Technology
Digital Innovation Parks Will Make Nigeria Leader in Technology—Tijani
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has said the newly inaugurated Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Digital Innovation Park in Abeokuta, Ogun State, would enhance the country’s position as a global leader in digital infrastructure, talent development, and innovation.
The Minister, who stated this at the official inauguration of the Digital Innovation Park on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, added that the project would also serve as a platform for youth empowerment and a place where skills meet opportunity.
Mr Tijani stated further that the initiative is a launchpad for innovation, where ideas transform into ventures and ventures become industries, noting that it is not an isolated project but a vital part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places digital innovation, youth empowerment, and inclusive economic growth at the heart of Nigeria’s journey to a $1 trillion economy.
“In our Ministry’s Strategic Blueprint, we’ve set out to make Nigeria a global leader in digital infrastructure, talent development, and innovation.
“We are building the foundations—fibre optics, AI frameworks, tech talent pipelines, and smart regulation—not just for Lagos or Abuja, but for every part of our country.
“Because shared prosperity must be built on shared access to opportunity. And that is exactly what this Digital Innovation Park symbolises,” he said.
Mr Tijani, however, explained that the park, the first of its kind to be inaugurated in the country, was located in Abeokuta due to the city’s growing network of academic institutions, eager minds waiting to be nurtured, and its strategic proximity to Lagos.
“Abeokuta has everything it needs to compete—not just with Lagos, but with Kigali, Accra, and Nairobi. What we need now is to unlock and connect the dots. And, of course, a government, led by Governor Dapo Abiodun, that is investing wisely—in roads, tourism, infrastructure, and now, digital futures. This is how states help power the national agenda—through practical, forward-looking investments like this,” he submitted.
On his part, the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the NCC, Mr Aminu Maida, said the newly completed Digital Industrial Park is a landmark and symbolic project of the Nigerian Communications Commission.
“Technology today is one of the most powerful drivers of economic transformation. For an emerging economy like ours, it remains one of our greatest hopes for leapfrogging development. This is why we must create the right environment for it to thrive.
“The concept behind the Digital Industrial Park is rooted in our vision to promote innovation and digital entrepreneurship in the ICT sector, and to support research and development by transforming ideas into market-ready solutions,” he said.
While disclosing that the Commission is currently implementing three other Digital Industrial Parks in Kano, Borno, and Enugu States, Mr Maida said the parks are equipped with computer labs, smart networking systems, collaborative workspaces, and multipurpose halls.
“They have been designed to include hands-on practice laboratories for training and skills development. In addition, we have also engaged skilled technical and managerial personnel to operate the centres, working alongside students enrolled in industrial training or part-time apprenticeship programmes.”
“Our goal is to establish a thriving ecosystem where cutting-edge ICT infrastructure supports the federal government’s efforts to make digital services accessible and inclusive across Nigeria. These Parks will provide a platform for digital innovators and entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into tangible products and prototypes, bringing broadband connectivity and reliable power supply—two critical enablers of innovation and digital productivity—closer to innovators in Ogun State.
“We are confident that this Digital Industrial Park will not only serve the people of Ogun State, but will also benefit the entire southwestern region in their pursuit of digital advancement and economic development,” the NCC CEO submitted.
Adding his input, Governor Dapo Abiodun said that the event marked another significant milestone in the journey of the state towards becoming a leading hub for technology, innovation, and digital transformation in Nigeria.
“This Digital Innovation Park means progress, a catalyst for economic growth, and a testament to the state government’s commitment to harnessing technology for the collective good of the people,” he noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government and the Republic of Finland have formalised a strategic partnership on digitalisation and innovation, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at expanding economic activities and strengthening cooperation in the digital sector.
The agreement was signed in Abuja by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, and Mr Jarno Syrjälä, Under‑Secretary of State (International Trade) at Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
According to a statement from the Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the communications minister, Mr Isime Esene, the MoU will establish a framework for collaboration across key areas, including digital government, emerging technologies, digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity, innovation ecosystems, and capacity building.
Mr Tijani described the signing as “an important step in strengthening the partnership between both countries as we work to build a more inclusive, innovation-driven digital economy.”
