The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • Use 2442 to stop provocative SMS, says NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has advised subscribers to stop unsolicited and most often, provocative text messages by sending “STOP” to “2442”.

    It said this was part of  its ongoing campaign to enlighten consumers on their rights to better services.

    Declaring 2017 as the year of Nigerian Telecom Consumer , its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC)  Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta said the campaign would focus on two key areas: improving the quality of service, protecting and educating the consumer.

    “To address the unsolicited calls received by consumers, the NCC has introduced the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility where consumers are urged to activate the service by dialing “2442”.

    A statement endorsed by its Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, explained that the EVC also advised consumers to access the customer toll free line by dialing 622 to register their complaints if they do not get such complaints addressed by the mobile network operator (MNO).

    According to him, NCC intends to increase the awareness level and  the activation level of these two initiatives to ensure that the consumer experiences improved QoS this year and beyond.

    “The Commission is implementing measures to reduce dropped call rate (DCR) to meet its benchmark of less than one percent. It will closely monitor, track and review the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of operators by Network Integrity and Technical Standards Department.

    “Greater efforts would also be put in Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement of set standards,”  the EVC was quoted to have said.

    The Commission has started an enlightenment campaign to let the consumers know what to do whenever the issue of unsolicited telemarketing arises.

    Jingles are already running on radio stations and adverts in the print and other media are underway.

    Subscribers have also been advised to avoid buying pre-registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards because of the dangers such action portend to the security of themselves and the entire society.

    “Every SIM card purchased must be registered with the network provider,” the NCC insisted.

  • Fed Govt budgets $1b for software importation

    •ISPON seeks software legislation

    The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has lamented the huge foreign exchange (forex) wasted yearly on the importation of information communication technology (ICT) goods and services.

    Pantami said a whopping $1 billion or four per cent of this year’s budget would used for the importation of software, some which are local substitutes while a total of $2.8billion is spent yearly on the importation of ICT goods and services.

    Speaking at the weekend in Lagos during this year’s Institution of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON’s) Presidential Dinner, he said NITDA would work hard to stop the needless forex hemorrhage.

    He said: “Nigeria expends about $2.8billion annually on the importation of ICT goods and services. A huge amount of almost $1billion or about four per cent of the proposed 2017 budget will be spent on software importation. As the regulator of the sector, NITDA is eager to reverse this trend and we are keen to ensure that our local content policy is promoted and enforced. We are committed to local content policy for the development of our emerging ICT sector and for reduction of capital flight.

    “We are committed to reverse this trend of uncontrolled inflow of foreign software to the detriment of our own local software. We seek to identify, strengthen and promote our indigenous software as an alternative to the foreign software that currently dominated our ICT sector. After all, facts and figures at our disposal suggest that the local software alternatives are performing well at a much lower cost.”

    ISPON President, Olorogun James Emadoye, said Nigeria is ripe for a strategic legislation on software if the country must change the tide that has turned it to a digital colony of the 21st century. He lamented that overdependence on offshore software promotes joblessness and it attendant crime rates in the country.

    He said: “You may have heard that the 2016 budget had well over N15billion provision for ‘Computer Software Acquisitions’. ISPON was highly optimistic when it came across this figure in the approved budget and took the initiative to inform ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on the need to patronise software Nigeria in the real meaning of software Nigeria and not foreign software that are sold by installation and customising agents in Nigeria.

    “ISPON believes that such effort at the use of made-in-Nigeria software will create millions of jobs for Nigerians and set Nigeria on the path of self-sufficiency in software.  If 70 per cent of the well over N15billion had been spent in/for software Nigeria, the impact would have been felt in all facets of the economy – with ability to generate many billions of naira along the value chain.

    “We believe that Nigerians are smart people and as such we should be able to serve our needs software wise, earn foreign exchange from software sales and support and therefore conserve/safe unnecessary wasteful spending of the scarce foreign exchange earned from oil with the overall goal of increasing that earning and contributing at least, nine per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) from locally produced software products and services.”

    Emadoye, also Director-General, Delta State Innovative Hub, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to support, sustain and accelerate intervention in the sector to facilitate economic development.

