Awwal Owolabi, Author at DAILY TIMES Nigeria

WhatsApp’s next big shift: Usernames may replace phone numbers in landmark privacy move

Awwal Owolabi 22 October 2025 0

In what could become the most transformative update in its history, WhatsApp, the world’s most widely used instant messaging platform, is preparing to change the way its two billion users connect. The company is testing a feature that allows people to identify themselves through usernames

Technology

Madica Backs Two AI Startups, Partners with ABAN to Boost Deal Flow

Awwal Owolabi 22 October 2025 0

Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed African startups, has announced new investments in two AI-powered companies, Anavid and Hypeo AI. The program, which is affiliated with Flourish Ventures, has also partnered with the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) to expand investment flow and ecosystem networks for its portfolio companies. Each new company has

Nigeria slashes duty on imported cars to 5%

News

Only 10% of Nigerian households own a Car, 2024 survey finds

Awwal Owolabi 22 October 2025 0

Only one in 10 Nigerian households owns a car or truck, according to findings from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The survey also found that 28% of households own a motorcycle or scooter. The data reveals a significant urban-rural divide. Car and truck ownership is 15% in urban areas but just 5% […]

News

Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, 12 others remanded in Kuje prison

Awwal Owolabi 22 October 2025 0

An Abuja magistrate court has ordered that Aloy Ejimakor, a lawyer for the detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre. Ejimakor was arrested on Monday alongside 12 others while protesting in Abuja for Kanu’s release. Kanu has been in DSS custody since 2021. The 13 defendants face charges including criminal […]

News

EFCC secured 7,000 convictions, N500bn in two years, says Tinubu

Awwal Owolabi 21 October 2025 0

President Bola Tinubu says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured over 7,000 convictions and recovered assets worth over N500 billion within the past two years. The president spoke on Monday at a capacity-building workshop for judges in Abuja, where he was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima. “The EFCC has recorded over seven […]

Business

At ABAN 2025, MTN commits ₦100m to drive African innovation

Awwal Owolabi 20 October 2025 0

MTN Nigeria has announced a ₦100 million cloud accelerator programme aimed at supporting 20 high-potential African startups through funding, mentorship and access to its technology infrastructure. Unveiled at the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) Congress 2025 in Lagos, the initiative underscores MTN’s growing role in Africa’s innovation ecosystem. Njideka Jack,

Business

AfCFTA backs Angel investment movement, pledges support for cross-border startup funding

Awwal Owolabi 20 October 2025 0

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has pledged to work closely with angel investment networks to strengthen Africa’s early-stage funding environment and attract more local capital into innovation-driven enterprises. Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of AfCFTA, made the announcement in a virtual keynote address at the African Business Angel Network (ABAN)

Business

ABAN marks 10th anniversary, mobilises $35m for African startups

Awwal Owolabi 20 October 2025 0

The African Business Angel Network (ABAN) has concluded its 10th-anniversary congress in Lagos, bringing together more than 5,000 angel investors from 37 African countries to mark a decade of advancing early-stage investing across the continent. Held from October 17 to 18 at the J. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, the two-day event focused […]

Business

ABAN 2025: Angel investors push for transparency to unlock Africa’s startup capital

Awwal Owolabi 20 October 2025 0

Angel investors at the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) Congress 2025 have called for stronger visibility and transparency across angel investment networks to unlock more local capital for startups on the continent. The call came as investors and members of ABAN highlighted that limited awareness remains one of the biggest barriers to expanding angel investing […]

Technology

Nigerian civil servants to get AI training in new Google partnership

Awwal Owolabi 18 October 2025 0

The federal government has partnered with Google and Apolitical to launch the ‘Government AI Campus’, a global training initiative to equip Nigerian public servants with artificial intelligence (AI) skills. The programme, which was launched in Abuja on Thursday, is designed to help officials harness AI for governance and improved service delivery. Supported by Google and

Technology

‘Design for one’ — Google executive shares secret to global impact at moonshot 2025 conference

Awwal Owolabi 17 October 2025 0

Ebi Atawodi, senior director of product management at Google, has urged African innovators and creators to focus on solving problems for individuals to build solutions that can achieve global impact. Atawodi spoke at the Moonshot 2025 Conference in Lagos during her lecture titled “Designing for Billions: What big tech teaches about impact.” She said that […]

News

FG to buy local gold with naira to shore up foreign reserves, says Alake

Awwal Owolabi 16 October 2025 0

Dele Alake, the minister of solid minerals development, says the national gold purchase programme (NGPP) will boost the country’s foreign reserves and strengthen the naira. Alake spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the Nigeria gold day celebration, held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of the Nigeria mining week. He said the programme, which […]

Technology

Big cabal CEO opens Moonshot 2025 with call to build sustainable momentum

Awwal Owolabi 16 October 2025 0

Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media, has urged African technology founders and investors to focus on building long-term momentum and sustainable businesses. Speaking at the opening of Moonshot 2025 on Wednesday in Lagos, Aladekomo said the industry must draw lessons from past failures to drive the next phase of innovation. “We have survived the […]

News

Peter Obi sues Deji Adeyanju for ₦1.5 Billion over defamation

Awwal Owolabi 16 October 2025 0

Peter Gregory Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has filed a ₦1.5 billion defamation lawsuit against political activist Deji Adeyanju. Obi sued Adeyanju over a series of alleged false and malicious publications on the activist’s social media platforms, which he claimed have damaged his personal, political, and professional reputation. The suit,

Politics

PDP suspends two state chairmen for alleged anti-party activities

Awwal Owolabi 16 October 2025 0

The decision was announced on Tuesday after a meeting of the PDP State Chairmen Forum held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja. The meeting was chaired by Edward Percy Masha, acting secretary of the forum. Those suspended are Austine Nwachukwu, chairman of the Imo State chapter, and Amah Abraham Nnana, chairman of the Abia State […]

Business

Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio on the decline, IMF predicts

Awwal Owolabi 16 October 2025 0

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is expected to decrease to 36.4 percent in 2025 and further to 35 percent in 2026. The projection was made in its latest Fiscal Monitor report, launched at the ongoing 2025 IMF/World Bank annual meetings on Wednesday in Washington DC, where the fund […]

Business

Nigeria eyes Chinese partnership to reignite Ajaokuta, NIOMCO revival plans

Awwal Owolabi 15 October 2025 0

The federal government has opened discussions with the Republic of China to take over the revival of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in Kogi state. The Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Abubakar, disclosed this on Tuesday at the opening of the 10th edition of the Nigeria […]

Politics

ADC warns NASS: Moving 2027 polls to 2026 will derail governance and stall development

Awwal Owolabi 15 October 2025 0

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned that the National Assembly’s proposal to move the 2027 general elections to November 2026 could derail governance and stall development across the country. The opposition party raised this concern in reaction to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2025, which proposes that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

News Technology

TechCabal’s Moonshot 2025 to shape the future of African tech in Lagos

Awwal Owolabi 15 October 2025 0

TechCabal, one of Africa’s leading technology publications, has announced the return of Moonshot, its flagship technology conference, scheduled to take place from October 15 to 16, 2025, at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos. Now in its third edition, Moonshot 2025 will run under the theme “Building Momentum”, bringing together influential voices across the continent’s

News

FULL LIST: Names of the 175 inmates pardoned by President Bola Tinubu

Awwal Owolabi 14 October 2025 0

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday granted pardons to 175 convicts and ex-convicts, following approval from the National Council of State. The beneficiaries include Herbert Macaulay, famed nationalist; Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives; and Major General Mamman Vatsa, the poet and soldier executed in 1986 for alleged treason. Other recipients

Trending