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“We Stand With Plateau in Prayer and Hope,” says CAN president ahead of NEC meeting

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Delegates of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have arrived in Plateau State ahead of the National Executive Council meeting scheduled to commence on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.

The delegation was received at the Yakubu Gowon Airport by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Policy and Governance, Hon. Istifanus Mwansat, who represented the Secretary to the State Government, Arc. Samuel Jatau, on behalf of Governor Caleb Mutfwang. He was accompanied by the Plateau CAN Chairman, Rev. Dr. Dunka Gomwalk; the Special Adviser on Religious Affairs, Rev. Dr. Stephen Dang Gana; and other senior government officials.

CAN President, His Eminence Archbishop Daniel Oko, who arrived earlier expressed gratitude to the state for the warm reception and emphasized the significance of hosting the final quarterly CAN Executive Council meeting of the year in Jos.

“We are here to stand with Plateau in prayer and hope. This meeting allows us to connect with Christians at the grassroots and to pray for lasting peace and progress in this state,” he said.
“We postponed this meeting earlier due to the loss of the CAN chairman, but we are now here to pray with the people, encourage them, and reaffirm our solidarity.”

Earlier, the Vice President of CAN, Rev. Dr. Stephen Baba Panya, said Plateau was chosen because of its long-standing Christian heritage and its reputation as a hospitable city.
He added that the delegation’s presence was a spiritual and symbolic gesture towards peacebuilding in the state.

“Jos remains a welcoming city to people from across the country. We believe our coming will add to the legacy of peace Plateau is known for,” he stated.

Delegates Taken on Tour of the Ten Commandments Crusade Ground

As part of the visit, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Policy and Governance, Mr. Yilchap Ibrahim, led the team on a tour of the Ten Commandments crusade ground.
He explained that the project, originally envisioned by former Governor Jonah Jang, has been expanded significantly to accommodate larger worship gatherings.

He noted that seating capacity had increased to nearly 8,000, with additional platforms for ministers, VIPs, and national Christian leaders expected to attend the upcoming Plateau Unity Christmas Festival.

Plateau CAN Chairman: “This Visit Is a Prophetic Blessing”

Welcoming the national delegation, Plateau CAN Chairman Rev. Dr. Dunka Gomwalk said the timing of the visit was divinely orchestrated.

“This meeting is prophetically and strategically timed by God to bring a blessing upon Plateau,” he said.
“We have faced many security challenges, but the presence of the national executive council here is a sign of hope and stability.”

Advisory Council on Inter-Religious Harmony Welcomes CAN

The delegation also met with the Plateau State Advisory Council on Inter-Religious Harmony, who expressed delight over CAN’s visit.

Co-chair of the council, Rev. Pandam Yamsat, urged CAN leaders to remain firm in promoting unity in Nigeria.

“Plateau is a home of peace despite challenges. Take the bull by the horn and continue to stand for fairness and unity in this country,” he told the visitors.

Representing the Emir of Wase, Alhaji Mohammed Sambo Haruna, a JNI official welcomed CAN warmly, describing Christians and Muslims as members of the same family under God.

Another council member, Dr. Sumia Hamza, applauded CAN for choosing Plateau, noting that interfaith unity must be showcased to counter negative narratives.

“This picture of Christians and Muslims sitting together should go out to the world. Plateau is peaceful, and we must change the wrong perceptions,” she said.

     

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Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B

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Another year, another massive influx of capital for Anduril: the funding round that was rumored to be in process in March has officially closed. Anduril has raised a $5 billion Series H round at a $61 billion valuation, led by returning investors Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, the company announced Wednesday.

This is more than double the valuation it landed just under a year ago, when it raised $2.5 billion at a $30.5 billion valuation led by Founders Fund. (Founder’s Fund invested a $1 billion check, the largest check it has ever written, it told TechCrunch at the time.)

This latest raise comes after the nine-year-old defense tech company doubled revenue in 2025 to $2.2 billion, CEO Brian Schimpf wrote in a blog post announcing the raise.

Interestingly, as much as Anduril is the clear-cut winner among VC investors, the Department of Defense is already giving signs that it won’t lock itself into any one rising-star startup.

Shield AI, another U.S. drone company, recently had its software selected by the Air Force to work with Anduril’s “Fury” autonomous fighter jet, rather than granting the whole hardware and software contract to either one of them.

Still, Anduril is hardly hurting by sharing. In the past few weeks, it has announced a number of contracts, expanding outside the U.S., too.

In May it announced it was part of a contract with others to develop a space-based “golden dome” defensive system — a missile defense shield designed to protect the continental U.S. — for America. Anduril also announced a contract win from the Dutch Ministry of Defense and a U.S. Army contract for battle manager software, using its Lattice platform to analyze data from joint missile defense systems.