“This agreement is a significant next step following our engagements in Helsinki in February, where we met with key stakeholders, including Finnvera and Finnfund, and held productive discussions on advancing collaboration around digital infrastructure, the Data Exchange Platform, and opportunities for Finnish participation in Project Bridge.”
The Minister emphasised that the partnership would “unlock meaningful opportunities for both countries, enabling us to leverage digital transformation as a catalyst for sustainable growth and shared prosperity.”
Echoing this optimism, Mr Syrjälä said: “Finland is very pleased to deepen its partnership with Nigeria in building resilient, secure, and human‑centric digital societies. Digitalisation is at its best when it empowers people, strengthens trust, and creates new opportunities for innovation.”
“Nigeria is a key partner for Finland in Africa, and this MoU provides a strong basis for concrete cooperation between our governments, institutions, and private sectors. Together, we can advance digital solutions that are interoperable, future‑fit, and beneficial to both our nations,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
New Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools designed to provide support for users of its applications have been launched by Meta.
The AI Support Assistant will work on the Facebook and Instagram apps, the company said in a statement.
The tools will help users to receive reliable and action-oriented assistance when needed.
In December, the Meta AI support assistant, a tool designed to provide reliable, 24/7 support for nearly any support issue at any time, was previewed.
Now, Meta is rolling it out globally on the Facebook and Instagram apps for iOS and Android, and within Help Centre on Facebook and Instagram on desktop, with even more capabilities and ways to help.
The new Meta AI support assistant is designed to help resolve account problems from start to finish. It offers answers for any question, like notification settings or new features, and can also take action for users on a growing set of requests directly within Facebook and, in the future, on Instagram.
The feature can report scams, impersonation accounts, or problematic content, make it easier to see why content was taken down, provide appeal options, track what happens next, manage privacy settings, reset passwords, and update profile settings.
The Meta AI support assistant can respond to requests typically in under five seconds, dramatically reducing wait times compared to traditional help centre searches or seeking answers on external websites.
“The Meta AI support assistant is a major step in our work to deliver stronger support on our apps. In fact, among people who have provided feedback, the majority report a positive experience with the Meta AI support assistant. It’s rolling out now in all languages supported by Facebook and Instagram for support topics.
“We’re continuing to invest in AI- powered tools to make support more accessible, reliable, and effective — and we’ll keep evolving the Meta AI support assistant as more people use it and as the technology advances, so it continues to improve over time,” the organisation disclosed.
Meta has also deployed AI to improve content enforcement to help users reduce the chance that scammers trick people into giving away their login details, ultimately finding and mitigating 5,000 scam attempts per day that no existing review team had caught before.
Meta said over the next few years, it would be deploying these more advanced AI systems across its apps once they consistently perform better than its current methods of content enforcement, transforming its approach.
“As we do this, we’ll reduce our reliance on third-party vendors for content enforcement and focus on strengthening our internal systems and workforce.
“While we’ll still have people who review content, these systems will be able to take on work that’s better-suited to technology, like repetitive reviews of graphic content or areas where adversarial actors are constantly changing their tactics, such as with illicit drug sales or scams,” it stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
As part of its commitment to celebrating and rewarding creativity, Facebook has updated its guidance, with clear definitions of what counts as original and unoriginal content.
In a message on Monday, the social media platform said it was offering content creators new tools to report impersonation.
Launched last year, the content protection tool is expanding beyond detecting reel matches across Meta platforms to now also flag potential impersonation.
Creators can take action on content theft and easily submit impersonation reports all in one place.
Facebook, in the statement received by Business Post, said creators can check for access to content protection in their professional dashboard or apply for access here.
The platform also disclosed that in 2025, it removed over 20 million accounts impersonating large content creators, and impersonation reports related to large content creators dropped by 33 per cent.
Further, Facebook is deprioritising unoriginal content by making sure they do not perform well on its platform.
It noted that content that is duplicated from other sources or makes low-value changes to someone else’s content may see significantly reduced reach, and accounts that primarily post unoriginal content may lose eligibility for recommendations and monetisation.
It was emphasised that “these changes provide creators who post original content with greater reach and monetisation opportunities, provide stronger protections for their work, and reduce the reach of unoriginal content.”
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