The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Minister of communications

  • Buhari fulfills campaign promise on fight against corruption — Minister

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, says that President Muhammadu Buhari has fulfilled his campaign promise on the fight against corruption in the country.

    Shittu made the assertion at the N-power Volunteers National Rally tagged, “ #Rave For Buhari # Energising the FCT 4 #Next Level, held on Wednesday in Abuja.

    The minister said the ongoing anti-corruption crusade of President Buhari had restored the lost glory of Nigeria in the eyes of nations and repositioned the country for better.

    He said before the inception of Buhari administration all Federal Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) operated multiples accounts which made it easier for stealing and looting of public treasury.

    “ But as soon as President Buhari came to power he gave directive for the migration of all MDAs account into Treasury Single Account (TSA) to ensure that government has total control of its resources.

    “ TSA has help government to save more money for infrastructural development and social investment programmes that we all gather here to celebrate,“ he said.

    Shittu said that within one administration, Buhari has engaged more than 500,000 youths in N-power, saying PDP never thoughts of initiating something like N-power throughout its 16 years in power.

    The minister said that throughout the 16 years of PDP led administration, they had not invested in infrastructural development like during the three and half years of Buhari.

    According to him, in 2017 alone, Buhari led Federal Government has spend no fewer than 275 billion on federal roads constructions.

    The minister also said that President Buhari led government had improve electricity supply from 3000 megawatt to 7000, saying “PDP had wasted 16 billion dollars and there is no power.“

    Shittu, therefore, urged electorate to ensure that Buhari return re-elected in Feb. 16, for sustainable progress and development of the country.

    Speaking on behalf of the N-Power beneficiaries, Mr Dapil Samuel, a visually impaired graduate from Mangu Local Government Area in Plateau State, thanked Buhari for initiating social investment programme.

    “ N-Power has helped to enhance my health and free me from discrimination I was going through in the past.
    “ We pray for the success of President Buhari in the forthcoming elections.“

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the rally was attended by N-power beneficiaries from the 36 states and FCT. (NAN)

  • 2019: Ajimobi, Shittu tear Oyo APC apart

    2019: Ajimobi, Shittu tear Oyo APC apart

    The fierce political battle between Oyo state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu is not abating. If anything, the crisis is assuming more worrisome dimensions as observers fear it may damage the chances of the ruling party during the 2019 governorship election in the state, writes Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor.

    AHEAD of the 2019 governorship election in Oyo state, the political battle to determine who succeeds current governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi is already attaining feverish pitch with almost 20 sons and daughters of the state, especially chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) already criss-crossing the nooks and crannies of Oyo towards the actualization of their gubernatorial ambitions.

    A prominent name among those jostling to succeed Ajimobi is that of the incumbent Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu. Like the Governor, Shittu is a chieftain of the ruling APC. But insinuations that the Governor’s camp within the party may not be favorably disposed towards the Minister’s governorship dream is at the root of a crisis that is threatening to tear the ruling party apart before the next election.

    The Nation gathered that currently, the party in the state is divided into two groups with members loyal to the two gladiators and their camps respectively, instead of being loyal to the party structures in the state. Reliable insiders claimed that though the party machineries are firmly under the control of Governor Ajimobi and his loyalists, those supporting Shittu are optimistic that the national leadership of the party will back his aspiration.

    So rife is the crisis in the party that some party chieftains and members are openly showing disdain and disrespect to the state leadership of the party which is believed to be loyal to the Governor. On many occasions, party members have defied directives of the state executive committee, preferring instead to abide with instructions from one of the rival political groups within the party.

    “The situation is not healthy. In Oyo now, we have within the party, the Ibadan leadership and the Abuja caucus. While the Ibadan leadership is loyal to the Governor, the Abuja caucus takes directives from the Minister. Even the state executive committee and other party organs are divided. On many occasions, we have had party members clashing with one another because of group loyalty.

    “It is now so bad that the Governor and then Minister are engaging themselves in media brickbats while their supporters are fighting publicly all over the state. The Minister is even setting up parallel structures all over the place. That is the whole idea of Buhari Campaign group he came up with. And he really got a lot of party members hooked that way. You can now understand why the Governor and party leaders in the state were not at the unveiling ceremony,” a party executive committee member said.

