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How Galaxy Backbone geometrically strengthens digital economy transformation under Prof Abubakar

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….Successfully championing e-government transition project in Nigeria

In commemorating Nigeria’s 62nd anniversary, an appraisal of the gains and contributions of the Digital sector to the country’s economy vis a vis Galaxy Backbone Limited aggressive push to fast tracking a burgeoning Digital Economy laced with immense potential to employ 3 million youths and implementation of e-government transition under the leadership of Prof Mohammed Abubakar.

It is no news that the country is currently grappling with high youth unemployment, economic downturns, poverty amongst other challenges, however Nigeria’s digital ecosystem has stood out as a serving grace.

With 383 Nigerian tech start ups raising over $2 billion in the last seven years and has so far contributed an estimated revenue of 18.44%, a staggering figure to go by – which would have been unrealistic but for the deliberate initiative of Galaxy Backbone Limited through it Managing Director, Professor Abubakar’s clear cut vision in partnership with stakeholders in the sector.

Since its inception in 2006, it has conspicuously spearheaded a system that affords government agencies to be fully digitized, a feat which seemed impossible in a country outside the Western hemisphere.

Chiefly of note is the achievement of GBB is the remarkable strides it recorded during the ravaging period of Covid – 19 pandemic that made the world stand still but there was no hiatus in government activities with the weekly Federal Executive Council meetings going smoothly without hitches.

With the effects of globalisation which has hugely facilitated digital trade with three trillion dollars potential, the need for protection of data has become even more imperative and GBB has left no stone unturned and not risking its platforms to the quick sand of data theft. With its latest data centre in Kano and another in Lagos, the security of data processed in Nigeria will be secured.

GBB Tier IV Datacentre storage has a capacity of about 2.2 petabytes. This translates to huge amounts of data that can be securely stored.

GBB’s responsibility to the agencies of the Federal Government consists of providing shared services from its ICT Infrastructure that will enhance and promote the government’s digital services in a smart, secure and sustainable manner. The huge investments that have gone into this infrastructure are for the benefit of public and private establishments. The experience of GBB in building, deploying and providing infrastructure as a service, is a testimony to its ability to manage and continue in this line of business.

Also, with little reduce cost, GBB have been able to render seamless fibre optic services to both government and non-government offices in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Akwanga, Lafia, Makurdi, Ugbokolo, Enugu, Akwa, Onisha, Portharcourt, Asaba, Benin, Ore, Ijebu- Ode, Lagos and with many more cities to come on board.

In addition, GBB boasts of over 1, 500km of Fiber Network in Abuja, the nation’s capital in line with building a truly smart capital city.

In a bid to engendering greater capacity building and higher skill development amongst public servants the federal government partnered with GBB and Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) in training over 5000 workers on digitisation and Information Technology to improve service delivery within the system, which is in line with its vision of paperless and fully digitised Nigerian public service by the year 2030.

Due to his vision to human capacity, GBB’s MD speaking on the importance of ‘People’ in the development of the fourth Industrial revolution, particularly stated that “We are playing a huge role in building the human capacity for an effective digital economy”.

No doubt, GBB has continued to strive amid challenges as a result of the visionary leadership of Prof Abubakar and management of the company.

As the world celebrate customer service week, it is pertinent to state that GBB has been consistent in rendering unfettered digital infrastructure services to its customers across Nigeria.

 

FG appoints Adepoju as new Postmaster General of NIPOST

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President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of Hon Sunday Adepoju as the new Postmaster General(PMG)/CEO of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).
This was contained in a statement signed on Wednesday by the spokesperson to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Uwa Suleiman.
The statement said, the appointment comes handy following the recommendations made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami.
The new PMG is to servve an initial term of five (5) years.
Hon. Adepoju is a professional accountant and a former member of the Federal House of Representatives from 2011 – 2015 and 2015 – 2019, representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency.
NIPOST is an agency under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the appointment of Hon. Adepoju as the new PMG of NIPOST is with immediate effect.

2023: Use your PVCs to punish injustices of past leaders, SDP presidential candidate, Adebayo tells voters

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…Says don’t vote politicians who can’t fix insecurity, poverty, other challenges in Nigeria

Ahead of the forthcoming 2023 election, the presidential candidate of Social Democratic Party(SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo has urged Nigerians to use their Permanent Voters Cards(PVCs) to punish the injustices perpetuated by past leaders.