    Specifically, he urged the government to pass special legislation to ensure that all MDAs use locally produce software for computerisations; ensure that the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) work and collaborate with NITDA and ISPON before approving software payment from scarce forex resources.

    He urged Buhari to ensure that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) collaborate with NITDA and ISPON before allowing transfer for all software purchases; ensure that 30 per cent of all software payment for foreign products approved for payment through the collaboration of NITDA, ISPON, CBN and NOTAP is retained in the country for the development of local capacity; mandate the Bank of Industry (BoI) to expedite actions to establish the N5billion Software Development Fund of which ISPON has already submitted position paper and start disbursement to deserving firms and software developers.

    “The government should declare a state of emergency on Nigeria software and establish a N100 billion litmus package as bailout for Strategic National Software Development Ecosystem. The government should mandate all the telecoms companies through the Nigerian Communicayions Commission (NCC) to make available to software producers codes, Application Programme Interface (API) and other programmes for building software for the telecoms industry,” he added.

  • NNPC to transform into integrated energy company

    NNPC to transform into integrated energy company

    • Raises alarm over fake recruitment

    The  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said its ongoing reform is geared towards transforming the state-run oil firm into an integrated energy outfit with interest in power generation and transmission.

    Its Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr Maikanti Baru, who spoke at the 53rd International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) in Abuja, said the oilf firm has identified opportunities in the power sector.

    In a paper titled: Challenges and Prospects for the Diversification of the Upstream, Downstream and Frontier Basin Exploration in the Oil and Gas Sector, Dr Baru said NNPC  was ready to take advantage of the power sector opportuniies. He said the firm will transform from being a gas supplier to the power sector into a major player.

    He said the Corporation was already working on a project to generate four Megawatts (4Mw) of electricity while also exploring the possibility of investing in the transmission segment of the  sector.

    In a statement yesterday, the GMD explained that the Corporation’s decision to diversify into the power sector was hinged on the need to bridge the huge energy gap in the market.

    He said contrary to the impression that the poor power situation was caused by inadequate gas supply, the real problem was inadequate transmission capacity. He added that there was enough gas to generate eight gigawatts (8Gw) of electricity but the transmission grid cannot support such volume of power without complications.

    Baru also defended the Federal Government’s plan to transform illegal refineries in the Niger Delta into legal entities for proper integration of the youth in the region.

    He argued that getting the youth to form consortia to set up 1000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refineries would get them off criminality and create jobs.

    In the upstream, he said his goal was to accelerate frontier exploration and grow crude oil reserve to 40 billion barrels from the current 37 billion.

    He also challenged the geoscientists on the need to deploy more sophisticated technology and drill deeper than the current 13,000 to 15,000 feet in the Niger Delta to produce more oil.

    “We have to look deeper with intensive 3D and 4D seismic surveys over the so-called matured Niger Delta. The older, the better”, he declared.

    The NNPC also raised the alarm on the existence of some dubious syndicates with specialty in extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public under the pretext of a purported recruitment exercise and promise of phantom job placements in the Corporation.

  • Telecoms subscribers at operators’ mercy

    Telecoms subscribers at operators’ mercy

    The liberalisation of the telecommunications sector about 15 years ago destroyed the fetters of monopoly, ushered in a new era of digital telephony, removed communications barriers and made the world truly a global village. Overwhelmed by the euphoria that greeted access to mobile phones, consumers’ interests were relegated to the background. But the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is prepared to turn the table with its new focus, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    Madam Esther Kokumo has an axe to grind with her service provider. According to her, any time she buys air time on her mobile phone, her service provider will send text messages to her about deductions from her account for calls she never initiated.

    “There was this particular contact I have on my phone. I  discovered that my operator waited for me to load my phone and as soon as I did that, there would be deductions for calls I never made. So last week, when I saw a deduction of N200 for a call I didn’t make, I waited in the office to see the owner of the mobile phone number. I asked if he received any call from me. He said he did not. I was angry and called the customers service line. I wasted so much time because they were asking me to press numbers that took me to an agent after 25 minutes. When the agent appeared, the line snapped,” Mrs Kokumo lamented.