    The Nation gathered that tempers rose again during the week following Shittu’s decision to petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over what he described as the ‘unbecoming behavior of Governor Abiola Ajumobi. Party sources say many chieftains of the party in the state are miffed by the Minister’s action which they viewed as unwarranted and divisive.

    “Coming at a time when concerted efforts were being made by stakeholders within and outside the state to resolve the differences between the two camps in the interest of the party, Shittu’s petition is in bad faith. It is a sign that he is not interested in making peace with the Governor and the leadership of the party in the state. For a man who wants to lead the state, it is unfortunate,” a chieftain of the party lamented.

    But sources close to the Minister insisted that Shittu’s letter is a precautionary move following realization that the Governor’s camp is bent on frustrating his governorship aspiration by ensuring that the party leadership in the state make things difficult for him and his supporters. An associate of the Minister even added that it is the Minister who is interested in reconciliation.

    “When people make allegations, they do it as if those listening to them are not wise. How can anybody accuse the Minister of frustrating peace moves? He is the one who has made all the moves towards peace. While they are shutting him out of the party, he organized a program and made them all chief host and special guests. What else is he supposed to do. He wrote a petition when he realize that their is a plot to frustrate his ambition and that is in order,” the Minisiter’s associate said.

     

    Crossfire of allegations

    In his petition, Shittu accused Ajimobi of nepotism, arrogance, disenfranchising members and also creating division within the party in the state. He also accused the governor of ordering the demolition of his computer based test centre which was still under construction. He said the governor is miffed over his acceptance of a chieftaincy title from the Olubadan of Ibadan land and his 2019 governorship ambition.

    “I am constrained to bring to your notice the unsavoury development in our great party in Oyo State and the unbecoming behaviour of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who is expected to provide sound moral and exemplary leadership to the citizens of our dear state. This line of action becomes imperative in view of the sad turn of events in the Oyo State APC. It is an open secret that the fortune of the APC has nose-dived in the state.

    “This is due to Governor Ajimobi’s undue arrogance, grandstanding, nepotism, caustic and unguarded utterances and creating unnecessary divisions among party leaders and members, thereby balkanising the party along group lines. In doing this, I don’t have anything personal against Governor Ajimobi, but to stress the importance of him not destroying the very platform that made him governor.

    “Signs that Ajimobi is set to destroy the party are glaring to political watchers as the voting population in the state is becoming disillusioned more than ever before,” the Minister of Communication said in the petition addressed to President Buhari, copies of which were also sent to John Odigie-Oyegun, chairman of the APC and Bola Tinubu, national leader of the party.

    But the state chapter of the APC, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Strategy, Abdul-Azeez Olatunde, described the Minister’s outbursts as deliberate falsehood because, claiming that Shittu’s desperation to become the next governor of the State in 2019 is driving him to work at cross–purposes with the government and the leadership of the APC in Oyo State.”

    “Contrary to the reckless insinuations made by the minister, the Oyo State APC is doing extremely well. Rather than loose any member to the opposition, the Oyo State APC under the leadership of Governor Abiola Ajimobi has been moving from strength to strength. Barely one month ago, the rank and file of the party membership experienced unprecedented growth and development because of a bumper harvest when notable political stakeholders from major opposition parties in the state declared in an open rally where they submitted themselves to the leadership of the governor.

    “We must state very clearly that the decampees include a former governor, former deputy governor, former Senate Leader, serving and former members of the House of Representatives, former Senators, former Secretary to the State Government, former senatorial candidate, former State Chairman of the PDP, former state Secretary of the PDP, former Speaker of the House of Assembly, present and past state House of Assembly members, former commissioners and former local government chairmen and several others.

    “It is quite saddening, highly disheartening and a monumental disservice to our party that a serving minister of Oyo State origin will as a matter of habit stand the truth on its head and close his eyes to the reality of the rising political profile of not only our party but also of our leader. The fact is that his petition is rooted in falsehood and premised on cheap blackmail.

    “It must be stated that while Ajimobi and other leaders of our party have been working assiduously to develop our great party, Bayo Shittu in his characteristic manner has been moving from one local government to another sowing seeds of discord all in the name of his desperate and inordinate ambition to govern the state. Shittu was never part of the developmental process of our party.

    “Having lost the governorship primary election in 2015, Shittu abandoned every activity geared towards victory for the party including the presidential campaign. He further took the party to court on the eve of the 2015 governorship election and was working for the opposition Accord Party where his former boss and benefactor contested the governorship election. Today he is reaping from where he did not sow,” the statement read in part.