Also he advised Nigerians not to vote politicians who can’t fix insecurity, poverty and many challenges facing the Country.

Adabayo disclosed this at a book launch in Abuja on Tuesday, saying Nigeria’s past heroes are purveyors of injustices.

He said the emergence of new political movement will not guarantee any change if Nigerians can’t fix themselves first.

He revealed that Nigeria youths usually gravitate to politicians that give them money.

According to him, “Nigerians are the ones to fix Nigeria, but the people who have damaged Nigeria are the same people vying to fix Nigeria. The first thing is to fix ourselves. The reason we are having election next year is not because we have learnt any lesson but because it time for election. If we use the same matrix we have been using in previous elections, we will continue to have the same result.

“People are saying well, Muhammadu Buhari is a disaster, I agree. But President Goodluck Jonathan was a saint suddenly, I don’t agree. Umaru Yar’adua was sent by God, I don’t agree before then Olusegun Obasanjo was a perfect Man, I don’t agree rather.

“And as we sing in our national anthem, the labours of our heroes past shall not be in vain, what about the injustices of our heroes past?”

“So something went wrong with the first republic that is why we had the military intervention, something went wrong with the Army that why we had the peoples revolt against it, something went wrong with People’s Democratic Party(PDP) that was we had a All Progressives Party(APC).

“What I will say to Nigerians is what I will say to my mechanic, do you understand what is wrong with this car, If you can’t fix my car, please don’t damage it further”.

“One thing with Nigerians is that we don’t like the whole truth but something truth.

“Everything is wrong with the other person, nothing is wrong with us.

“We want justice but we don’t want Justice that will cost us something”

“If we want to fix Nigeria we need to make up our minds; I have gone round the country I have seen some people who want to fix the country, some who want to fix themselves in positions. Have seen people who want to fix the country but don’t want certain things to be touched because those things they like shouldn’t be fixed rather those things they don’t like. I have met people who want to fix Nigeria but refuse to agree that they are part of the problem. Some believe they are innocent. many of the innocent people I see in politics today, are youths and Women. Every youths in Nigeria are angry with the country, in reality everybody is part of the problem”.

He disclosed that if elected he will address the problem of insecurity, poverty many challenges facing the country.

He explained that he is planning to attract talents into governance while decrying the modernization, commercialization of our political process.

“If you don’t have the money, you can’t get the vote”, he said.

He said, “the youths today, for the past 22 years there is nobody that will say the political space is not conducive to call for change but youths gravitate towards Politicians that give them money.

“Majority of the meetings programmes held by the youths is based on the money given by politicians.

“Youths are paid money to tweet, march on the streets; Youths are paid money as influencers, but they want change. The youths in Canada work and give money to Politicians but in Nigeria, policians give them Money”, he said.

NASENI trains over 100 youths in Kano on automobile maintenance

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L-R: Member, Federal Hose of Representatives, Hon. Mustapha Dawaki, Special assistant, Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Sen. Mas’ud Doguwa, Executive vice chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, Secretary to Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, and the director, ICT, Federal College of Education Technology, Hon. Muhammad Aminu during the skills acquisition training in Kano State.

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), has trained 100 motor mechanics drawn from different area councils in Kano, northwestern Nigeria, on the diagnosis and maintenance of automobiles under its skills acquisition training and youth empowerment programme (YEP).

The executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna on Tuesday explained that the training is part of the implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the agency to ensure the development of skills for the youths necessary for job creation and self-employment.

He was speaking at the flag-off of the five-day training programme billed to run from October 4 to 8, 2022, themed “Autotronics and application of sensory system mechanism to diagnosis and maintenance in automobile vehicle”, holding in Kano.

According to him, the occupational trade and advanced skills development selected for Kano State is the first phase of a series of skills development for the northwestern region, to enhance the ingenuity and creativity of its youths in automobile repairs and maintenance, especially through backward integration technique.

“Modern vehicles have computerised engine management systems (EMS) deploying advanced control logics, digital electronics – autotronics, microprocessors and application of intelligence systems making them sophisticated. But advances in diagnostic tools have made it easy to trace and address faults in the vehicles without which maintenance becomes too expensive and complicated and, at times, destructive. Many modern cars are grounded due to a lack of intelligent diagnostic tools or know-how.

“This training is to equip the participants with advanced trouble-shooting tools and complete occupational resources required to repair any automobile that employs sensory and autotronics. The trainees were carefully selected from those earning their livings as motor mechanics but requiring these advanced methods to qualify and repair modern vehicles and enhance efficiency,” he said.

