Business
Empowering Women in Plateau State: Zeustech Solution Launches Jumm.ai
In a groundbreaking initiative aimed at empowering women in Plateau State, Zeustech Solution has launched Jumm.ai, a program designed to equip women, particularly the younger generation, with the skills needed to understand and utilize artificial intelligence (AI) in building profitable businesses. The launch event, attended by esteemed dignitaries including Professor Obed Gossele Nanjul, the Honourable Commissioner of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Plateau State, and Mrs Caroline Panglang Dafur, the Honourable Commissioner of Women Affairs Plateau State, heralded a new era of technological advancement and gender inclusivity in the region.
Professor Obert Gossele Nanjul, speaking on the aims of the program, emphasized the importance of empowering women in alignment with the vision of Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang. The program, supported by a grant from Microsoft.org, not only elevates the status of Plateau State but also Nigeria as a whole, being the sole recipient of this grant in Africa.
Mrs Caroline Panglang Dafur highlighted the significance of the training in AI for women and girls, stressing its potential to catalyze business growth and ensure that Plateau women remain competitive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. With plans to train up to 5000 women and young girls in tech, the initiative underscores the commitment of the Plateau State government to gender equality and digital literacy.
The CEO and founder of Zeustech IC Solution Mr Timothy Dakey elucidated the rationale behind choosing Plateau State for the pilot program. With a personal connection to the state and a desire to contribute to its development, Zeustech aims to leverage AI training to enhance e-governance and foster economic growth, particularly among marginalized groups such as women.
Suleyo Sandra Ase, a civil servant turned tech enthusiast, expressed gratitude for the training provided by Zeustech. Armed with newfound knowledge in e-commerce and digital marketing, Sandra exemplifies the transformative impact of the Jumm.ai program, highlighting its potential to not only empower individual women but also uplift entire communities.
The testimonies from participants like Sandra underscore the tangible benefits of initiatives like Jumm.ai in bridging the digital divide and empowering women to thrive in the digital economy. As Plateau State embarks on this journey of technological empowerment, the collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society sets a promising precedent for inclusive development and innovation.
NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has paid over ₦5.5 billion in claims to policyholders as at April 2026, reaffirming its long-standing reputation as one of Nigeria’s most dependable and customer-focused insurance brands.
The claims payout, according to the company cuts across both General and Life businesses, underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to fulfilling its promises to customers promptly and consistently, even as Nigeria’s insurance industry continues to evolve amid recapitalisation and increased market scrutiny.
A breakdown of the claims settlement shows that the sum of ₦3,668,742,117.69 was paid under the General Business portfolio, while ₦1,914,029,614.93 was disbursed under the Life Business portfolio, covering Group Life and Retail Life policies.
The payouts covered a broad spectrum of claims including motor, engineering, marine, life protection, death benefits and other insured risks.
Equally important, Mutual Benefits has consistently earned commendation from policyholders for its responsiveness during difficult moments.
A retail customer whose motor insurance claim was recently settled by the company described the experience as reassuring:“You never truly know the value of insurance until something goes wrong. What stood out for me was how quickly Mutual Benefits responded and resolved my claim without unnecessary stress.”
Another Group Life beneficiary noted: “At a very difficult time for our family, Mutual Benefits came through professionally and compassionately. The support made a real difference.”
Speaking on the development, Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc., Olufemi Asenuga described the payout as more than a financial transaction.
“Insurance is ultimately about trust. At Mutual Benefits, we understand that our relevance is not measured merely by policies sold, but by our ability to stand by customers when they need us most.”
He noted further that the consistent settlement of genuine claims reflects the company’s strong operational structure, disciplined underwriting approach and enduring commitment to policyholders across Nigeria.
Industry analysts have continued to emphasise the importance of prompt claims settlement in deepening insurance penetration and restoring public confidence in the sector.
A Lagos-based insurance and financial services analyst, Chinedu Okafor, stated that: “In a market where customers are increasingly demanding accountability and proof of value, insurers that consistently pay claims promptly will continue to earn long-term trust and market relevance.