     

    A threatened aspiration?

    Observers of the politics of the state, while warning that something urgent need to be done to halt the festering crisis within the ruling party if APC is desirous of winning the next gubernatorial election, are quick to add that the crisis may not be unconnected to indications that Governor Ajimobi, ably supported by the leadership of the party in the state, may be working for the emergence of another aspirant aside Shittu, as the next governor of the state.

    The Nation gathered that reading the governor’s body language and some developments within the party, Shittu, who had earlier showed great optimism that he will emerge as the APC governorship flagbearer in the state, became worried about the possibility of his chances and decided to seek help from the national leadership of the party and the presidency.

    “If they are angry that he petitioned the President and the leadership of the party, what were they expecting him to do when it is obvious that he cannot get a level playing ground here in Oyo? When the Governor and the party leadership here are daily plotting on how to impose a candidate on the party. Should he have kept quiet or take to the streets and start fighting? These are the questions we are asking Ajimobi,” a supporter of the Minister said.

    But a party leader who sought anonymity because he has not been instructed to speak on the matter, explained that the whole crisis is a continuation of the age-long rivalry between the two politicians. According to the Ogbomosho-born politician, it is an open secret within the party that Ajimobi will never support Shittu’s aspiration to succeed him as the next governor of the state.

    “The crisis is not caused by anything but the mutual distrust they both have for each other. The governor will never back Shittu’s aspiration. The Minister, who was hoping things will change between them, is now cock-sure that Ajimobi will not work for him. So, it is the fear of one another that is at the root of the crisis. They have been like this for years. Their rivalry didn’t start today.

    “Don’t forget that Shittu contested the governorship seat against Ajimobi in 2011 on the platform of the defunct CPC and lost. He even went to the tribunal and also lost. They were brought together by the idea of a mega party, the APC in 2014. They resumed hostilities during the state congress of the APC. That was why Shittu refused to campaign for the re-election of the governor, but rather chose to campaign for the then presidential candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari,” the source claimed.

  • No plan to place embargo on Social Media – Minister

    No plan to place embargo on Social Media – Minister

    The All Progressive Congress (APC) administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has no plan to place any form of embargo on the use of social media platforms by Nigerians to air their views on the socio-political and economic development of the country, the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu has assured.

    Shiitu said Thursday in Abuja that “Government will not limit Nigerians’ access to social media solely on the basis that it may be used to express views critical of the government or the social-political system “.

    “Protecting critical expression on the internet is the standard by which governments are now held to be genuinely democratic.

    Nigerians should, therefore, feel free to discuss government policies and engage in responsible political debates; report corruption and exercise their right to expression of opinion and dissent. Government will defend and keep to its commitment to human rights, transparency, rule of law and accountability,” the Minister asserted.

    Shittu made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a two-day Ministerial Retreat on Social Media for Good Governance organised by DigitalAfrica in conjunction with Ministry of Communications for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) stakeholders at The Treasure Hotel, Abuja.

    He said: “Government will proactively propound free and secure policies that ensure use of technology based platforms of interaction in the social media.

    “The Buhari administration’s activities are being delivered by leveraging ICTs; better still, government activities are enhanced by the adoption of new media tools that provide interactive and instantaneous feedback on achievements of government as presented by the various MDAs”.

    According to the Minister “about 75% of Nigeria’s online population uses social media; and the number keeps growing on both social networking sites and blogging sites growingby around 70% in the last year.

    “Time spent grew by 82% within the same period (Nielsen study 2016).  The size of social media, taken as a whole, can be overwhelming.  As of June 2016, there are about 80 million tweets per day.   Facebook chat usage is currently over 1 billion messages daily according to the Nielsen report of 2016”.

    Speaking further on the significance of social media in modern world, the minister said “From the Arab Spring in Egypt, to our 2015 General elections, the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the recent US Presidential elections, the growing importance of Social media in shaping society and how it is governed can neither be overemphasis nor underplayed.

    “In Nigeria where our youth constitute more than 50% of our over 180 million population, the social media has become too critical to be ignored or undermined.

    “On the other hand, social media can also be nuisance to the government and society at large. Mudslinging, hate speech, cyber bullying, rants and unbridled ventilation of anger are common features in these platforms.