The NASENI boss added that the trainees are expected to equally train others and bag automatic membership of a NASENI platform for online continuous knowledge acquisition and experience-sharing in “this dynamic occupation”.

He urged participants to “utilise and guard the expensive tools” to be given to them at the end of the training as their startup “judiciously and jealously”.

In his keynote address, the secretary to the state government, Kano State, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, described the theme of the training as “apt and timely, coming at a time when youths strive day and night to apply innovative ideas to work and leverage the opportunities provided by the Internet” to get access to information and other economic activities or chances for self-reliance.

“This kind of programme and many others such as training on ICT, defensive driving courses and GSM repairs for thousands of youths, including women, are what the present Kano State government has put at the centre of its development strategy, primarily to reap the benefits of the youths’ talents and mitigate restiveness. Owing to this development, our youth in the state are now rising above economic challenges through innovations, technology and enterprise under a conducive environment laid by our administration,” he stated.

He said NASENI’s support for the programme indicated the state government’s commitment to complying with the policy thrust of the President Buhari administration, which aims to open a new vista to technological advancement for the overall economic development of the nation.

The SSG thanked the NASENI chief executive and the management team for the initiative, expressing the state’s commitment to partnering with relevant federal establishments and development partners in developing young people, transforming the general fortune of the people, as well as their socioeconomic well-being.

He urged participants to remain focused and utilise what they will learn for their advantage and that of their respective communities, even as he expressed the hope that the skills acquired will assist them in future endeavours.

In his remarks, the elated majority leader, Federal House of Representatives, National Assembly, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa, appreciated the efforts of NASENI in building the capacity of youths in the state.

Represented by his special assistant, Sen. Mas’ud Doguwa, the lawmaker urged trainers to train others, to spread knowledge.

In his goodwill message, a House of Representative member, Hon. Mustapha Dawaki said the training, the first of its kind, will enable youths in the area to become self-sufficient and contribute meaningfully to the economy.

He described the participants as “first among equals” and urged them to utilise the experience garnered in the training for diagnosis and maintenance of automobiles in their various communities.

In his remarks, the director, ICT, Federal College of Education Technology, Hon. Muhammad Aminu, lauded NASENI for its drive towards industrialisation and diversification of Nigeria’s economy through various sectors in the areas of power, food security, manufacturing and skills acquisition.

He maintained that the training will, in no small measure, enhance the skill and bring out the creativity in the youths, to make them more self-reliant. He added that this will quickly create an enabling, knowledge-driven environment for local mass production of standard parts and goods and services required for the nation’s technological advancement.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Mr. Tijani Adamu thanked NASENI for the laudable initiative which addressed the main challenge encountered by auto mechanics in maintenance and repairs. He thanked the organisers and the state government for the privilege accorded them and pledged that the training will trigger a revolution in the auto sub-sector.

Nigerian Newssphere gathered that the tool kit presented to trainees includes a complete auto tools box, OBD II autodiagnostic scanner, coverall, safety helmet, safety footwear, hand glove, safety goggle, respiratory mask, t-shirt, face cap and other training materials.

 

 

NCC, NITDA to attend 4th Cyberchain conference in Abuja

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Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA), to attend the fourth National Cyberchain Conference and National Tour in Abuja.

According to the organiser and Founder of Cyberchain Jude Ozinegbe, a Digital Transformation and Blockchain Consultant, the conference with the theme: “Embracing The Metaverse Economy” will hold  on the 22nd of October at NAF Conference Centre.

Cyberchain converges some of the best minds in the tech space annually and connects them with enthusiasts that are eager for the knowledge shared by these experts.

Blockchain developers, Founders and investors have also found Cyberchain events, perfect fits to engage and foster viable business relationships.

“As technology continues to foster the growth of businesses across the globe, it has become imperative for Nigeria to be positioned as a contributor to the fast growing digital economy.

“Cyberchain was born out of the need to ensure Nigerians get proper sensitisation about the numerous benefits of the digital economy, which includes but not limited to creating more jobs for Nigerians, ease of doing business, transparent governance, safe online presence and even placing Nigeria on the global map by creating world class projects that contribute to the nation’s GDP,” Ozinegbe said.

The national conference and tour commenced in Akure Ondo state in March, while Uyo Akwa Ibom state held in May and July in Benin City Edo state.