    Another subscriber, who identified himself as Pius, said he lost his mobile phone and his subscriber identity module (SIM) card with all his invaluable contacts. He got the line blocked, but when the time for SIM swap came, it was hell. “When I got to the customer care centre of my operator, I was turned back by the receptionist for not coming with either my valid drivers’ licence, international passport or voters card.

    “I explained to her that the line was more than 10 years old and begged her to consider swapping my SIM with my staff identity card, but she refused. Frustrated, I left her and promised to port the line to another network when I am done with her palaver.”

    These are but few examples of customer complaints that have dogged the phenomenal increase in subscribers’ figures in the country. Complaints such as availability of fake/substandard mobile phones in the market and inability for some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to live to their promise at the point of launch into the market have remained a burden too heavy to carry.

    But speaking in Abuja during the declaration of 2017 as year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumers, the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said: “In 2015, Nigerian telecom consumers spent a whopping $5.6billion on telecommunications services.  And in 2016, they topped it up by another $1billion to make it $6.6billion.

    “The NCC took a management decision that compelled us to seek to amplify our activities towards ensuring that the consumer enjoys a customer experience that is enhanced and content in time and quality.”

    The patronage of the consumer is important and NCC acknowledges this. “That is why in 2017 and I dare say and even beyond, the consumer will be our focus,” Danbatta said.

    According to him, the NCC intends to inform and educate the consumer with the sole intent of protecting and empowering them to make the right decisions.

    “The telecom weak link, rightly or wrongly, is the consumer,” he said, adding that there are no small consumers as those who scratch N200.00 worth of air time and the one who spends N100,000.00 are equal.

    Last year, Dmabatta unveiled the eight point agenda of his administration in Lagos and Kano. The items on the agenda are to facilitate broadband penetration; improve Quality of Service (QoS); optimise usage and benefits of spectrum; promote 19 innovation and investment opportunities; facilitate strategic collaboration and partnership; protect and empower consumers; promote fair competition and inclusive growth and ensure regulatory excellence and operational efficiency.

    While item two captured the consumer as it relates to QoS; item six talks about protection of the consumer.

    The goal is to protect the consumer from unfair practices by providing information and education to them. “This is being actively pursued by strengthening initiatives, to educate and inform consumers in their use of communications services and act swiftly whenever necessary in the use of enforcement to protect telecom services consumers’ rights and privileges,” he said.

    On the menace of unsolicited tele-marketing, whereby consumers receive unsolicited text messages and calls, Danbatta has good news for the consumers. He said: “The NCC has introduced the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility where consumers are expected to activate the same by dialing 2442.”

    Part of the plan to actualise the Nigerian Telecom Consumer year is the determination of the NCC to ensure that consumers’experiences improved this year and beyond.

    The Commission is also implementing measures to reduce Dropped Call Rate (DCR) to meet its industry benchmark of less than one per cent.

    “It will closely monitor, track and review the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of operators by Network Integrity and Technical Standards. Greater efforts would also be put in compliance, monitoring and enforcement of set standards,” Danbatta explained.

    The NCC has had meetings with the operators “to demand that QoS must be improved upon immediately.

    “There is also the 622 number for the NCC customer complaint line. The NCC intends to increase the awareness level and equally the activation level of these two initiatives.

    “Our focus on the consumer this year does not in any way suggest a neglect of the other stakeholders in the sector. Rather, it suggests a recommitment to consumer satisfaction. NCC is driven by the desire to empower the consumer and it is rolling out new initiatives to achieve this,” he said.

    Earlier, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management of the Commission, Mr. Sunday Dare,  provided further insight on the significance of the declaration.

    Dare said:  “Many would want to ask why the NCC 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer? A loaded question, no doubt. I will attempt to provide a quick answer, using the five Ws and H that guided me through my career as a media and communications professional. They are the Why, When, Where, What, and Who.

    “Why? The consumer is important as the oxygen that keeps Telcos alive. The consumer is a major stakeholder whose satisfaction matters. The satisfaction of the consumer will help the Telcos increase their revenue base. The NCC as a regulator is mandated to protect, inform and educate consumers.

    “When? The campaign runs in year 2017 and beyond. Every time we seek to engage and explore ways to make customer experience better is the when of this campaign.

