The Commission said her appointment anchors the plan to reposition the Institute for the next era of Nigeria’s communications sector and digital economy.

In a statement signed by Nnenna Ukoha, director, Public Affairs at NCC, Emiko will be joined on the board by Engr. Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner, Technical Services, and Ms. Rimini Makama, executive commissioner, Stakeholder Management, who join as interim Board members.

The interim leadership led by Princess Oforitsenere Emiko will work alongside Mr. David Daser, the president/CEO of DBI and the remaining board members whose tenures are unexpired, to drive the Institute’s transformation.

Established by the NCC in May 2004, DBI was created as a specialized centre for training in telecommunications and information technology.

In the two decades since, the sector it serves has grown from telecommunications into a broad, fast-moving digital economy, one where technology now advances quickly enough to demand continuous specialized training, and where communications infrastructure has become a matter of national sovereignty and oversight. Securing and advancing the future of communications and the digital economy is now a clear national and economic priority.

That future also rests on Nigeria’s young population. With 70 percent of Nigerians under the age of 30, the DBI transformation is designed to empower young people, equip them with advanced technical skills, and close the capability gap that currently slows the pace of technology adoption across the communications sector and the wider digital economy.

The repositioned Institute will concentrate on five areas: Education and Training, Research and Development, Innovation, Economic Impact and Growth, and Emerging Policy and Regulation.

The strategy has been shaped through engagements beyond the NCC and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, including consultations with the Federal Ministry of Education and TETFund, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

The partnership between the DBI and SBTS is essentially to address the nation’s digital divide and drive Job creation

Described as a milestone for Nigeria’s digital future, the groundbreaking collaboration would leverage the SBTS Group’s Intelligent Capacity Building Model (ICBM), and the DBI’s reputation as Nigeria’s premier ICT capacity-building institute to provide training, infrastructure upgrades, and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) hubs across DBI campuses.

These initiatives will empower thousands of Nigerians with globally competitive skills and enhance the country’s participation in the global digital economy.

According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), over 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030, thus creating nearly 650 million training opportunities.

This summarizes the importance of this initiative and the urgency required to bridging Africa’s digital skills gap.

The partnership would focuse on skill development and employment, which would involve training of thousands of Nigerians in advanced digital and technical skills; providing job placements locally and internationally for trained individuals; and develop a robust pipeline of skilled professionals to bridge Nigeria’s digital skills gap.

It would also focused on infrastructure upgrades and resource centers, with establishment of BPO hubs and tech resource centers in Lagos, Enugu, Kano, and other DBI campuses.

According to Daser David, the president/CEO of DBI, the partnership would boost Nigeria’s role in the global outsourcing market by creating high-value job opportunities.

The DBI President emphasized that the initiative aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, prioritizing human capital development, job creation, and socio-economic transformation, adding that the efforts would definitely accelerate the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Besides, he said the partnership would support the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative to position Nigeria as a leading exporter of digital talent.

While highlighting the DBI’s dedication to bridging Nigeria’s digital divide, David said: “Our partnership with SBTS aligns with our mission to foster digital skills and transform lives. By integrating Nigeria’s youth into the global technological workforce, we are laying the foundation for a thriving digital economy.”

The CEO of SBTS Group, Evelyn Lewis, also emphasized the partnership’s urgency in launching Nigeria to the global digital space for the millions of Nigerian youth to take advantage.

He said;

“Africa’s digital skills gap is a barrier to growth. By collaborating with DBI, we aim to close this gap, create jobs, and accelerate technology adoption, boosting productivity across sectors.”

As Africa’s largest economy with a burgeoning youth population, Nigeria is positioned to take a leading role in this digital transformation of the continent.

David explained further that many of these opportunities will require intermediate and advanced technical skills, beyond basic digital literacy; adding that the DBI-SBTS collaboration directly addresses these challenges by creating a sustainable framework for skill development.

Already, the renovation and upgrades have commenced at DBI campuses, beginning with Enugu and Kano, with plans to extend nationwide.

These improvements will create state-of-the-art facilities for delivering cutting-edge training programs.

The partnership will also implement the ICBM framework, enabling DBI to offer advanced digital skills training, support the establishment of BPO centers, and create an ecosystem for innovation and growth.

David hinted that the initiative is basically to empowering Nigeria’s Youth and the Economy.

He said:

“This collaboration is a game-changer for Nigeria’s economy. By equipping job seekers with digital skills, the initiative enhances their employability and contributes to national development. The integration of digital talent into various sectors is expected to spur innovation, attract investments, and position Nigeria as a global hub for skilled digital professionals.”