Speakers lined up for the conference  include Mr Mohammed Jega, Founder at Domineum Blockchain, Mr Adedeji Owonibi, Founder at Convexity and A&D Forensics, Mr William Phelps, Investment Manager at Adaverse and many others.

The grand finale of the national tour will hold in Lagos on 12th November 2022, with more industry leaders, like Chris Ani of DabaTV, Tony Emeka of CryptoTV Plus, Chuta Chimezie of BNUG, Kristian Kruz of Element USA.

Nollywood ace actress and business tycoon Mimi Orjiekweng will also be making an appearance at the Lagos event and present prizes at the flagship Cybersecurity Hackathon dubbed: “Cyberthon” where winners will walk away with over N1,000,000 and other gifts for their performance at the ethical hacking competition, supervised by Digital Encode Limited.

The organiser also planned to wrap up this year’s event with the first and biggest Blockchain boat cruise on 13th November 2022 where celebrities, founders, investors and top leaders in the Blockchain space will have ample time to network, dine and wine, while enjoying the lush and ambient view of the Ikoyi/Lekki waters.

Ozinegbe used the opportunity to thank brands that have always supported Cyberchain.

Other attendees are Zinochrome, Digital Encode, Binance, TradeFada, Bitmama, FBM Homes, Convexity, RedswanCRE, LBank, FTX, Adbond, WhiteBit, Gamic Guild, Adaverse, Emurgo, AAX, Farmchain,  SiBAN, Boundless Nexus, Rocket, CryptoTV Plus, LenzOne.

Cyberchain is a decentralised, brand-neutral and people-focused ecosystem that promotes the need for ethical use of cybersecurity and blockchain technology.

 

TETFund interventions in Tertiary Education and the Burden of Leadership

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By Mahmud Bashir

Public tertiary institutions in Nigeria have been bedeviled by poor funding; a situation that necessitated the establishment of the Tertiary Education TrustFund (TETFUND).

This malaise has long emerged as a critical challenge to the promotion of a good tertiary education standard, maintenance of physical infrastructure, training of lecturers and funding of research in the country among others.

The challenge has caused friction between the staff tertiary institutions and the government, leading to obstruction of academic work and calendar. Higher institutions of learning in the country have often resorted to strike actions to press home their demands for better working conditions and funding of education.

To address the problem of funding specifically the tertiary education, TETFund was established as an intervention agency under the TETFund Act, 2011. The Act repeals the Education Tax Act Cap. E4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Education Tax Fund Act N0 17, 2003, which were the enabling legal foundation of ETF (TETFund, 2017).

It’s critical areas of interventions includes sponsorship of lecturers for post graduate studies, funding constructions and refurbishment of educational facilities, promoting of creative and innovative approach to learning; promotion of higher education books and funding libraries and provision of learning equipment.

Part of which TETFund has drawn a Policy Document in the area of academic pursuits;
Academic Staff Training & Development (AST&D); Conference Attendance intervention (CA), Institution Based Research (IBR) intervention, National Research Fund (NRF), Academic Manuscript into books (AMB) Intervention and Academic Research Journals (ARJ).

These interventions are deliberate actions towards preparing Nigerians for global competitiveness with the end goal of building a knowledge economy and increasing the country’s global presence.

For those who have been following the strides of operational works of TETFund in recent times, concise and determined efforts have been going on in repositioning building the agency as the Hub intervention of tertiary education in Nigeria.

The recent inauguration of the Four Merged projects sponsored by the Fund which include a one Laboratory: Workshop block for entrepreneurship development Centre, a one female hostels, one male hostel and academic office building for college of agronomy, at the Joseph Saawuan Tarkaa federal university, Makurdi Benue state is a testament of architect Sunny Echono’s leadership quality.

This was further proven by President Muhammadu Buhari’s representative at the ceremony, Hon, Aminu Suleiman Goro, stating that ‘TETFund under the current Executive Secretary has performed exceedingly well in the provision of critical infrastructure, academic staff development, book publication, research and development among others’.

These testimonies and commendations bear striking parallelism to Echono’s track record of experience spanning infrastructure, business administration, procurement management and the education sector. His appointment and assumption of office has been greeted with cheers from many stakeholders, owing to his inspiring career in the civil service.

The recent courtesy call by the governor of Anambra state Professor Charles Soludo, at the Fund headquarters also commended the executive Secretary of the Fund and his management for performing credibly well in view of the limited resources available to the fund. Compare to the massive needs of the higher education sector. He added.