    “Where? In the Nigeria telecoms industry, both for the inbound and outbound call experience – it is all over the country, from Kano to Kotongora, from Ado-Ekiti to Ekpoma, from Ikeja to Lokoja, from Dutse to Jos, Birnin-Kebbi to Yenagoa, we want the consumer to experience good quality of service.

    “Who? The consumer – subscribers to voice and SMS services, subscribers to data service and subscriber to Value Added Services.

    “How? By providing unique and timely information to empower the consumer, by engaging stakeholders in a constructive way to ensure that they work with the NCC, by ensuring quality of service across board, by increasing the level of awareness and activation of the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb Service and by educating the consumer about the environmental and health impact of the telecoms infrastructure and type of phones approved for use.”

    Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu, commended the Commission for the timely declaration. “The Theme for the World Consumer Right Day 2017 is ‘Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust’ it is therefore very apt for the NCC to flag off and declare 2017 the year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer since the theme of the 2017 World celebration falls within the purview of the NCC regulatory activities and oversight functions on the telecom industry,” he said.

     

    ALTON reacts

     

    But the Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) has urged the Federal Government to act on the foreign exchange problem facing the telecoms sector.

    Its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo lamented that his members were under the threat of service shut down by offshore service providers because of the problem. “ALTON respectfully requests the Commission to fast track the ongoing engagement with the CBN to include telecoms equipment and invisibles among the list of items/sectors to be allocated the 60 per cent foreign exchnage availability by the Banks, regardless of source of inflows. This is to ensure the continued provision of world class telecommunications services to the consumers,” he said.

     

    ATCON speaks

     

    Also, the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON)  echoed ALTON’s position. Its President, Olusola Teniola said: “We need the Federal Government to step in now to ensure that any telecoms equipment; any telecoms development; be it for broadband, be it for quality of service, be it for the capacity upgrade of the network, that the sourcing of infrastructure to achieve this to be done at a reasonable dollar to naira rate to be able to sustain the industry otherwise, we will have what we call a ripple effect in this market and we should not allow that to happen.”

  • ‘How to mitigate cyber risks’

    ‘How to mitigate cyber risks’

    A new report has provided pathways for business leaders to navigate, mitigate cyber risks and optimise returns on investment (RoI).

    The report, titled: Corporate Leader Guide to Mitigating IT and Cyber Risk for Business Continuity, showed that  more than 45 per cent of the world population is connected to the internet and the number is growing across the globe. In Nigeria, the number of internet users (corporate, public and private sector inclusive) rose from less than a million in 2003 to over 80 million last year.

    The author of the report and Chairman, NFPAWA, Mr. Femi Young, said the internet has not only revolutionised modern approach to governance, but transformed the way essential services are provided.

    He said the facilities that provide IT, data and telecoms services are classified as Mission Critical ones. According to him, facilities such as data and telecoms centres, must maintain operations without interruption. “To best manage these risks, business owners must ensure that their ICT design, implementation and operations and maintenance  understand the required standard, codes and best practices to prevent interruption. It is important for every leader to understand this and ensure that ability of the team in the strategic concepts of risk mitigation in planning, compliance, maintenance and availability are adequate.

    “The most critical layer of this is in the critical infrastructure development and sustainability to ensure these systems are functional, available and reliable for operations.

    “A primary cause of service disruption in these facilities has been linked to fire, security lapses and power failure. These threaten business and human life. Catastrophes and interruptions such as these are seen in banking servers going down, network failures, power outages. Resulting effects are increased market and reputational risk, financial losses and increased potential for litigation,” he said.

    He continued: “The ability to prevent and mitigate such resides in the competency of the risk management chain from planning through strategy, implementation and maintenance. Capacity development of workers in this area for businesses seeking leadership positions is therefore, a strategic decision,” he said.

    According to him, this is no less importnat than sales or process trainings because production must precede sale. “Plants assembly lines are now automated and business is done in the cloud. It is in managing risk that operational excellence, long term ensured and legacies created.