“When we founded Anduril in 2017, defense was not a category that attracted significant venture investment. That has changed meaningfully over the last several years,” Schimpf wrote in the post.

It has. To offer just a few recent examples: in March, Shield AI raised $1.5 billion in Series G funding at a $12.7 billion valuation. Last month, Hermeus, maker of hypersonic unmanned fighter jets, raised $350 million at a $1 billion+ valuation, led by Khosla Ventures. And European defense tech darling Helsing is reportedly close to raising a new $1.2 billion round at about an $18 billion valuation, led by Dragoneer and earlier Helsing investor Lightspeed.

Anduril has now raised more than $11 billion from investors altogether.

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NITDA, IDCA partner to transform Nigeria’s digital economy

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the International Data Centre Authority (IDCA) to accelerate Nigeria’s transition into a fully integrated digital economy through a large-scale national digital infrastructure programme.

NITDA announced the partnership in a joint statement signed by the Director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department, Hadiza Umar, and the IDCA’s Global Head of Strategic Services, Head of Europe and Africa, Solomon Edun, on Wednesday.

The partnership is in line with the Nigerian Sovereign Cloud (NSC) initiative, which aims to establish an execution-led, investment-driven framework for infrastructure deployment.

The NSC initiative also aims to achieve regulatory standards and workforce development into a unified national platform designed to mobilise both public and private capital and accelerate long-term economic value creation.

Integrated pillars

According to NITDA, at the centre of the programme is the ‘Nigeria Digital Triangle (NDT)’, a network of strategically located hyperscale, AI-enabled data centre clusters intended to anchor investment, host global cloud and enterprise workloads, and serve as the backbone for Nigeria’s emerging digital economy.

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According to the partners, the initiative will be built around four integrated pillars: a national digital economy masterplan with clearly defined milestones; hyperscale infrastructure development through interconnected digital hubs; national digital standards aligned with international best practices; and a structured education and workforce development system aimed at sustaining long-term capability building.

Speaking on the partnership, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, described the initiative as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s economic and digital transformation.

“This initiative represents a defining moment in Nigeria’s economic transformation, reaffirming the government’s commitment to advancing the Digital Economy and Data Sovereignty Agenda.

“By working with the leading experts of IDCA and members of the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative Technical Working Group as the most advanced and credible think tank, prioritizing digital infrastructure, talent development, data sovereignty, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship, Nigeria is laying a strong foundation for sustainable infrastructure growth, job creation, global competitiveness, and innovation-driven, inclusive development,” the NITDA boss, Mr Inuwa said.

On his part, the Chairman of IDCA, Mehdi Paryavi, noted that Nigeria’s economic position and growth potential will make the initiative strategically important for the continent.

“Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and has the potential to become larger and more impactful to the lives of the people of Africa and beyond.

“This is more than a national initiative; it is a platform for long-term economic value creation. By integrating digital infrastructure, standards, and talent, bundled with investments and the right policymaking.

“Nigeria is building a competitive advantage in the global digital economy,” the data centre authority chairman said, emphasising Nigeria’s digital role on the continent.

READ ALSO: NITDA raises alarm on DeepLoad AI malware attacks, proffers solutions

Execution

The Chief Research Officer at IDCA, Roger Strukhoff, said the programme positions Nigeria to become a regional technology leader. According to him, the initiative is a structured, investment-ready approach that aligns strategy with execution and global best practices.

“Nigeria is taking a decisive step toward becoming a regional digital powerhouse. IDCA is pleased to be fundamental to this historic economic evolution,” he said.

Solomon Edun, global head of strategic services and head of Europe and Africa, stated that the IDCA and Nigeria have worked for years to reach the point of digital economy transformation and partnership.

He added that the partnership will enable a scalable, sustainable digital ecosystem by focusing on infrastructure deployment.

“This is a historic moment, and the program is designed to translate vision into measurable outcomes. By focusing on infrastructure deployment, investment attraction, and skills development, we are enabling a scalable and sustainable digital ecosystem,” he said.

NITDA’s Acting Director, Regulation and Compliance, Emmanuel Edet, highlighted the importance of standards and governance in supporting the project.

According to him, the development of nationally endorsed standards, implemented in parallel with enabling physical infrastructure, is fundamental to ensuring regulatory consistency, data security, and long-term sustainability.

“This collaborative initiative between Nigeria and the International Data Centre Authority establishes the requisite technical benchmarks and strategic governance framework to support effectively,” Mr Edet added.

The initiative will be implemented over three years with defined milestones and structured engagement across government, private sector, and international partners.

The partnership reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to leveraging digital infrastructure to drive economic diversification, innovation, and global integration.


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