With this, it is evident that TETFund under the leadership of Architect Sunny Echono is strategic, focused and unassuming, and productive for every stakeholder in the Nigerian project. We can boldly attest that president Buhari appointed an overseer of educational agency who is always thinking on his feet and whose commitment are sincere pursuits of the overall good of the nation.
It is therefore, important that all good spirited Nigerians should accord the Executive Secretary TETFund, architect Sunny Echono the support to sustain the patriotic service to our fatherland.

Mahmud Bashir
A Public Affairs Commentator, writes from Gombe state.

Nigeria at 62:Regulatory policies geometrically driving digital transformation, revenue portfolio — Prof Danbatta  

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Certainly one thing Nigeria can brag about on the occasion of her 62nd Independence is the steady growth in its Telecommunications, ICT industry. This unprecedented performance is attributed to a befitting regulatory policy of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the leadership of its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta.

The sector contributed N4.84trillion to the nation’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first two quarters of 2022 according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The sector contributed 12.12 per cent to total nominal GDP and 18.44 per cent to total real GDP in the second quarter of 2022. The sector is composed of the activities of telecommunications and information services; publishing; motion picture, sound recording, and music production; and broadcasting.

Explaining the sector’s impact in its latest GDP data, the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) said, “In nominal terms, in the second quarter of 2022, the sector growth  recorded  14.11 per cent (year-on-year), 14.18 per cent points increase from the rate of -0.07 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2021, and 6.43 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.”

Similarly, NCC has continued to drive Broadband Penetration with accompanied success. As at June 2022, it stood at 44.30 per cent with more than 84 million internet subscriptions in the country. The Commission with the support of relevant stakeholders has targeted 75 per cent broadband penetration by 2025.

More so, Danbatta declared recently that NCC generated N257 billion revenue in the first quarter of 2022, while N195bn was  remitted to  government coffers.

The NCC boss added that from April to August, N318 billion was generated, while N214 billion was remitted.

This as well has impacted to a large extent on the growth of Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector in general with a whooping 18.44% according to August Statistics.

No wonder, applause from ICT industry stakeholders greeted Danbatta’s reappointment last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

One of the summarizing notes would be because Prof. Danbatta has succeeded tremendously in transforming Nigeria’s telecoms sector, especially in the areas of improved quality of service, infrastructural development, consumer empowerment/satisfaction, research and development, improved stakeholder relations, as well as significant increase in active mobile broadband penetration.

Even the president has acknowledged Danbatta’s stride in developing the telecoms sector when he noted that Danbatta leadership at NCC was part of efforts to consolidate the gains made in the sector in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

From his performance scorecard in the past seven years, Prof Danbatta can be described as a round peg in a round hole for magically stabilizing the telecommunications industry with his many impacts on the industry landscape.

In 2016, shortly after he was appointed, the NCC boss being aware of the enormous job before him engaged  local and international media, as well as stakeholders in the telecommunications sector on the strategic vision of the NCC.

Consequently, the EVC came up with a plan for achieving his vision – The Strategic Vision Plan, also referred to as the “8-Point Agenda,” is a roadmap to guiding the operations of the commission for the five-year period, 2015-2020. The 8-point agenda included facets of Danbatta’s strategic thrusts such as facilitating broadband penetration; improving the quality of all telecom services by promoting the availability of reliable critical infrastructure; maximizing the availability of spectrum to provide diverse and affordable services; promote ICT innovation and investment opportunities in ways that will increase investment in youth and SME.

Others include facilitating strategic collaboration and partnerships with relevant stakeholders; protecting and empowering consumers from unfair practices; create a competitive market for ICT services that will promote competition, inclusive growth, new investments, job creation, and consumer satisfaction; ensuring regulatory excellence through effective regulatory framework, strict compliance and enforcement monitoring; among other obligations.

It is worthy to note that most of the focal points in the Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) have been actualized while other areas are being improved upon.

Another significant landmark achievement of Danbatta-led administration in the NCC is the fact that Nigeria’s telecommunications industry has continued to grow.

The NCC under Prof. Danbatta has been able to tackle the issue of excessive Right of Way (RoW) charges and vandalism of telecommunication infrastructure, which has plagued the sector for decades. This move has resulted in improved effective service delivery by telecom companies.