    “It is therefore very necessary to moderate these counter-effects to promote positive, development-driven and responsible social media usage platforms.

    “There are however, some challenges to moderating social media platforms:​lack of effective Legislation; ​abuse of political gains; use of Fake ID’s; and ​cross-border Threats (Cybercrime and other security concerns). “

  • FG targets 86 million dollars revenue from Space Satellite

    FG targets 86 million dollars revenue from Space Satellite

    The Federal Government has repositioned the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) for global competitiveness to enable it generate an annual revenue of 86 million dollars into government coffers, the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu has said.

    The Minister made the disclosure during the inauguration of three Executive Directors of NIGCOMSAT in his office.

    A statement from the Director of Public Affairs in the Ministry, Pauline Sule quoted the Minister as saying that ever since the launch of NIGCOMSAT 1R in 2011, several efforts have been made to optimizing the value of the satellite limited success.

    “Of note, however has been the recent initiative to introduce Direct-To-Home Television Broadband and Global Positioning Services in the first robust attempt to commercialise NIGCOMSAT 1R and appropriately position the Company in global $86 million annual revenue industry”, the Minister added.

    According to him, the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) is now a competitive commercial service provider, and is capable of managing government investment in communications satellite through commercialization of the services of the satellite.

    Shittu congratulated the Managing Director, newly appointed Executive Directors and the entire management staff of NIGCOMSAT for putting all hands on deck and cooperate with one another to ensure the successful commercialization of NIGCOMSAT.

    He expressed optimism that NIGCOMSAT would be self-funding as well as a source of major revenue generation to the Federal Government.

    The Managing Director NIGCOMSAT, Abimbola Alale represented by Mr Shehu Malami Bello congratulated and welcomed the newly appointed Executive Director’s, and expressed readiness to work with them.

    And she said that the newly appointed Executive Director’s would resume work immediately.

    The three newly appointed Executive Directors are; Mr Kazeem Kola Raji, Alhaji Mohammad Lema Abubakar and Barr. Samson Osagie.

    In his vote of thanks on behalf of the Executive Directors, Alhaji Mohammed Lema Abubakar lauded the Federal Government for their appointment and promised that they would work hard to deliver the expected goals.

  • Fed Govt plans ICT varsity, says minister

    Fed Govt plans ICT varsity, says minister

    The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, has said the Federal Government has concluded plans to establish an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) university. The proposed ICT school, he said, is informed by the low-ranking of Nigeria in terms of development when compared to other African countries’growths.

    At the yearly lecture of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the minister urged the academy to partner with the ministry to set up the ICT school, which, he assured, would be “run as a public-private partnership”.

    Shittu said since ICT had become an enabler of growth in modern time, it was time Nigeria filled the gap in the ICT industry by equipping its youths with requisite knowledge.

    He said: “I want to invite your academy to partner with the Ministry of Communications in setting up of the ICT University. If your academy is favourably  disposed towards that, we are prepared to cede one of the six campuses to you, so we can jointly run it to ensure that our youths get the best ICT training.”

    He said he would play an intermediary role between the academy and the Federal Government for whatever contact the academy might need to make the partnership successful.

    The guest lecturer, Prof Michael Adewumi, who spoke on: Training engineers for the global century, said he believed Nigeria needed to train globally-competitive and locally-relevant engineers.

    To achieve this, he said engineering training must surmount the problems of one-dimensional training, ignorance of local context and the expectation of employment in multinationals upon graduation.

    The lecturer at Pennsylvania State University in the United States (U.S.) maintained that local knowledge must be fully harnessed.

    “To train a successful engineer, we must have a seamless integration between what they already experience and what they need to know. For example, while teaching gaming theory or probability, why not focus on the game of ayo instead of baseball,” he said.

    Adewunmi also said three-dimensional education, which involves diversifying the curriculum, as well as creativ1e application of solutions from the local to global stage is essential if Nigeria is to have locally-relevant engineers.

    The event featured induction of new fellows and presentation of life achievement awards to selected professionals.

    Former Minister of Works and Housing Senator Barnabas Germade, who was inducted, lauded the selection process of the award, saying: “It is the application of engineering laws that qualifies anyone to become a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.”

  • NIPOST property company to be established – FG

    NIPOST property company to be established – FG

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, said on Monday the ministry would soon establish a Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) Property Development Company.