A statement by Tinubu’s media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, noted that Mr. David is an academic and industry expert with a deep under­standing of digital tech­nologies and educational leadership.

Beyond David’s ap­pointment, Tinubu also approved the appointment of Mr. Reuben Oshomah as Executive Director, Marketing, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), while Mrs. Adama Kure, takes over as Executive Director, Finance and Administration (NIGCOMSAT).

The presidency said Mr. Oshomah has extensive experience in communi­cations satellite market­ing and strategic business development, while Mrs. Kure is a seasoned finance professional with a strong record in financial manage­ment and corporate gover­nance.

According to the statement, the president expects the newly appointed officers to bring their wealth of experi­ence and expertise to bear in driving the stra­tegic vision for these in­stitutions.

Education

Dr Opéyemí Délé-Àjàyí attended Christ School, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State between the 1999-2005, and later went on to bagged a Degree (B-tech in Computer Science) from the Prestigious Federal University of Technology Akure between 2006-2011.

Not satisfy yet, he proceeded to the University of Sunderland, United Kingdom where he bagged a Master of Science (MS), information Science between 2013-2014.

Shortly after that, Dr. Délé-Àjàyí capped his Academic pursuit with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), in Human and Computer interaction, between 2014-2017 from the prestigious Northumbria University, United Kingdom.

Career

The London base Opéyemí Délé-Àjàyí, based  is currently a Research Lead – New Product Experimentation at Facebook, bringing experience from previous roles at Northumbria University, Stemres, Edtech Hub and Ekiti State Ministry of Education Science and Technology.

With a robust skill set that includes leadership, IT strategy, information technology, ITIL Service strategy, IT operations management and more, Dr. Opéyemí Délé-Àjàyí was a research fellow at the Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom between 201- 2019, he advanced to becoming a Senior Research Fellow in the same Organization.

He became an Assistant Professor in the University of Northumbria between february 2020- June 2021. From July 2021 till date he is a visiting Professor to the Northumbria University.

Beyond these, He has work has a UX Research Lead- New Product Experimentation, Manager, NPE Founders-in-Residence. June 2022-May2023.

Dr. Délé-Àjàyí as President/CEO of DBI

DBI: the International Centre for ICT Studies was established by the Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) established DBI – in May 2004, in the wake of the phenomenal worldwide growth of the Telecommunications (Telecoms) and Information Communications Technology (ICT) sectors.

Led by the successful auction of Digital Mobile Licensing by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) – the government regulator, and the subsequent roll out of mobile services, increased number of operators, and significant increased private capital investment, the sector as a whole has been challenged by a dearth of trained and suitably qualified human resources.

President Tinubu acknowledging the need to foster the rapid development and growth of the Nigerian Telecommunication marketplace appointed Dr. Délé-Àjàyí to bring his wealth of knowledge to bear to mitigate significant vulnerability that shortage of human resources could pose to the sector.

This was disclosed in a meeting between the two giants training organizations held at DBI headquarters, Abuja, recently.

Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, the president/CEO, of DBI, welcomed the ICDL delegates and gave a brief background of the institute’s products and services and previous partnerships/collaborations.

The Chief Executive Officer of ICDL, Damien O’Sullivan stated that the International Certification for Digital Literacy (ICDL) is a global Digital Certification Scheme based in Dublin, Ireland.

He described ICDL as a world-leading computer skills certification programme which has trained over 14 million people, in over 100 countries.

The President stated that ICDL has significantly contributed to the growth of different organizations using Rwanda as an example of the role digital skill has played with their collaboration and fulfilled mandate which provides training by improving the efficiency and productivity of their employees through task simplification and reduction of manual labour.

He added that ICDL has widened the reach and client base of many African countries by equipping them with the requisite digital communication skill to engage with a fast-paced, innovative global market.

The chairman E-Tech, A.U. Mustapha (SAN) appreciated the DBI President/CEO for honouring their visit. He said they have benefitted from DBI in the past and he would be pleased if DBI can collaborate with ICDL and establish foreign training on digital literacy for ICDL on terms with the state government.

The DBI President/CEO said, “we are always open for partnerships and collaborations. Being the forefront institute on Digital Literacy, I believe we can make a change by incorporating a new curriculum to be embedded in the certification courses”.

Mr Damien O’Sullivan was accompanied by Solange Umulisa, the General Manager & Regional Manager of ICDL (Africa), Directors of E-Tech, led by their Chairman, A.U. Mustapha (SAN) and a representative of the Irish Embassy Shane Rice.

