Director-General of NITDA, Malam Kashifu Inuwa, said this at the closing ceremony of a one- week training of hub managers drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT held in Abuja on Friday.

Inuwa said NITDA was driving a national initiative to boost economic growth through innovation and startup hubs across the country in line with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda on economic diversification.

“What we have done here is to bring hub managers from 36 states and the FCT.

“We have trained them before, virtually, on how to create an innovation ecosystem at state level. When they go back they will train startups in their states.

“We want each hub to train five startups. We’ve done a pilot before here in Abuja and some states around and we trained 50 startups, those startups have created 179 direct jobs and 1500 indirect jobs.

“Based on that data, we believe if we train these five startups per state, it means we will train 185 startups in a state, and each startup would create five jobs.

“When you do that, you have 740 direct jobs, and that will create 7400 indirect jobs and this will in addition domesticate innovation at state levels,” he said.

According to him, NITDA wants the beneficiaries to use technology to solve problems in their own states.

National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), a subsidiary of NITDA which anchored the training, Ms Victoria Fabunmi, said the it would help in bridging the digital divide in every sector.

“We have, as a nation, priority areas that the President has given based on his mandate to leverage innovation. To accelerate and to catalyse some of those areas are agriculture, trade, healthcare, education.

“We see through this cohort a lot of solutions coming out in this area, in agritech, edutech, Fintech, healthtech, and even to facilitate commerce and trade.,” she said.

She further said it would amplify the work the agency was doing in digital literacy thereby ensuring that young people were inspired to adopt technology, become enthusiasts and innovators who solve problems.

She also said that ONDI was making efforts to boost female participation in startups, with a focus on nurturing female innovators nationwide.

Managing Partner at Co-Creation Hub (CC Hub), one of the partners on the programme, Ms Lucy Mmadu, highlighted the importance of democratising access to innovation and supporting hub managers with capacity building initiatives.

Mmadu said empowering them would create thriving ecosystems in underserved regions.

“This is an opportunity to democratise access to innovation, access to resources and access to skills to ensure that we can also build a thriving innovation ecosystem across the country.

She said CC Hub was committed to supporting the hub managers as they implemented the knowledge gained from the training.

Mrs Chinyere Otuonye of Sparks Ventures Hub, Enugu, a participant, praised the organisers for equipping them with practical tools for incubating startups and building a database of ecosystem players to track progress and impact.

Ms Aida Isah, Hub Manager for Startup Kano, said she would return to her base and restructure her team and reshape their mindset for maximum impact in the ecosystem.

The iHatch programme is a collaborative venture between NITDA and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aimed at empowering Nigeria’s startup ecosystem by supporting them and innovation hubs with resources.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was the 4th Cohort in the series.

(NAN)

The News Agency of (NAN) reports that the Court of Appeal in Kano set aside the June 20 order by Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano, nullifying the steps/actions taken by the Kano State Government pursuant to the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024.

This included appointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano..

The court held that the order nullifying the steps taken by the Kano State Government pursuant to the 2024 Emirates Council Law was made by Justice Liman without jurisdiction.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Kano state government appealed to the supreme court and subsequently filed an injunction at the court of appeal

It urged the court to stay execution of the judgment pending determination of the appeal at the Apex court.

Ruling on the injunction on Friday by a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Okon Abang in two suits marked CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, filed by Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan

The appeal was brought against the Kano State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security agencies.

Alhaji Aminu Baba (Sarkin Dawaki Babba) through his application filed on Feb. 6, 2025, sought an order restraining the respondents from enforcing the appellate court’s judgment while an appeal was pending at the Supreme Court.

The grounds for the application were that the applicant initially instituted the suit in Kano to protect his fundamental rights.

Others are that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit, and there was a need to restrain the respondents from executing the judgment.

In addition, the applicant argued that the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which was passed by the state legislature and assented to by the governor, legally led to the dissolution of the newly created emirates and the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.

In a unanimous ruling, the three-member panel of Justices led by Abang held that the application was meritorious and deserving of the court’s discretion in the interest of justice.

“The law is settled. The court is enjoined to exercise its discretion judiciously and in the interest of justice,” he said.

He held that the mandatory injunction is “ordered that shall be maintain the status quo ante bellum as well as the sheriff of this court and trial court as was the position before the trial court in the its delivered on 13/6/2024 in the suit no. FHC/KN/CS/182/2024.”

Abang, in granting the injunction, emphasized that the applicant’s process was competent and had met all the necessary legal conditions required to obtain the relief sought.

He noted that a valid appeal was already pending before the Supreme Court, reinforcing the need to preserve the subject matter of the litigation.

In addition, the appeal court acknowledged the applicant’s legal right to protection, considering that he had served as Emir for five years before his removal.

“In my view, I hold that the balance of convenience lies in his favour. It is deserving to protect him pending the determination of the Supreme Court,” Abang ruled.

The court further restrained the respondents from enforcing the January 10 judgment that nullified the Kano State Government’s dissolution of the emirates. It also granted an order maintaining the status quo until the Supreme Court renders a final decision.

The applicant was directed to file an undertaking within 14 days in court to indemnify the respondents in damages in the event that the order not to have been made.

The appellate court’s Jan. 10 judgment had overturned an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano, which nullified the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024. This law had reversed the creation of five new emirates and reinstated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano.

The Court of Appeal, in setting aside the Federal High Court’s decision, ruled that the lower court lacked jurisdiction over chieftaincy matters, which fall within the exclusive domain of the state high courts.(NAN)

Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Lt. Uzoma Ewgu-Ukpai, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday.

Lt. Ewgu-Ukpai said the range classification exercise tis aimed at evaluating the proficiency of personnel in weapon handling and firing efficiency.

He said: “During the period of the exercise, the general public is advised not to panic on seeing troops moving and hearing of gunshot, especially people living within Yar’gaba community.

“Additionally, people farming, hunting around the range area are ordered to keep off from their farmlands and hunting area during the period.”