    “Recommended standards for training and capacity building towards compliance, regulatory and operational failures include the British Standard (BS), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

    “If outsourced, compliance, audit committees and regulators like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Natioanl Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), should hold service providers to these as we do not have yet have fully developed ones of our own,” he said.

  • Expert faults CBN’s offshore software for MfBs

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally concluded the selection exercise for a software for a shared platform for the more than 900 microfinance banks (MfBs) in Nigeria. The selection exercise that has gone on for the past three years will be concluded anytime soon. Funding is said to have been provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) through Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) programme.

    Investigations showed that the CBN embarked on the exercise in order to streamline the management and regulation of the large number of MfBs in the country. It was believed that a shared service platform will reduce the cost of business for them and enhance their chances of continued survival.

    This is especially true for the very small entities. The larger ones have the resources and have already made significant investments on their own. The CBN started evaluation with more than 40 entries before finally shortlisting Inlaks Computers, Chams Plc and a consortium of MTN and CWG Plc. The CWG/MTN consortium already had a shared service for microfinance bank running as the MTN XaaS platform which was launched four years ago.

    It was gathered that Inlaks Computers had proposed to use a version of its Temenos T24 banking application for the project. This solution is a complete front to back office, customer relations management (CRM) and product lifecycle management software platform that powers the retail, corporate, wholesale, universal and private banking operations.

    Banks such as Zenith Bank unsuccessfully tried to implement T24. Findings also showed that Temenos has a similar project in Ghana with the Agricultural and Rural Bank (ARB).  ARB had commenced an exercise to replace the T24 solution in the middle of last year. Inlaks has several customers for T24 in Nigeria including the CBN, KeyStone Bank, Sterling Bank, Lapo Microfinance and a few others. T24 is regarded as one of the top tier banking applications in the world but is notoriously difficult to customise to fit the peculiarities of the customers.

    It was gathered that the CBN has selected Inlaks Computers to use its T24 system to implement the MfB shared platform. This has surprised many industry insiders, who point out that the new Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency [NITDA], Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim has made a strong case that Federal Government’s policy required its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) including the CBN to adhere to the local content policy in ICT. Ibrahim has threatened to jail anyone that flouts this directive as provided by law. The policy states that MDAs should purchase foreign ICT products only when there are no local alternatives.

    Text message sent to  the CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor on the subject matter was not responded to as at press time.

  • Etisalat kicks as firm demands N2.2b for alleged copyright

    Etisalat kicks as firm demands N2.2b for alleged copyright

    A mobile finance technology firm, V-Exchange Limited, has accused mobile network service provider Etisalat of alleged copyright infringement.

    The company is, therefore, demanding N2 billion from the telco as compensation for the alleged infringement on its intellectual property.

    But Etisalat Nigeria has denied any infringement on the intellectual property of V-Exchange Limited.

    V-Exchange, which specialises in providing instant finance solutions to individuals and corporate entities via intelligent data-driven platform, claimed that they developed ‘Kwik Cash’ loan service which Etisalat recently offered to its customers, alleging that the mobile service provider imitated the solution.

    Addressing a press conference in Lagos, co-founder of V-Exchange Samuel Ajiboyede claimed that last November 23, he, with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mrs. Kemi Ayinde met with representatives of Etisalat over the company’s product for partnership for mutual benefit.

    Ajiboyede said at the meeting, the loan service product was showcased to Etisalat officials who asked to be furnished with more details, which V-Exchange supplied.

    Since they already obtained the patent for the product, he claimed that Etisalat officials advised them to obtain the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Short Code being the only thing remaining for a deal to be sealed between the two entities.

    Ajiboyede stated that Etisalat, however, declined its request for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable his company acquire a Value Added Service (VAS) licence to get the Short Code approval from NCC, and lending licence.

    He said the deal was already being closed with a financial institution that would take charge of the lending part of the product when it heard that Etisalat had launched the instant loan service without its knowledge and approval.

    In a letter written through its lawyer, Mr Monday Ubani of the law firm of Ubani and Co, to the Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, dated January 10, 2017,  V-Exchange is demanding N2 billion as compensation for the alleged copyright infringement and N2 million as account profit.

