Author: The Nation

By Nicholas Kalu, Abuja

Nigerians are soon going to get pay-as-you-go services for digital satellite television, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communication, Hon. Idem Unyime, assured on Friday.

This was as a Bill for an Act to amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act, co-sponsored by himself, Hon Odebunmi Olusegun and Hon Dachung Musa Bagos, scaled second reading on Thursday.

Unyime, who represents Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, said when passed into law, it will also give the NBC the power to fix prices for digital television.

He expressed confidence that the Bill would be passed into law as quickly as possible to assuage the inconvenience Nigerians have so far endured as far as cable television is concerned.

The Bill, he said, would also break the monopoly in the broadcasting sub-sector and create more employment with more investors coming in.

He said, following the cries of Nigerians about the current payment arrangement, they had taken up the assignment and directed the NBC, which is the regulator of the broadcasting industry, to implement the pay-as-you-go service.

He said, in the course of the assignment, they discovered that the law did not empower them to do so.

“We discovered that there was a lacuna in the Act that regulates the broadcasting industry in Nigeria and the gap there is that the NBC, who is the regulator does not have the powers to fix or determine price or tariff for these operators in the broadcasting industry,” he said.

Unyime said following this bottleneck, they had to resort to amend the Act that regulates the NBC, so it can have full powers to call the digital television service providers to order when it comes to pricing policy in Nigeria.

Read Also: Pay-As-You-Go not applicable to Pay TV — Irukera

He begged Nigerians to be patient as the Bill will soon be passed into law.

“The current House based on the past antecedents, based on the records that they have achieved so far, I know that now the Bill has been referred to the Committee for them to do the final working on it, it would not take much time.  It is going to come back for third reading, which I believe we are still going to pass it and send for concurrence in the Senate and after that we are going to expect presidential assent.

“I want to assure Nigerians that after the passage of this Bill, the issue of price increment that happens without the control of the regulator, that happens when Nigerians are not expecting, that happens even when the product is not consumed, it is going to be a thing of the past. I want Nigerians to be happy, patient and hopeful that in a short time, these issues are going to be addressed.

“Apart from the tariff, another thing the Bill is seeking to address is the issue of monopoly. For me, broadcasting industry in Nigeria is supposed to be one of the sub-sectors that has a lot of potential in terms of employment and creativity, but because of the way it is being regulated today, because of the way it is being managed today, all those expectations, and all those potentials cannot really be achieved.

“So when this Bill is passed into law, it would also give the NBC the powers to open up the sub-sector so that more players can be brought on board. We need to broaden the system so that both local and international investors can come in and open up the system where we can have varieties.

“You can see what is obtainable today in the telecom industry. Today it is a sector that is so liberal and everybody would want to go in because it is a free market. So that is what we are looking at in the broadcasting industry. Very soon by the time it is passed it is going to be a free market where everybody has a level playing ground.

“Right now there are a lot of investors that want to come in but the monopoly that is rocking that particular sub-sector cannot accommodate new entrants into the system. So that is one thing the Bill is also seeking to address. So that apart from giving Nigerians benefit for the money they pay, it would also add to the employment issue that Nigerians are yearning for. It is going to create a lot of employment,” he said.

By Muyiwa Lucas

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restoration of the leases on OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which is in production sharing contract with Addax Petroleum.

Addax Petroleum is wholly owned by Government of the People’s Republic of China.

The leases belonging to the Federation were revoked on March 30, 2021.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, confirmed the development in a statement in Abuja yesterday.

He said the restoration of the OMLs was in line with the current administration’s commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment.

According to the presidential aide, this development reaffirms the commitment of the Buhari administration to the rule of law and sanctity of contracts.

Shehu quoted the President as directing the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to retract the letter of revocation of the leases.

The President also directed NNPC to utilise contractual provisions to resolve issues in line with the extant provisions of the Production Sharing Contract arrangement between NNPC and Addax.

”The restoration of the blocks to NNPC will boost the organisation’s portfolio, thereby making the corporation to, in the long run, boost its crude oil production and in turn increase the revenue it generates to the Federation Account,” the presidential aide said.

THE Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State, yesterday, directed its students to resume on Monday, April 26, for the 2019/2020 second semester lectures.

The  registrar of the institution, Ganiyu Saliu, said in a circular that the decision was the consensus reached between the management and staff unions of the institution after several meetings.

The teaching and non-teaching staff members of the institution had three weeks ago, embarked on industrial action over unpaid salaries and others by the state government.

The students, led by the Student Union Government (SUG), had staged a peaceful protest against the disruption of the academic calendar and for the management and the unions to end their feud.

The registrar also advised that students should cooperate with the institution’s authorities by complying with all COVID-19 protocols as they would be strictly enforced.

“Following the consensus reached between management and the staff unions, at various meetings, the Senate has approved that the second semester 2019/2020 lectures should commence on April 26.

“All prescribed COVID-19 prevention protocols will continue to be enforced on all our campuses and students are to cooperate with the university authorities in this regard.

“Students who are yet to fully pay their prescribed school fees are hereby enjoined to do so without further delay as a revised calendar will be released as soon as Senate approves same,” Saliu said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dipo Akomolafe, the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) of the institution confirmed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it had reached an agreement with the institution’s management to end its strike.

“We have resolved with the management to call off our strike, so we will be resuming on April 26, for the second-semester lectures to begin,” Akomolafe said.

However, the non-teaching staff members of the institution comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) said their strike continuee.

Temidayo Temola, the Chairman, Joint Action Congress (JAC) of the non-teaching staff members confirmed to NAN that its strike was still on.

“The management has made some offers in respect to our demands; this is to be deliberated upon next week by the Congress; therefore, the strike is still on,” Temola said.

AS schools resume across the country, the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has called on the governments at all levels as well as private school owners to relocate all boarding schools in rural areas to urban areas as well as provide stand by well-equipped joint security forces to patrol and secure all schools to  protect lives and prevents students, teachers, and staff from being attacked by bandits.

NAPTAN National President, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, drew the attention of the government to this in an interview.

The NAPTAN President called on all traditional rulers, community leaders, youths and all NAPTAN members at all levels to join hands with security operatives to ensure security in all schools as schools resume since security is everyone’s business.

Danjuma said the government should build more classrooms and other facilities in urban schools to accommodate students that will be relocating from boarding schools in rural areas.

Danjuma appealed to the state governors not to allow students from where schools are closed due to attacks in the states to remain at home.

He advised that these students should be moved to other schools within the state in the urban areas for them not to lose academically .

He stressed that all hands must be on deck for adequate and maximum security in all schools as well as tertiary institutions in the country.

The body lamented that parents can no longer sleep with their two eyes closed added that attacks and abduction in schools was giving NAPTAN and citizens serious concern, considering its consequences on national life and development.

NAPTAN further called on the government to ensure that an end comes to strike actions embarked upon by lecturers in tertiary institutions in the country which he the body said has contributed to the dwindling educational system in the country.

Bolaji OGUNDELE, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restoration of the leases on Oil Mining License (OML) 123, 124, 126 and 137, to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The assets were previously operated by Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Limited, a company owned by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the leases, which belong to the Federation, had been revoked on the 30th March, 2021.

According to the statement, Presidential action would help the NNPC to increase its production quota, thereby generating more revenue for the Federation Account.

“In line with the current administration’s commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restoration of the leases on OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC which is in production sharing contract with Addax Petroleum, a company wholly owned by Government of the People’s Republic of China on the blocks. The leases belonging to the Federation were revoked on March 30, 2021.”