MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecom operator, has stressed the urgent need for the telecommunications sector to return to profitability to sustain its operations. The Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Karl Toriola, made this known on Monday during a tour of MTN’s facilities by Fellows of the Media Innovation Programme in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. The MTN chief, who has about 78 million subscribers under his watch, pinpointed that the sector has been accumulating significant losses and that immediate action is necessary to reverse this trend. The operator with a corporate social investment of N2.6bn, according to its 2023 Sustainability Report, is…
Author: Amina Ibrahim
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SENATOR Oyelola Ashiru’s office has described as “wrong and fallacious” allegations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), indicting him as being in possession of illicit drugs. The NDLEA alleged that Senator Ashiru’s house in Ilorin, Kwara State, was raided, and illicit drugs were found. The allegation followed Senator Ashiru’s declaration on the Senate floor that the NDLEA was corrupt. However, a statement issued and signed by the senator’s Legislative Aide, Olaitan Adeyanju said the allegations were false. “We find it preposterous and mere fishing for justification that NDLEA had to wait for the senator’s observation on the floor…
THE Federal Government, through the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), has advised Nigerians living around river banks along the River Benue Basin to quickly move to safer grounds. In a statement on Thursday, NIHSA Director General, Umar Mohammed, warned that water on the River Benue has reached the flooding level due to increased rainfall. He also urged those along the River Niger to move to a safe location as the management of Kainji and Jebba Dams are working to control the floodwaters. The NIHSA boss urged Nigerians to cooperate with the emergency management agencies and work together to build resilience…
TIK TOK said it removed over 2.1 million videos in Nigeria in the second quarter of 2024 for violating its community guidelines. According to the Community Guidelines Enforcement Report shared on Tuesday, Tiktok said the action is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance content moderation and create a safer platform for users. “Key findings show that 99.1 per cent of these videos were proactively removed before users reported them, with 90.7 per cent taken down within 24 hours. “These figures highlight TikTok’s commitment to staying ahead of harmful content, ensuring a safer platform for Nigerian users,” the report…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, on Tuesday said the country’s foreign reserves rose by 12.74 per cent to $39.12 billion as of October 11. Cardoso stated this while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Banking Regulation. The apex bank boss noted that the nation’s foreign reserves stood at $34.70 billion at the end of June. “The reserves rose by 12.74% to $39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024, from $34.70 billion at the end of June 2024,” he said. Cardoso maintained that the reserves have “grown significantly” with remittance flows which currently representing 9.4…
THE national grid collapsed on Monday, plunging millions of Nigerians into darkness. Electricity distribution companies across the country said the grid collapsed around 6:48 p.m., resulting in the loss of power supply across their networks. “Dear Valued Customer,” Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) which serves some parts of Lagos State said on its X handle. “Kindly be informed there was a system collapse at 18:48hrs which has resulted in a loss of power supply across our network. “We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon…
INTERNATIONAL bilateral electricity customers in Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria $5.79m for the energy consumed in the second quarter of 2024. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission revealed this in its latest second-quarter 2024 report. Out of the $15.60m invoice issued by the market operator between April and June, the international customers remitted $9.81m. The foreign companies off-taking power from Nigeria are Para-SBEE in Benin Republic ($1.23m), Transcorp-SBEE in Benin, Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo ($1.09m), and Odukpani-CEET in Togo ($3.47m). Para-SBEE in Benin Republic remitted 71.21 per cent of the $4.29m billed, Transcorp-SBEE in Benin remitted 100 per cent of the…
THE Federal Government on Wednesday said it has finalised the Executive Order to implement zero Value-Added Tax and excise duties on pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Disclosing this in a statement, the spokesman of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Alaba Balogun, said finalisation of the Executive Order’s harmonised implementation framework has now been cleared for gazetting. “This critical step ensures that the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service can proceed with the implementation of zero VAT and excise duties on pharmaceutical products and medical devices,” he said. “This is a significant milestone, as it…
CONVENANT University (CU) has been listed as Nigeria’s overall best university in Times Higher Education (THE) 2024 Rankings. The Times Higher Education World Rankings is a comprehensive global ranking of universities published annually. The 2024 rankings include 1,907 universities across 108 countries and regions. Covenant University which is Nigeria’s highest-ranking institution on the 2024 list fell within the 8001-1000 global scale alongside the University of Ibadan (UI). The ratings were done based on 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook. This year’s ranking analysed more…
THE Senior Staff Association Of Statutory Corporations And Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have begun an indefinite strike over failure of the management to address certain issues regarding the welfare of its members. In the communique SSASCGOC/NAFDAC/COMMUNIQUE/VOL.1 issued on October 4, 2024, the aggrieved workers said the move was necessary after several meetings with the management over critical issues that have to do with promotions, salaries, and the general welfare of the staff, failed to yield positive results. The communique listed several issues…