    ‘’ Our client has tested your product on several customers of your company and confirmed that the said product was the exact product for which it has exclusive right

    ‘’That this abysmal unlawful conduct of your company as highlighted above has infringed our client’s products for which copyright subsisted despite the caveat by known owners being ‘our client’ that no part of this shall be reproduced or copied in any material form with its prior authorisation.

    ‘’Moreover, it is arguable that the product reproduced in writing by your company was exact replica of our client’s products which were earlier in time protected by the copyright law.

    “In conclusion, let it be stated that aside the civil action for infringement of our client’s copyright, we shall be constrained to simultaneously instigate and initiate a criminal action with its attendant legal consequences against your company for exploiting our client’s copyright as provided by the act.

    “Therefore your company is hereby warned very sternly to refrain forthwith from further infringement of our client’s by itself or through its agents or privies and monetary restitution in the sums demanded above of its unlawful exploitation of our client’s products which copyright subsisted to mitigate the loss thus far.”

    Etisalat, however, denied any infringement on V-Exchange’s purported patent and insisted it cannot pay compensation for an infringement that does not exist.

    A letter signed by Etisalat Head, Legal Operations and Litigation, Vincent Eromosele and Manager, Legal Services, Chimeka Garricks, dated February 21, this year, acknowledged having had discussion with V-Exchange over its product but denied infringement of any patent belonging to the firm.

    Etisalat claimed that ‘KwikCash’ is owned and operated by a licensed financial institution and that it followed due process in acquiring the right to use the product on its network. “The institution had secured all relevant approvals from the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and had even commenced pilot launch of the ‘KwickCash’ service on Etisalat Nigeria’s platform long before Etisalat Nigeria received V-Exchange’s letter (dated October 27, 2016) and subsequently met with V-Exchange (on November 23, 2016),” the telco added.

    The mobile network provider further claimed that KwickCash’ service was already in existence and operational prior to its meeting with V-Exchange and that it was already working with a CBN licensed financial company which was at a pilot stage to offer micro cash loans to its interested subscribers.

    “Etisalat Nigeria denies the allegation that it infringed V-Exchange purported patent over the products and is of the view that the claims made by V-Exchange are unfounded and baseless. Etisalat Nigeria is therefore unable to accede to V-Exchange’s demand for compensation of N2billion and an account for profit of N2million or any sum at all for the alleged infringement of your client’s purported patent,” it added.

  • Computer Village traders fret over relocation plan

    Traders at the Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos have expressed fears over the plan of the Lagos State government to relocate the market to Abule Egba, a Lagos suburb.

    Some of the traders lamented that the move would dislocate them and lead to loss of some of their customers.

    According to them, the proposed new site is prone to traffic, which is a disincentive for customers to come there and patronise them.

    One of them, Mr Emmanuel Obiakor, said the government should leave them where they were operating as it is at the centre of the state.

    “I have heard about the state government’s plan to move thus market to Abul Egba. That road is too busy. You can spend four hours on that road before getting to the market because of traffic gridlock. The state government should please just leave us where we are now because it is a market that is now known globally.

    “It is our own Silicon Valley. We have very young innovative young men and women that attend to all manners of problems with mobile phones and computers. There is virtually no mobile phone that cannot be fixed by engineers in the market,” he said.

    Another trader, Chichi Chiaza, said the state government should beef security in the market to address the menace of street urchins called area boys that cause traffic gridlock along the road.

    According to her, the miscreants that ply their trade along the road are part of the reasons the state government may be considering relocating the market to Abule Egba.

    “Yes, it is true that stolen phones have been recovered in this market. This may be one of the issues but the government can strengthen the security of the market. There are so many honest traders in the market. They pay taxes and levies to the state government and they also create jobs to help reduce the social effects of joblessness,” she added.

    They lamented that the economic recession in the country has affected their business in the market as sale has dipped considerably.

    A trader, Mr Obinna Obiobi who shared  his experience, lamented that the environment is no longer conducive for business as sales have not only dropped, traders are daily confronted with myriads of challenges such as heavy human and vehicular traffic.

