Invariably standing on the performance of his leadership in the past two years, members of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) have re-elected a seasoned telecom engineer and chief executive of PiNet Informatics, Engr. Lanre Ajayi for another two years in office as the president of the group.

Also on board to work with Ajayi from the election, which held in Lagos, recently at the Golden Gate Restaurant, were the chief executive of HiiT Limited, Kayode Shobajo, as the vice president, and a seasoned Internet savvy accountant, Bosun Arebowa who also retained his position as the treasurer of NIG.

Equally elected in the new executive is the Head, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Desk at Champion Newspapers Limited, Remmy Nweke as the publicity secretary. Immediate past publicity secretary, Kazim Akinrete and Managing Director, Ice Cool Contracts, Destiny Amana were appointed ex-officio members.

Speaking at the occasion, leader of the election committee and a member of NIG board of trustees as well as the immediate past President of the group, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem tasked the new executive to always remember that they have been elected in the tradition of NIG to serve, emphasising that more service is demanded of them now that the nation is seeking transformation from being a mere Internet-user country to content providers on the Internet.
Ekuwem congratulated the executive and wished them well in their endeavours as they carry the mantle of leadership of the group till 2010.

Responding afterwards following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the group and election, Ajayi who spoke on behalf of his team promised Nigerians an increased bright presence of local content on the Internet, mostly via the implementation of Internet for Job (I4J) initiative of the group launched June 12, 2007 and during his first term in office.
He paid tribute to members of the NIG for the support given him in the past and in ensuring that the 2008 election was held without any atom of rancour as most of the elective positions were unopposed.

“We are committed to serve NIG and provide positive local content from Nigeria,” he asserted, enjoining Nigerian Internet public to make sure they take advantage of it and transform Nigeria's image positively.

Commending the electoral committee led by Dr. Ekuwem and supported by the group's administrative secretary, Fidelis Orji, he reiterated the commitment of his team to try their possible best, noting that service to NIG is service to motherland.

Founded in 1995, NIG prides itself as an umbrella non-government organisation (NGO) dedicated to the promotion and growth of the Internet in the country with open membership for interested members of the public who are involved in the growth of the Internet technology, irrespective of educational background and current field of employment.

Presently, NIG membership cuts across the academia, non-governmental organizations, government parastatals, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), private organizations and individuals.

“While cost sensitivity is an important element in creating mobile devices for emerging markets, the overwhelming feedback we receive from consumers in these markets is that they want their mobile device to complement their personality and offer a range of colours and entertainment features,” says Fady Khatib, General Manager Nokia Nigeria.
“The Nokia 2600 classic offers a colorful sense of flair and a robust set of features at an exceptionally accessible price. As with all Nokia devices, it is backed by a brand that stands for quality and durability.”

With the industry's largest portfolio of mobile phones and support for more than 80 languages, more than one billion people worldwide currently use a Nokia device. In recent years, the majority of first-time buyers have come from the emerging markets.

However, a significant shift is underway - while the first-time buyer market continues to grow, the number of replacement buyers consumers seeking to replace their current mobile phone with a newer, more advanced model has also grown substantially in emerging markets.
In 2008, Nokia anticipates that for the first time, the number of replacement purchases in emerging markets will exceed those of first-time buyers.

promises lower international call rates to subscribers. Announcing this to the media, the Chief Commercial Officer of Reltelwireless, Fabian Uzor explained that, “as stakeholder with you in the Nigerian project, and a significant player in the industry that has earned us laurels, and popular endorsements, your customer friendly telecom operator, Reltelwireless, is proud to share with Nigerians a bundle of attractive price reductions regime, in some of our products and services designed to excite our loyal and prospective subscribers as they contemplate coming on board”.

According to Uzor, “the star attraction in the bundle offer is the price slash on all products by more than 50%. From our HTC Touch, HTC Mogul, Treo 700p, Samsung IP-830W premium handsets to other highly dependable products, we are set to eliminate price as an issue for service acquisitions.

“With this in mind, we are offering our HTC Touch for N27, 999, HTC Media Mogul for N19, 999, Samsung IP-830W for N24, 999, Treo 700P for N24, 999, Reltel Tech 101 Dual SIM for N9, 999, LG LX5000 for N2, 999, CDM 180 AUDIOVOX for N2, 999 and Huawei (C208) for N1, 499. Also, our USB Internet Modem with 1 week free Internet Access Subscription will go for N10, 000 while our Surflink with 1 week free Internet Access Subscription will go for N5, 000”.

He pointed out that these phones are guaranteed to excite the user as they have unique features and versatility of functions that enable full browsing. They also come with data cable that synchronise it with Laptops/Desktop computers, mega pixel camera/video recorder, among several others.

The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella organization of all IT Professionals, Interest Groups and Stake Holders in Nigeria, will hold her 22nd Annual Conference and the 30th Anniversary as follows:

Theme:
Enabling Capacities of Information Technology (IT) for Sustainable National Development (ENCITDEV 2008).

Host: Otunba Gbenga Daniel - Executive Governor, Ogun State

Date: Tuesday June 24th to Friday June 27th, 2008.

Venue: Valley View Auditorium, Government House, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Part of the objective of this Conference is to bring together Information Technology industry icons, decision makers, CEOs, academia and other experts of the industry to brainstorm on the above theme, other current issues, development in the industry and how they can be used for our socio-economic development and achieving the Vision 2020 objectives.

Date: 13-27 June 2008,

Venue: Washington DC, USA

This intensive face-to-face seminar includes lectures, panel discussions, and interactive workshops presented by leading e-Government experts from USAID, USTTI Board member corporations, private sector firms, universities, NGOs, and multinational organizations.

Date: 17 & 18 June 2008,

Venue: Premier Hotel - 573, Church Street Acadia, Pretoria, South Africa

The workshop aims at supporting the involvement of sub-Saharan African organisations in the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research (under the ICT theme).

Date: 28-30 July 2008,

Venue: Johannesburg, South Africa

Infrastructure investments for the next-generation grid are priorities for utilities in an environment suffering from power outages, load shedding and ever-increasing demand!
This exclusive and high-level event attracts about 100 industry participants from African utilities, especially senior management from planning, transmission services and networking departments, as well as telecommunications and business development managers.