Claims payment is the strongest form of marketing any insurance company can undertake.”
The latest payout comes at a critical period for Nigeria’s insurance industry, as operators continue to position for stronger financial capacity, operational efficiency and increased consumer confidence in line with ongoing recapitalisation conversations across the sector.
Mutual Benefits noted that while financial strength remains important, long-term sustainability in insurance is ultimately built on trust, service delivery and the ability to honour obligations consistently.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to improving customer experience, accelerating digital transformation, deepening insurance awareness and delivering innovative products tailored to the realities of individuals and businesses.
With over three decades of operations and a growing footprint across Nigeria, Mutual Benefits continues to position itself as a reliable partner for protection, wealth creation and peace of mind.
The post Mutual Benefits Settles Over ₦5.5bn Claims, Reinforces Customer Trust appeared first on Business Today NG.
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, led Nigeria’s government, diplomatic, and business delegation to the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, advocating for stronger economic integration that prioritises Africa’s growth and prosperity.
The Africa/France summit, co-hosted by Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and William Ruto of Kenya, brought together leaders and top officials from more than 30 countries across the continent.
Messrs Ruto and Macron, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Mahamoud Youssouf, Chairman of the African Union Commission, delivered opening statements.
On the sidelines of the summit, President Tinubu held a bilateral meeting with Madagascar’s President, Michael Randrianirina. He also met with the President of the Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe, and expressed Nigeria’s readiness to host the 2026 CAF awards.
At the summit, the French government advocated restructuring economic and political relations on the basis of equality and fairness. At the same time, African leaders emphasised the need for greater access to credit to fund major investments and stimulate economic growth.
President Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s potential in the blue economy as one of the cornerstones of Africa’s development. Governments and the business community had long neglected this potential due to insecurity and uncertainty.
“Today, I make an explicit commitment: Nigeria will intensify regional coordination by offering our Deep Blue Project’s maritime intelligence infrastructure as a shared data hub for willing Gulf of Guinea states. Interoperable systems, harmonised laws, and seamless joint enforcement must become the daily reality, not an aspiration on paper.
“Let no one misunderstand: maritime sovereignty does not repel investment — it attracts it. Secure sea lanes, predictable regulation, and functional courts are the preconditions that unlock private capital. Governance has de-risked Nigeria’s maritime proposition. We now invite partners to build on these gains as we advance climate-aligned port modernisation and the digital transformation of our maritime sector.
“As we endorse the Nairobi Declaration, Nigeria affirms that maritime sovereignty and ocean governance are the non-negotiable foundations of Africa’s Blue Economy transformation. We will continue to earn that sovereignty — through institutions, through assets, through law, and through iron-clad regional solidarity that turns our waters from a theatre of risk into a story of shared resilience.
“The oceans have no duplicate as a common heritage of mankind. For Africa, moving from sea blindness to ocean sovereignty is not a choice — it is a generational duty. Nigeria is ready, and we invite all present to join us in that duty,’’ the president stated.
On the reform of the international financial architecture, the president stated Nigeria’s position:
“Last September, from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Nigeria warned that the international system must reform or risk irrelevance. We spoke not only of the Security Council but of the financial and trade structures that quietly de-industrialise our nations. The evidence is before us. Despite decades of independence, Africa’s share of global manufacturing value added remains below 2 per cent.
“We export raw minerals, crude oil, and agricultural commodities, and we import processed goods at a premium. This pattern is not an accident. It is the product of a global financial architecture that starves our industries of affordable capital, tolerates massive illicit financial flows, and imposes policy constraints that our competitors themselves never observed when they built their own industrial bases.
“Nigeria does not come to this discussion as a supplicant. We come as a nation that has taken painful, homegrown decisions to put our house in order — removing fuel subsidies, unifying our exchange rate, recapitalising our banking system with over $3.4 billion, and exiting the FATF grey list. These reforms were sovereign choices, not external conditions. They have delivered a declining debt-to-GDP ratio, now projected at 32.3 per cent in 2026, stronger external reserves of $45.5 billion, and a return of investor confidence. But, Excellencies, even a reforming nation like Nigeria is being forced to de-industrialise by a financial system that is stacked against us,’’ he noted.