It should also be noted that NCC in 2019 successfully supervised the execution of the Proof of Concept (PoC) trial of 5G telecom; Auctioning of 5G Spectrum in 2022, and effective implementation of 5G trial services in major cities by MTN Communications, a leading network operator in Nigeria.

Furthermore, before assuming office in 2016, there were 47,000 kilometres of fiber optic cables laid across the country. However, five years after the implementation of the SVP coupled with sustained high regulatory standards provided by the Danbatta-led NCC, there are now 54,725 kilometers of fiber cables laid across the country. Prof. Danbatta pointed out that the licensing of six Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to deploy fiber infrastructure across the six-geo political zones will also help galvanize increased connectivity.

Again, one of the most popular consumer initiatives by the NCC boss was the introduction of the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) directive, which has led to a rapid reduction in the number of unsolicited messages to consumers. Prior to that time, consumers would receive tons of unsolicited messages and in some instances duplicated bills. Preceding this initiative was the declaration of 2016 as the “Year of the Consumer” by the commission with elaborate programmes celebrating the centrality of the telecom subscriber to the regulatory activities of the commission.

In 2019, the NCC also facilitated the listing of two telecom companies – MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa – on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The arrival of both TelCos was indeed a huge boost to the stock market, and they have since joined the ranks of the country’s most valuable companies for investment.

The NCC is also the co-driver of the Revised National Identity Policy, which requires Nigerian citizens and residents to link their SIM cards to the NIN database. This was deemed an important step in ensuring the safety and security of all citizens.

The biometric system is expected to improve access to government services, support private sector services and enhance both the country’s national security and digital economic development.

The policy also indicates that apart from security and development planning, the process to link SIMs to NINs will help increase the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC’s) database as the network
user database swells.

With EVC’s unquenchable flare to achieve greater strides, NCC has commissioned 23 Emergency Communication Centres (ECC) across Nigeria with a clear plan to activate the centre in the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The project will interconnect Nigerians to emergency response agencies such as Fire Service, Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ambulance services and more.
Danbatta’s success in rewriting the narrative of the ECCs attracted local and international awards in 2019 with the Security and Emergency Management Awards as well as the International Public Relations Award which were conferred on him.

With all these achievements, Prof. Danbatta has indeed led the charge to drive Nigeria’s industrial revolution and knowledge-based economy leveraging on telecommunications.

These achievements and others too many others have earned him the Prestigious Zik Leadership Award organised by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) in December 2020 and others sterling awards.

No wonder Milton Friedman said – No arbitrary obstacles can prevent a person from achieving great heights in a position for which his/her talent fits. Without mincing words, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta is an unstoppable game changer in the telecommunications industry

Breaking news: Phyna wins BBNaija Season 7

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Phyna has win the Big Brother Naija Season 7 with the N100million cash prize reward.

Phyna outperformed the 2nd runner up Bryann with 40.74% to emerge the winners of the show.

Phyna with the original name, Ijeoma Josephine Otabor is one of the BBNaija season 7 housemates of the “Level Up” edition. The 25-year-old entertainer or hype person, Phyna- assures fans that she is at the house to make a difference. She joined the BBNaija season 7 with other personalities like Elsoswag and others.

Phyna reckons that for this BBNaija season 7, she has brought on the “ginger and the vibe,” Her fans will love her because she is jovial. Phyna has a growing following of 58. 7K fans on Instagram.
Here’s all the tea about the BBNaija Phyna, her biography, life, love, relationship, and career.

 

NCC, NLRC inaugurate committee to boost consumer protection

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Banji Ojo, Head, Consumer Policy Development and Monitoring, Nigerian communications Commission (NCC); Olayemi Ajayi, Director, Legal Services, National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC); Adeleke Adewolu, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, NCC; Chizua Whyte, Head, Operator Relation and Correspondence, NCC and Obi Iregbu, Deputy Director, Licensing and Regulatory Services, NLRC, at the inauguration of a joint-committee to review existing Memorandum of Understating (MoU) between the two agencies in Abuja recently (September 29, 2022).

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) on Thursday in Abuja set up a committee to work towards the protection of the interest of telecom consumers against malpractices that may attend mobile lotteries in the country.

The Committee, which was inaugurated at the NCC Head Office in Abuja, was tasked with the responsibility of articulating measures to address mutual regulatory issues, including the review of revenue-sharing formula between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and lottery operators.