    Shittu said this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

    The minister said that the idea of the property company came about because of the vast land assets of the agency across the country lying fallow.

    “We thought that instead of leaving this land completely unutilised, we can also lease part of it to private developers to develop these landed properties into shopping complexes, offices shopping, malls, markets and even into paid garages so as to provide services to members of the public,’’ he said.

    The minister said that NIPOST would also introduce transport and logistics services with its array of vehicles.

    He said that the vehicles were being underutilised merely as mail vans and most of them were lying waste, adding that they could be converted to commercial uses and generate revenue for the agency.

    “We are introducing what we call NIPOST transport and logistics services because NIPOST and mail carriage necessarily involve vehicles because you have to have vehicles to go from one location to the other.

    “These vehicles are being underutilised in our estimation because it merely carries mails.

    “We could accelerate the benefit of these vehicles by also utilising them to help in carrying merchandise for people.

    “The NIPOST transport and logistics services will be a company where the use of these vehicles will be commercialised to ensure that we make more money for NIPOST and consequently for Nigeria.

    “Apart from servicing the needs of the citizenry, it will also be able to earn very good revenue for the government,’’ Shittu said.

    He, therefore, called on Nigerians to use these ventures when they are finally in the public domain for more revenue to be generated for the government.

    He sad with more income, the government would be better placed to improve the quality of life of the citizens.

  • I didn’t approve data price hike – Minister

    I didn’t approve data price hike – Minister

    The Minister of Communications, Barr Adebayo Shittu has debunked claims that he sanctioned or opposed the increase of price of data by telecommunication companies in the country.

    The minister made this known while answering questions from journalists in Oyo state, saying the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has the prerogative power under the law to do so.

    The minister disclosed that he learnt of the increase just like common man on the streets, but revealed that the proposal on the increase dated back to 2013.

    He said the issue was suspended over some issues but stated that it was resuscitated because of the current economic recession, which he said is taking toll on the finances of the telco unctions companies.

    According to him, “the ministry of communications is saddled with the responsibility of providing political leadership for the ICT industry. By that, it means that the ministry is in involved in the formulation of policies issues as opposed to dabbling into regulatory issues, which concerns the telecoms industries

    “By law, it is the NCC which has the power to regulate, to License, to also provide in a way frequency and all of that. The ministry does not have any business in issues of regulating the telecoms industry.

    “So when the NCC wanted to increase the so called data issues, they didn’t take permission from us (Ministry) and myself. So, I heard it like any other person in the society heard of it. But because the reason for all this is that the Nigerian State has failed in the agreement they had with the telecom service providers. They promised to provide them adequate power supply and security‎ but all are not in place and they are spending a lot to provide them by themselves. Also the problem of right of way is involved with the high tax government and land grabbers are collecting from them.

    “As a government, we must weigh the interest of our citizens against the interest of the operators. Otherwise, if it becomes unprovable for these companies to operate here, they will simplify pack and go. So, we also need to be considerate about their terms which we are not meeting. As a government and a ministry, we have neither supported or oppose the proposal. What we are saying is that NCC is a regulatory body, who has the manpower, technological wherewithal to decide, and when they take this decision, we must try to respect their expertise.

    “This is because the Buhari government is at pains, if Nigerians are in pains. Government would not want to do anything that will bring pain and hardship to Nigerians, but again government must also face the reality that we are in a reality where you do not throw the baby away with the bath water. To create a situation where Nigerian interest at the end of the will not be jeopardized.”

    He however urged Nigerians to come up with the reality that the companies are profit making ventures, and which have also contributed their quotas to the Nigerian economy in recent time. He therefore appeal for mutual understanding from Nigerians, operators and the NCC in reaching an understandable conclusion on the matter.

  • Senate grills NCC, telecom operator over data price hike

    Senate grills NCC, telecom operator over data price hike

    The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Tuesday said that it intervened with an interim price floor for data services to avert a looming price war in the telecommunications sector.

    The explanation of the NCC is coming even as the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, asked Nigerians to face reality.

    The regulatory commission said that it feared that the price war could eventually lead to a monopoly in the telecom industry that would force small operators to shut down.

    It said that monopoly in the telecom sector could also push the country back to the days of NITEL to the detriment of small operators in the sector.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Dambatta stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Communications.

    The committee was mandated to investigate the proposed hike in the price of data tariff said to have been ordered by the NCC.

    Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, who presided, noted that there was a public outcry over the proposed data price increase.

    Adeola said that Nigerians were united in their opposition that the proposed increase in the price of data should be stopped.

    He said that the position of Nigerians was that the idea of hike in data price was ill- advised especially with the biting economic situation in the country.

    Professor Dambatta told the committee that the intervention of the NCC was not designed to undermine the consumers.

    He noted that if cheap prices were introduced, they may end up undermining the telecom service operators.

    He said that if the situation arose where the operators could no longer cope, the consequences could be better imagined.

    Prof. Dambatta also said that the need to avert crisis in the telecom industry informed their decision to introduce interim price floor for data services at N0.90k per BM.

    He said, “We wanted to protect the Nigerian consumer from unhealthy price war in what may lead to a monopoly that may lead us to the days of NITEL. We did not increase any price but merely provided a regulatory standard to protect small telecom operators.”

    Dambatta said that there were some telecom operators that lacked the capacity to compete with the big operators in the field.

    He said that the N0.90k price floor for purchase of data was a benchmark below which no operator could sell.

    “We said in the interim directive measure that no operator should sell below 90k per megabite. There was a price war in the market; that was why we issued the interim directive.

    “A situation where a dominant operator provides services far below what is obtainable in the sector in order to attract more customers may lead to a situation where smaller operators will be forced to shut down,” he said.

    Dambatta who said there was a mix up of the interim directive they gave noted that instead of increase they wanted reduction in price of tariff to create a balance between big and small operators.

    He said that NCC did not set any price ceiling but provided a price law.

    Dambatta added, “We stepped in when we noticed price war in the sector. The price war was already reaching undesirable level that we had to step in to prevent a monopoly like the days of NITEL.”

    The interim floor price, he said, has been suspended temporarily to allow for further consultations.

    Dambatta said that NCC would conduct extensive research to come up with a price floor that would be acceptable to Nigerians.

    The Minister said that reality meant that telecom service providers were operating under unfriendly business environment including lack of electricity and increasing security challenges.

    He said, “This is one area that I believe that we all must face the reality. The government in its wisdom and I am happy the National Assembly promulgated the National Communications Act which required that there be established an NCC. “If you look at the NCC law, it is positioned to reflect experiences, expertise and all of that and I want to believe that there must not be too many interventions in the activities of the NCC.

    “I am a political office holder, I am not an expert, so I cannot venture to say whether they did wrong or right except they say that the constitution has granted them the role of a supervisor of a direct regulatory authorities particularly relating to the activities in the telecoms industry.

    “The only area I feel they were deficient was in the area of communicating with the people of this country particularly because of the sensitivity that has been imposed on Nigerians by the harsh economic situation.

    “I know that if you want to make omelet you must break eggs. Unfortunately in this country, we fail to appreciate the transformation role that ICT has brought about in the lives of Nigerians.

    “I keep saying this and I have no apology in saying this before 1999, GSM lines in Nigeria were less than 500,000. Today, we have a well over N152 million lines. All the hustles that Nigerians were going through before the exponential development of ICT are no more with us.

    “It is also important to say that operators in Nigeria are operating on a very harsh situation which is not known in other advanced countries. For instance over the years, the Nigerian state has not succeeded in fixing electricity over the last 20 years.

    “This industry reliance on electricity and that because Nigerians has failed in providing reliable electricity, it means they have to rely on extra budgetary provisions to provide electricity 24 hours, seven days of the week which additional expenditure does not operate in other countries which we seek to copy. This is one challenge that we must look at.

    “The other challenges in the area of security, a lot of infrastructure by operators are usually under coma by criminals all across the country. Indeed we know what the security situation is in the country. Apart from that we also have the problem of taxes which they have always be talking about. I have always challenged operators that I want to see all the taxes so that we find a way of harmonising them.

    “What I am saying is this, if Nigeria has invited international investors to come and invest in Nigeria so that our lives will be better, so that the economy will be better, so that businesses can be more conveniently made, so that even government can run more conveniently, to whom much is given, much is expected.

    “The Nigerian state must also be in a position to provide its own share to make an enabling environment operate properly.

    “So, I am not supporting at this stage or not supporting the price increase with regards to the floor. But what I am saying is, these are technical issues whose decision must be taken having regard on all the factors that are important before a decision can be taken.