The delegation from DBI was the President/CEO Engr. Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, the Group Head of Corporate Services, Ms Viola Askia-Usoro, Institute Secretary Ms Tonia Ansa-Otudor, Group Head of Research Innovation and Consultancy, Mr Paulinus Ugwoke Head, IT Mr Nwanze Okoronkwo, Representing the Group Head of Learning and Development Mr, Emeka Nzeih, Mr Chiwunba lgbokwe of RIC department, and Ms Temidayo Olaloye of Public Affairs unit.

The conference which took place at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, FCT Abuja had in attendance over 2000 low cost private school owners across Nigeria and various stakeholders in the education sector from Nigeria international communities.

Representing the DBI President/CEO at the occasion were Mr Paulinus Ugwoke, Group Head, Research Innovation and Consultancy, accompanied by Mr Akin Ogunlade, Head Public Affairs Units. 

Mr. Paulinus Ugwoke, in his goodwill mesage pointed out that, Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) was established by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) with focused on capacity building and man power development for both private and government organizations especially on general skills development and for self-sustenance.

The Group Head, Research Innovation and Consultancy at DBI said that the institute offers an entrepreneurship programme for the teaching and non-teaching staff of tertiary institutions in Nigeria sponsored by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Mr. Kanu Emmanuel, the National President of AFED, stated that objectives of the conference was to showcase the work being done by low-cost private schools; the market opportunity for sustainable low-cost basic education development; the potentials for social impact through investment in low cost schools, and to demonstrate practically how low cost schools could be deployed as a tool for poverty reduction, improving access to funding for existing and potential low cost schools and to promote innovative ideas for their building capacity.

The Management of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) led by Engineer Prof Mohammed Ajiya, the President/CEO and Dr. Niran Oyekale, member DBI Governing Board hosted Prof. Hakeem Tijani, the Executive Director, Office of Global Partnerships- Africa for Morgan State University (MSU), at the DBI Head office in Abuja on Tuesday, 24th May 2022.

The meeting centered on a proposed partnership between the DBI and MSU to seek areas of mutual benefits in the areas of evolving technology, capacity building and offering of graduate and post graduate programmes to students all over Africa.

One of the key highlights of the meeting is the goodwill message from the MSU leadership to the DBI on the dedicated contributions of the DBI to youth empowerment and continuous education for a knowledge-based economy in Nigeria.

He noted the commitment of MSU to work the Institute and assured of a truly beneficial relationship to the country through this arrangement.

Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, expressed the appreciation of the Management to MSU for choosing DBI as its right partner in Africa and noted that the Institute is ready to give this partnership the needed support for the benefit of Nigerians.

The management team in attendance at the meeting include: Ms. Viola Askia Usoro, GHCS, Tonia Ansa-Otudor, Institute Secretary, Paulinus Ugwoke, Head, RIC,  Ngozi Nwoche, Head, L&D, Mrs. Peace Okere, Acting Head, F&A and also in attendance were Ifeacho Nwokolo, TA, PDBI and Abiola Jimoh, SA, PDBI.

The Digital Bridge Institute was launched in the wake of the phenomenal worldwide growth of the Telecommunications (Telecoms) and Information Communications Technology (ICT) sectors, which was especially well noted in Nigeria.

Ajiya was speaking as a special guest at the Information Technology Professional Assembly (IT Assembly), organized by the Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria) CPN on Thursday, 19th May, 2022 at the NAF Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.

Prof. Ajiya highlighted the criticality of ICT to all aspects of life in the modern world.

He pointed out that “the DBI as a training Institute established by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is focused on capacity building and manpower development for both government and private organizations, especially in the evolving areas of ICT, Telecoms and general skills development for self-sustenance.”

Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Kole Jagun, the President and Chairman of Council of CPN said that the 2022 CPN IT Assembly was part of the annual function of CPN to keep members abreast of innovations in the sector.

He said the theme: “Leveraging information Technology (IT) for National Security and Economic Stability”, was carefully thought to point a direction towards tackling insecurity in the country using technology.

He noted that the digital Innovative product presentations were based on presentations on new IT trends, IT solutions and product with enhancing networking/Bridging The digital divide.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), discussed the imminent issues in information technology and called attention to the importance of leveraging IT for National security and economic stability

The programme was graced by Information Technology Practitioners in Nigeria and Diaspora.