 

The NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM), Barrister Adeleke Adewolu, who presided at the meeting comprising senior staff of the two agencies, recalled fondly previous engagements between the agencies and stated that the committee was important in order to review and update an NCC-NLRC Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed on the 6th of August 2018 but has now expired.

The ECSM said the Commission is committed to regulatory collaboration and strategic partnerships and has carefully reviewed NLRC’s requests and is convinced that both organisations can conclusively address issues and other concerns that have been identified in the operation of lotteries in the telecom industry.

“We expect that the Joint Committee of senior members of staff in both organisations will work closely to develop a collaborative framework to progressively improve gaming service delivery for telecoms consumers and further accelerate holistic development in Nigeria’s digital economy,” Adewolu stated.

In addition, the ECSM reiterated that the Committee is expected to articulate a new MoU to address issues around revenue sharing between MNOs and lottery operators, the need to review and recommend a workable model for addressing the needs of both organisations, and present informed recommendations to deepen regulatory collaboration between the two regulatory agencies.

“Given the strong professional pedigree of the members of this Joint Committee, I have no doubt that they will meet and even exceed the expectations of the Managements of both the NCC and the NLRC, and I wish you all success in this task,” Adewolu added.

Speaking on behalf of the Director-General, NLRC, Lanre Gbajabiamila, the Director, Legal Services, NLRC, Olayemi Ajayi, expressed her organisation’s commitment to improving revenue generation from the lottery industry while appreciating NCC for being receptive to inter-organisational collaborations.

Ajayi reiterated the need for renewal of the expired MoU with amendments to accommodate new provisions that will be favourable to stakeholders and fast-track the development of Nigeria’s digital economy.

Ajayi assured that, “The NLRC is working tirelessly to ameliorate its functions and service delivery to stakeholders. Therefore, this renewed collaboration with NCC will help for better and efficient service delivery by both agencies.”

 

 

DBN disburses N482bn to 208,000 youths, women owned MSMEs in one year — Finance Minister

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The Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed has disclosed that the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN)  disbursed a total of N482 billion to youths and women owned 208,000 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises within a year.

Zainab made the disclosure during the third Annual Lecture Series of DBN held in Abuja on Thursday.

The Minister said, “The Development Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with key partners are to address the Financial challenges facing Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through loans facilities to them and train them on self reliance in the country.

“The DBN has been identified as key contributor to unlocking the capacity of MSMEs towards achieving economic growth in the country. According to the International Data between 70 to 95 per cent of employment opportunities are created  by MSMEs  to ensure the effectiveness of the economy.

“It’s imperative to ensure that MSMEs are supported in acquisition of skills and tools to run their businesses efficiently and manage risks and access to finance among others. The World Bank estimates the financing gap among former microeconomics to be 18 percent of the GDP with potential demands for financing among informal  MSMEs as high as 11 percent of the GDP.

“This underscores the important roles played by the Development Bank of Nigeria in facilitating access to finance. The total money disbursed is N482billion to 208,000 MSMEs in 2021, out of which 27 per cent are youths owned enterprises, while 66 per cent are enterprises owned by women.”

According to her, the DBN has continued to be a major driver of MSMEs in our country.

The Minister stressed that the Federal Government has contributed enormously to the growth of MSMEs through tax reduction in the nation.

She said, “According to the report by the Small and Medium Enterprise of Nigeria in collaboration with with National Bureau of Statistics in January, 2022, MSMEs accounts for 96.7 per cent of businesses and also contributes 46.3 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“However, it only accounts for 6.21 per cent of gross exports within the economy and a total of 6,195,473 persons were engaged in MSMEs in Nigeria. The relatively low contribution of MSMEs to gross export is a concern to us, giving its norminal contribution to GDP, and for these reasons, urgent steps are being taken to curb the concerns.”

The Minister stated the policies of the ministry to support the MSMEs sector has been contained in the Finance Act as they have successfully prepared it and have reached the advanced stage of the 2022 Finance Act.

She revealed that the Finance Act is designed to amend relevant taxes, excise duty and any other duty or incentive to boost local manufacturing activities in the country.
“The Finance Act in section 40 of Industrial Development Income Tax  has been amended to grant tax exemption to small businesses and low income companies. So, companies that have a turnover for 25 per cent are now placed on zero company income tax.

“While section 1 of the income tax has amendment for tax holiday to MSMEs for four years to enhance their productivity.”

The Minister however tasked the development bank to step up their activities in synergy with other funding institutions to encourage more local firms in the country.

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