    “We certainly must not encourage a situation in this country where people who have brought their investment to make our lives better, to make businesses better are left to operate in an environment which is not conducive which may even frustrate them out of the Nigerian market.

    “I am appealing to the distinguished senate in intervening, they should try to encourage NCC to be the best that it can, they should try to assist us (NCC) in the area of holding the balance between the interest of operators and the interest of the Nigerian masses so that we can be seen to be providing the best.

    “I want to say that whatever we would do, we should encourage NCC, we should also encourage operators and we should also encourage Nigerians to appreciate the reality on ground. My information is that in the West African region are the lowest even when one is not an expert, the fact that our currency has gone so down in terms of value will perhaps justify this assertion.

    “What we or experiencing in Nigeria in terms of the devaluation of the Naira, in terms of over reliance on the petroleum whose prices have suddenly gone so much down. It means that we must do the needful in ensuring that the industry is sustained.

    “I want to remind us that time was when petroleum was our mainstay was selling for $145 and Nigeria was producing 2.2 million barrels a day. Today the price was $55 and that is totally more than 70 percent reduction and the production level has also gone down particularly because of the activities of criminals called militants in the Niger Delta.

    “Today it is only the ICT sector that remains viable for Nigerians to sustain ourselves to bring about transformation to increase the revenue and to sustain the economy.”

    Also the MTN CEO, Mr. Ferdinand Moolman, who was also at the hearing said that the industry had been operating without data floor since 2015.

    Moolman noted that instead of price floor prices dropped.

    He underscored MTN’s commitment to ICT development in the country.

    The MTN boss also stressed the need for a long time overview of the industry.

    He was emphatic that the industry needed to be health to continue to grow.

    He said, “MTN remains unrelentingly committed to the sustained provision of affordable and accessible voice and data services in accordance with the National ICT and Broadband plan. In line with this commitment and to continue the provision of high speed data services to its esteemed customers, MTN recently bid for, and acquired the 2.6GHz LTE spectrum at the cost of US$96million.MTN also launched 4G LTE services, enabling faster access to digital platforms and igniting socio-economic development with a multiplier effect on the economy.

    “MTN actively contributed to the development of the National Broadband Plan, and has consistently taken every step to facilitate the achievement of Government’s objectives of pervasive, cost-effective and sustainable access to data services by all strata of Nigeria’s population. The company continues to be an ICT development partner to the government and people of Nigeria.

    “Telecoms’ Contribution to National Socio-Economic Development and Factors Constraining Industry Sustainability

    “MTN is committed to continue its efforts to provide the best data network to the people of Nigeria. In this regard, however, there are a number of factors that impact the sector’s sustainability such as:

    “The rise of headline inflation to about 17.9%

    “The depletion of operator revenues by unlicensed providers of “over-the-top” telecoms services who do not have any physical presence; nor pay any taxes; nor make any significant contribution to employment or other socio-economic objectives of government in Nigeria;

    “The inability of operators to access foreign exchange (this is particularly debilitating given that most of our inputs are sourced off-shore). This has very significantly increased both operating and capital expenses.

    “Despite these macro-economic challenges, telecom tariffs have declined significantly (over 67% between 2007 and 2016) and data prices are amongst the lowest on the continent. With this in mind, “MTN looks forward to the cost study as confirmed by the NCC, and remains committed to working with the Regulator and Industry to ensure fair value and fair competition in the Nigerian market.”

     

  • Senate summons minister, NCC boss over tariff increase

    Senate summons minister, NCC boss over tariff increase

    The Senate Wednesday invited the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Danbatta and Chief Executives of network service providers to appear before its Committee on Communications to explain reasons behind the decision to increase data tari

    The upper chamber also directed the network service providers to put on hold the plan to commence implementation of the new tariffs today.

    The Senate asked its Committee on Communications to begin immediate comprehensive investigation into the matter.

    The plan by the service provided to increase data tariff has generated controversies across the country.

    The Committee was given one week to report back to the Senate in plenary.

    The resolutions followed a motion by Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, (Kebbi South) in which he condemned the planned hike in data tariffs.

    Na’Allah said that there was no doubt the hike would further impoverish Nigerians.

    Vice Chairman of the Committee on Communications, Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West), described the policy as not only ‘unholy’ but also ‘unfriendly’.