A DELEGATION from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has visited the institution’s Study Centre at Ezeoke Nsu community, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, which was burnt on Monday night by unknown hoodlums. A press statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity, NOUN, Malam Ibrahim Sheme, in Abuja indicated that the delegation visited the razed Study Centre on behalf of the Management in order to assess the damage. The hoodlums burnt the Study Centre based on a rumour that the Federal Government wished to use it to house internally displaced persons from a section…
THE United Nation’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) says it has released US$5 million to scale up the flood response and address critical needs in three of the most flood affected states in Nigeria – Borno and Bauchi in the North-East, and Sokoto in the North-West. CERF made the announcement in a statement it released on Wednesday and made available to the media. It said the announcement follows the increasing impact of floods on people’s lives, livelihoods, and food security across Nigeria at the peak of the rainy season. More than 300 people have lost their lives and least 1.2…
THE Federal Government said the presidential Compress Natural Gas initiative has unlocked $175m in private sector investments in critical infrastructure in the last year. The Minister of Information and National Orientation of Nigeria, Mohammed Idris gave the update in a statement on X on Tuesday. According to him, Nigeria now has 125 conversion centres, up from just seven a year ago. Idris also said that the biggest advantage is that CNG is much cheaper than petrol and diesel, and will help bring down the cost of transportation and commuting by over 60 per cent. He said, “One of the biggest…
THE Federal Government is expanding its subsidised rice programme to alleviate food insecurity in Nigeria, with sales set to launch in Lagos, Kano, and Borno states, a director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security stated on Monday. Early in September, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced the launch of the N40,000 per 50kg subsidised rice in Abuja, stating that the initiative was part of a broader strategy to ensure that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry. He said the subsidised rice programme aims to provide relief to citizens amid soaring market prices. The…
THE Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, demanded the unconditional release of its members detained by the Kano State Police Command for planning a peaceful October 1 protest in the state. According to a letter to the Kano Police Commissioner, signed by NBA Chairman, Kano Branch, Usman Umar Fari Esq, sighted by News Point Nigeria, the action is a gross violation of their fundamental rights to freedom of assembly, expression, and association, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, (as amended) as well as African Charter for Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. The letter…
THE World Bank has approved three operations for a total of $1.57bn to support the Federal Government in strengthening human capital through better health for women, children and adolescents and building resilience to the effects of climate change, such as floods and droughts through improving dam safety and irrigation. The new financing includes $500m for addressing governance issues that constrain the delivery of education and health (HOPE-GOV), $570m for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program (HOPE-PHC) and $500m for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project (SPIN). The HOPE-GOV and HOPE-PHC programs combined will support FG in improving service…
THE Federal Government has declared Tuesday, 1st of October 2024 as a public holiday to commemorate the nation’s 64th Independence Day Anniversary. The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulated Nigerians at home and abroad on the occasion. A statement by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani on Friday, said Dr. Tunji-Ojo praised the patient and hardworking Nigerian men and women, stating that their sacrifices will not be in vain. Aligning himself with the theme for the anniversary, the minister reiterated the need for Nigerians to reflect on the labour of “our…
Calls For Sack Of Olukoyede THE Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, saying the anti-graft agency, in its current state, is “grossly incompetent”. The CUPP said in a statement on Tuesday that there was no excuse valid enough for committing those two errors of judgment by the EFCC on the day the former governor reportedly submitted himself to the Commission. The statement was signed on behalf of the Coalition by 10 members of its Media, Strategy, Steering, Financial Contact…
THE Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for civil servants met on Friday as regards the new minimum wage template and agreed that the effective date for implementation of new minimum wage be set at July 29,2024. This is according to a Memorandum of Understanding issued at the end of the meeting which was sighted by our correspondent in Abuja on Friday. The Committee also recommended that the wage award which was discontinued by the government should also be paid up till July 28,2024. The Committee headed by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack noted that…
FIRST Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has unveiled the #OneNigeria/UnityFabric, which she described as a symbol of national unity. The fabric was designed by 25 year old Miss Mofinyinfoluwa Bamidele a graduate from the University of Ibadan. Bamidele, who went home with a prize of N25 million, emerged the winner of a fabric designs competition, organised by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), chaired by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu. The First Lady, in her keynote address at the unveiling of the #OneNigeria/UnityFabric and announcement of the winner of the competition, which was held on Monday at the State House…