands Dele Farotimi in Prison
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A popular human rights activist, Mr Dele Farotimi, has been remanded in prison custody in Ekiti State after he was arraigned on Wednesday by the police.
He was accused of defaming a legal luminary, Mr Afe Babalola, in a book titled Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.
The book was published by Mr Farotimi and he claimed that Mr Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), used his position to influence the judiciary.
The suspect, who is also a lawyer, was allegedly abducted this week in his Lagos chamber by officers of the Ekiti State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and taken to Ekiti State by road.
Today, he was arraigned before Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun of the Ado-Ekiti Magistrate Court on a 16-count charge, which he pleaded not guilty to.
The police said it acted on a petition of defamation written by the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ekiti State.
The nonagenarian lawyer claimed the 56-year-old professional colleague exposed him to hatred, contempt, ridicule and damage his hard-earned career in the book.
At the court today, the police prosecutor, Mr Samson Osun, begged the court to keep the accused person in prison custody pending further investigation.
However, this was opposed by the counsel to the defendant, Mr Dayo Akeredolu, who argued that the alleged offence was bailable and that Mr Farotimi is a public figure who respects the rule of law.
This plea was not answered as Mr Adeosun remanded the suspect in prison custody and adjourned the hearing till December 10.
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