The president added that in 2026, Nigeria will spend about $11.6 billion on debt service — nearly half of projected revenue.
“Every single dollar that leaves our treasury to pay punitive interest rates is a dollar that did not go into our steel sector, our textile mills, our agro-processing plants, or our digital industries. It is a dollar that did not train a young Nigerian engineer or provide affordable power for our factories. Our industrial base is being starved of the blood it needs — long-term, affordable finance — while creditors and rating agencies treat African sovereigns as permanent high-risk borrowers, regardless of our fiscal performance.
“So, I ask this gathering: how can an African manufacturer compete with a competitor in Europe, Asia, or North America when the cost of borrowing in our nations is five to ten times higher? How can we build cross-border industrial value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area when our infrastructure projects face a financing gap deepened by the very institutions meant to bridge it? The answer is plain: we cannot. The international financial architecture, as currently constituted, is an instrument of industrial disarmament for Africa.
“Nigeria is not asking for charity. We are demanding a financial system that intentionally enables Africa to industrialise — to process its own minerals, refine its own crude oil, manufacture its own pharmaceuticals, and compete fairly in global markets. We will continue to borrow responsibly, but we insist that our creditworthiness be measured by our economic fundamentals and our industrial potential, not by outdated stereotypes,’’ he noted.
The president stated that immigration issues must be addressed by expanding safe, orderly, and legal pathways to improve security.
“First, cooperation must address root causes in countries of origin. People who have jobs, security, and hope at home do not typically risk their lives in the back of a smuggler’s truck. That is why Nigeria has embedded migration management within our broader economic transformation agenda—removing fuel subsidies to invest in infrastructure, recapitalising banks to fund enterprise, and modernising agriculture to create rural livelihoods, among other initiatives.
“But we cannot do it alone. International partners must move beyond rhetoric and match words with investments that make staying at home a genuine choice—investments in climate adaptation, energy access, digital skills, and the productive sectors that employ young people. As we intensify the implementation of these domestic measures, I therefore call on our development partners to ring-fence a portion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for programmes that demonstrably reduce the desperation that fuels irregular migration,’’ he stated.
On Nigeria’s position on peace and security, President Tinubu urged African countries to work together in building a global migration governance architecture that is fit for purpose.
READ ALSO: UBA Group reaffirms commitment to Africa’s growth agenda at Africa Forward Summit 2026
“The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was a start, but it remains non-binding and underfunded. Nigeria supports the African Union’s Migration Policy Framework and the Khartoum Process, but we need a more coherent link between these regional efforts and global institutions”.
President Tinubu was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole and Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.
The Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chairman of BUA, Abdulsamad Rabiu; Chairman of the UBA Group, Tony Elumelu; and Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, attended the summit.
Others were the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPCO), Aisha Rimi; the Minister of State designate for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye; the Director General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Omotenioye Majekodunmi; the Nigerian Ambassador to France, Ayodele Oke and Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed.
The ministers had bilateral meetings with their counterparts from Kenya, France and other African countries. Also, they participated in plenaries at the Nairobi University and the KICC, with a focus on engagement, entrepreneurship and Africa’s demographic dividend.
The ministers also brainstormed on dynamic CEO and business leadership, AI and digitalisation as drivers of business, investment opportunities, innovation, agro-industry, cultural and creative industries, trade and innovation, and the creation of frameworks for moving from political rhetoric to concrete industrialisation, competitive, supporting agro-industries, AFCTA, healthcare and climate change as a collective effort.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
May 12, 2026
-
News3 days agoMikang Stakeholders, Youths Rally Behind Plateau Speaker Naanlong and Gov Mutfwang for 2027
-
News1 day ago
FG donates foodstuffs to victims of bandits’ attacks in Plateau
-
News20 hours ago
Riyom APC Youths Endorse Tinubu, Mutfwang, Dalyop Fom for Continuity Ahead of 2027
-
News3 days ago
Get ready for the whisper-filled office of the future