    Adeola assured the Senate that the committee would act on the mandate and report back to it next Tuesday.

    He said, “We are up to the task. And I can assure the Senate that we will swing into action immediately. We will invite all the necessary agencies that are involved in this policy that is unholy and unfriendly and get back to the Senate unfailingly on Tuesday.”

    Senate President Bukola Saraki in his remarks said that the NCC of failed to carry out enough consultations before announcing the policy.

    Saraki asked the committee to investigate allegations of non-compliance with laid down regulations by telecoms operators.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, in a statement entitled  “Data tariff increase by Nigerian telecom operators’ said “The attention of the Senate Committee on Communications has been drawn to the threat by the telecommunication service providers to upwardly review the data tariff in the country.

    “Even though it has been roundly condemned I wish to reiterate our position that as the elected representatives of the Nigerian masses, we shall vehemently resist any attempt to short-change the people or further impoverish them under any guise and also warn that culprits shall be decisively dealt with.

    “It is as wicked as it is irrational for anybody or institution to contemplate any policy that would inflict shock and unnecessary disruptions on the citizens who are already going through difficult times.

    “For the umpteenth time, this type of harsh treatment is certainly not what the people bargained for while queuing under the sun to get us to this place of higher responsibilities. Despite the global economic downturn and perhaps federal government’s efforts at getting the country out of recession, every action or decision should be guided by the urgent need to guarantee the welfare and well-being of the citizenry rather than tending to worsen the prevailing pains in the land.

    “As a committee however, we have initiated some necessary legislative interventions towards protecting our people from any form of extortion or exposure to avoidable crises by the network providers.

    “Therefore I am by this calling on the relevant industry operators to suspend whatever actions geared towards data tariff increase and while appealing for calm on the part of our good people.”

    NCC had in a letter addressed to telecoms operators on November 1, 2016, put the interim floor price for data services at 0.90k/MB for big operators, adding that “this rate will subsist pending the finalisation of the study on the determination of cost based pricing for retail broadband and data services in Nigeria.”

    The letter added: “In order to provide a level playing field for all operators in the industry, small operators and new entrants to acquire market share and operate profitably, small operators and new entrants are hereby exempted for the price floor for data services.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, a small operator is one that has less than 7.5 percent market share and a new entrant is an operator that has operated less than three years in the market. All operators are to ensure that subscribers are not automatically migrated to pay-as-you-go platform. Also, note that effective date for the interim price floor is December 1, 2016.”

    Acting on this directive, MTN sent text messages to its customers on Monday, announcing the hike in its data tariffs beginning today. “Dear customer, please be informed that from December 1, some MTN data tariffs will be increased to reflect the new rates set by the NCC to operators‎,”‎ MTN stated.

  • Minister faults Southwest governors on call for true federalism

    Minister faults Southwest governors on call for true federalism

    The Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, Friday faulted calls for true federalism by top Nigerian politicians, saying many of them do not understand what the concept entails.

    Shittu criticized true federalism crusaders, particularly governors in Southwest Nigeria, accusing them of failing to uphold the tenets of the concept by refusing to conduct local government elections.

    The minister said this while presenting a lecture on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Department of Psychology, University of Ibadan.

    According to him, “A lot of people from the Southwest especially the state governments have been making repeated calls for true federalism. But, it is always a problem to define what true federalism means.

    “Among the state governors making the call for true federalism are those who have not conducted local government elections. They have refused to conduct the election that would make them autonomous. They have always been appointing caretaker chairmen for the councils.”

    Speaking on the topic: “Psychology and the Change Agenda” Shittu said: “A lot of times, most of the resources of the local governments are controlled by these state governments. What examples are they giving? They should first provide good examples in their various states before clamouring for true federalism.”

    While commending the anti-corruption stance of President Muhammadu Buhari, the minister explained that “change is important to leaders of governments, communities, corporations and nations around the world. In Nigeria, the change mantra of the administration of President Buhari is now widely known within and outside Nigeria. The change is expected to cover all spheres to cover all spheres of life.”

    In his welcome address, the Head of the department, Prof. Benjamin Ehigie, listed several achievements of the department, particularly in the last 10 years.

    His words: “For the decade that has just passed, the department has recorded lots of achievements. Apart from those already mentioned, the department has produced 11 first class graduates, the 2015 winner of “Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria” pageant, Miss Unoaku Temitope Anyadike and many others.