    “Sales have dropped significantly because of the foreign exchange crisis facing us. We depend on forex to import these things into the country as they are not manufactured here. So, when we source for forex at cut throat rates, the impact is passed onto the final consumers by way of cost. But because the disposable per capita income of the ordinary man on the streets has been so badly shattered because of hyper-inflation, many people will prefer to manage whatever phone they have now to buying a new one. They had rather use such money to buy food for their families,” he said.

    Another trader, Chichi complained  about the harassment of Area Boys, who on several occasions have collected money forcefully from their costumers even going to the extent of fighting them.

    “Our sales have gone drastically. Our situation has been made worse by the menace of Area Boys, who forcefully collect money from our customers. They even fight them. So, we appeal to Governor Akinwumi Ambode to sanitise the market of these miscreants. They should go and get something to do and stop harassing us and chasing our customers away,” she said.

  • How we ‘re improving services, by MultiChoice

    MultiChoice Nigeria said account suspension, extension of call centre service hours and others are some of the steps it has taken to ameliorate the pains of its subscribers across the country.

    It added it is committed to doing more to improve services quality.

    Responding to customers’ complaints during its Customer Forum at Agege/Ogba area of Lagos, its Public Relations Manager, Caroline Oghuma, said the company is aware of some of the issues raised by the subscribers, adding that the firm was working to ensure that subscribers get improved experience with the brand.

    “We listen to our customers to understand their changing lives, the pressures they face and what matters most to them. We are committed to using these insights to provide better quality of service,” she said.

    Oghuma also spoke about the initiatives of the company in response to subscribers’ previous complaints.

    “Last year, we introduced the option of account suspension. Now it’s possible for you to put on hold your DStv subscription for between seven and 14 days twice yearly. We also extended our call centre hours to accommodate more queries.

    “In addition, we standardised installation fees and introduced a six-month warranty on installations done by our accredited technicians,” she said.

    Present at the forum were subscribers, dealers, sales agents and representatives of MultiChoice, the subscriber management company of DStv.

    The subscribers were given the opportunity to share the challenges they encounter on the DStv platform as well as give feedback on what they want to see more.

    Subscribers also had some positive feedback to give the pay TV firm as they commended it for impacting positively on their lives through its contents. They also acknowledged the company’s resolve not to increase subscription prices last year amid the ailing economy.

     

  • Time to prioritise gas in Nigeria, says NLNG chief

    Time to prioritise gas in Nigeria, says NLNG chief

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Tony Attah, has said time has come for the country to use gas as catalyst for industrial and economic transformation and become a great gas producing country.

    Attah stated this when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, paid a courtesy visit to the NLNG’s plant on Bonny Island, Rivers State. He said Nigeria urgently needs to unleash its vast gas potential, which currently is put at 187 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven reserves, 600 tcf of unproven reserves. The utilisation of the huge gas reserves will afford the opportunity for growth with NLNG Trains 7 and 8 and an increased supply capacity for one metric tons per annum (mtpa) of cooking gas to the domestic market.

    Attah said: “To promote gas sector investment as a catalyst for economic growth for Nigerian economy, it is necessary that affirmative actions are taken to create opportunities to attract international investments. Gas will continue to be an enabler of economic and industrial development and there is need to strategically reposition Nigeria’s gas sector for sustainable economic and industrial development.

    “In NLNG’s case, there was the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances Act (NLNG Act). The assurances and guarantees in the Act allowed investments to flow into the country. It provided investors the confidence that any agreement entered into would be respected and preserved. To amend the Act will not help Nigeria, NLNG and its hopes for expansion. It will erode investors’ confidence that the Act provided in the first place.

    “We need to be creative with incentives that will attract investments and preserve the sanctity of contracts and agreements for all of this to come together in our national interest.”

    Citing the Qatari example,  he said: “Today, oil and gas, and principally LNG is the foundation of Qatar’s economy; and account for more than 70 per cent of total government revenue, and more than 60 per cent of GDP, as well as roughly 85 per cent of export earnings. Qatar has LNG capacity of about 77 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), and generates revenue of about $91 billion per year. In Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) production, Qatar is third in the world with production capacity of about 400kbbl equivalent per day and revenue of about $16billion a year – all from GTL. Gas was the catalyst for transformation of a small emirate to a global economic powerhouse.”