Notably, Prof. Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy was represented at the CPN IT Assembly by Prof. Sahalu Balarabe Junaidu, Representative of the Min. Of Education and other dignitaries.

The DBI’s President/CEO was accompanied by the Head and a member of staff of Public Affairs unit Mr Akin Ogunlade and Temidayo Babansulaimon respectively.

Prof. Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, in his Keynote address titled: ‘Nigeria 5G readiness and impact on the Digital Economy mandate’, highlighted the modalities adopted in the deployment of 5G in Nigeria; the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria; benefits of 5G in the Digital Economy; among others.

The Minister noted that “the fifth generation (5G) network will play a vital role in improving the security situation in the country.

Stressing further, he noted that the 5G networks when fully harnessed will boost government’s efforts to drive digital economy and help to unleash the potentials inherent in Virtual Reality (VR) Robotics, Artificial intelligence (AI) Augmented Reality (AR) which explore real time information for maximum efficiency.

The Minister further disclosed that “5G network will enhance transparency and economic development as it’s potential for job creation is unprecedented”.

He thanked the organisers of the event for such a brilliant and laudable programme.

With reference to the theme of the programme, “Disruptive Technologies for Sustainable Development” the Minister was applauded for his keynote presentation at the event by the host, Nile University of Nigeria and other invited guests from all walks of life.

The occasion was graced by eminent personalities from different organisations notably, the Chairman of Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) Prof. Adeolu Akande, Director at NCC who double as Adviser to the Honourable Minister on Techncal matters Prof. Sahalu Balarabe Junaidu and a host of others.

Engr. Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, the President/CEO of DBI was accompanied by the Head and a member of staff of Public Affairs Unit Mr Akin Ogunlade and Temidayo Babansulaimon respectively.

The Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) was launched in the wake of the phenomenal worldwide growth of the Telecommunications (Telecoms) and Information Communications Technology (ICT) sectors, which was especially well noted in Nigeria.

Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, the president of the DBI, congratulated the Commandant on his new posting as the 11th Commandant of AFIT.

Prof. Ajiya in his welcome remarks stated that DBI is open for collaborations and gave a brief history of DBI and the purpose of its creation.

The Institute’s President, according to a statement signed by Akin Ogunlade, head, Public Affairs Unit at DBI, noted that DBI is the training arm of the Nigerian Communications Commission mainly for up skilling human capital development in the field of telecommunications and ICT.

He noted that DBI stands out because it has campuses in the six (6) geopolitical zones of the country with standard infrastructure.

DBI is the only Centre of Excellence of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and also the second Centre of Excellence in West Africa.

He further explained that, on behalf of NCC, DBI offers training to tertiary Institutions in Nigeria and the other arm in the Secondary Schools and all those schools coordinated by NBTE, CCE and also NUC.

The President stated that, NCC solely sponsors this programme and a lot of institutions have benefitted from it.

He went further to announce that, DBI will be training 110 AFIT staff on ADAPTI programme this year. The only thing required from AFIT is a training facility equipped with computer for the practical aspect of the training at their convenience he added.

The AFIT’s Public Relations Officer, Wing Commander K Ali introduced the Commandant AFIT, AVM M.A Yakubu, and gave a brief history on his biography. He stated that the Commandant paid DBI a visit to strengthen the cordial relationship and collaboration between AFIT and DBI.

The Commandant affirmed that, AFIT has benefitted from DBI severally. He expressed the appreciation of AFIT for the 110 slots given by the PDBI for ADAPTI programme this year.

He went further that AFIT needs training capacity development for their teaching and non academic staff.

The Provost of AFIT, Prof. Mohammed Dauda requested that a Memorandum of Understanding should be signed to strengthen the bond between the two institutions to define the relationship.

The Commandant added that the Institute can also benefit from AFIT to avoid a one sided benefit. He went further that, DBI has highly qualified staff/ Instructors and in the aspect of accreditation they can be listed as visiting lecturers.

The President concluded the meeting by appreciating everyone and also agreed that both Institutes can achieve a lot together and assured that the DBI has a running MOU with the Nigerian Air Force and other paramilitary agencies.

He said the Institute is looking forward to a laudable collaboration with the AFIT.

The Institute has a well-equipped laboratory donated by Huwaei Technology which is capable of being used for research up to a PhD level.

The DBI’s management team in attendance at the meeting were, Engr. Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, President/CEO, Head of Corporate Services, Ms Viola Askia Usoro Head, Research lnnovation and Consultancy, Mr. Paulinus Ugwoke, and Head, Learning and Development, Mrs. Ngozi Nwoche.