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MTN’s voice, data revenue grows by 21.43%

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MTN Nigeria’s voice and data revenues grew by N192.01bn in the first nine months of 2021 to N1.09tn, compared to the corresponding period in 2020.

The telecommunications company said its total revenue rose to N1.21tn in the period under review from N975.76bn in the same period a year earlier.

Its revenue from fintech witnessed a continued rise, as it grew from N32.37bn in the first nine months of 2020 to N50.24bn this year.

Commenting on the company’s growth in the third quarter of 2021, the Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said, “In the first nine months of 2021, we continued to enhance the resilience of the business, improve our performance and make good progress towards our Ambition 2025 strategy.

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“Creating shared value has become a strategic priority within the Ambition 2025 framework. As a result, we continue to deepen our support for and partnerships in Nigeria.”

He said the telecom ban in some locations in the nation had slightly affected some of the company’s business activities.

Toriola added, “The resilience we are building in the business is reflected in our performance, demonstrating our ability to achieve continued growth despite the ongoing impact of SIM registration and activation restrictions on subscriber growth.

“While our overall subscriber numbers have continued to decline over the last quarter, this has been at a reduced rate, and we have seen our data subscriber numbers return to growth, increasing by 2.5 million.

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“We expect the decline in the overall subscriber base to bottom out and return to positive net additions in Q4 2021 as we progressively ramp up our SIM registration and activation infrastructure while adopting and aligning with the new regulations.”

He added that the company’s service revenue had increased by 23.7 per cent, ahead of the country’s rate of inflation.

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Economy

Budget controversy: Senate attacks PDP, Yar’Adua replaces Ningi

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Budget controversy: Senate attacks PDP, Yar’Adua replaces Ningi

The Spokesman for the Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, has berated the Peoples Democratic Party for calling for the resignation of the Senate President, Senator GodsWill Akpabio, over the unfounded claim ofN3.7tn budget padding.

The budget padding allegation was raised by the PDP senator representing Bauchi Central, Senator Abdul Ningi.

Ningi, in a media interview, claimed that while the budget passed by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year was N25tn, the one being executed by the Presidency was N28.7tn.

However, at the plenary on Tuesday, the Senate took Ningi on to defend the allegation, at the end of which he was slammed with a three-month suspension for damaging the image of the Red Chamber over what senators decided was an unfounded allegation.

On Wednesday, the PDP knocked Ningi’s suspension, calling on Akpabio to resign as Senate President to pave the way for an independent investigation into the budget padding allegation.

“The Peoples Democratic Party demands that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, immediately step aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7tn was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects.

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“The party also demands that Senator Akpabio immediately reports to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the pending case of alleged looting of N108bn belonging to the people of Akwa Ibom State under his watch as the governor of the state,” the PDP said in a statement by its spokesman, Debo Ologunagba.

However, reacting on Thursday, the Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Adaramodu, knocked the PDP.

He said, “The PDP has elevated chicanery to statecraft and fatally failed in their sordid attempt to hoodwink the unsuspecting public, on the ineffectual but spurious allegations of budget padding.

“The party’s ludicrous call for the resignation of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President is unthinkable and shows the party as a massaging balm for falsehood and immoral legislative outbursts.

Adaramosu stressed that Akpabio would not resign.

Meanwhile, All Progressives Congress Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua representing  Katsina Central has replaced Ningi as the Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum.

Ningi immediately resigned from the position following his suspension by the Senate.

Yar’Adua ‘s emergence as the new Chairman of the NSF was a sequel to unanimous endorsement to that effect by senators across the three geo-political zones in the North.

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The Northern Senators also appointed Senator Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno North) as Publicity Secretary of the forum, a position held by Senator Summaila Kawu (NNPP Kano South) when Ningi was the chairman.

It is unclear if Kawu resigned too or if he was impeached following the crisis at the Red Chamber on Tuesday.

Addressing the press after he emerges as the New Chairman of NSF,  Yar’Adua said the major objective of the Northern Forum was to promote the interest of Nigeria first followed by the development of the North through collaboration with their counterparts from the South and cooperating with the executive arm of government to ensure that the challenges of the region were attended to.

Yar’Adua said,

“We Shall, therefore, work in consultation with our distinguished colleagues to preserve the unity and progress of our dear nation.

“In advancing these noble objectives, I am committed to streamlined activities within the Northern Senators Forum.

“We shall operate with transparency, accountability, and integrity, upholding the trust placed on us by the electorate.“

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Business & Finance

Cable cuts: Operators working to restore connectivity, says NCC

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Cable cuts: Operators working to restore connectivity, says NCC

The Nigeria Communications Commission has confirmed that several African internet service providers faced outages due to submarine cable cuts, with cable operators actively engaged in efforts to restore connectivity.

The telecom regulator made this disclosure in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, on Thursday.

The NCC identified affected operators to include West African Cable System and African Coast to Europe, along with SAT3 and MainOne, which experienced downtime.

The regulator attributed the disruptions to incidents in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, resulting in subsequent disruptions in Portugal.

The commission noted similar challenges along other undersea cable routes, such as Seacom, Europe India Gateway, and Asia-Africa-Europe 1, which also experienced cuts.

The regulator stated, ” Similar undersea cables providing traffic from Europe to the East Coast of Africa, like Seacom, Europe India Gateway, and Asia-Africa-Europe 1, were said to have been cut at some point around the Red Sea, resulting in the degradation of services across these routes.”

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Many subscribers on Thursday expressed frustrations on social media platforms, citing difficulties in making phone calls and accessing online services.

Despite the setbacks, the NCC assured the public that cable operators have initiated repair efforts, with services gradually being restored.

The commission stated, “Operators of these cables have commenced repairs already, and services are gradually being restored. They have promised to work around the clock to ensure that services are restored to the affected countries within the shortest possible time.

“It is important to bring this information to the knowledge of corporations and consumers on these services.”
Earlier, MTN Nigeria, the leading telecommunications provider in the country, acknowledged the situation and appealed to its subscribers.

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The company also assured them that it is making efforts to resolve the issue and restore services as quickly as possible.
A few weeks ago, a similar issue occurred where major operators across the country, including MTN, Airtel, and 9mobile, grappled with a widespread network connection crisis.

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, told The PUNCH that the connectivity issue was due to significant fibre cuts made by road contractors employed by the Federal Government.

The ALTON chairman said, “There have been significant fibre cuts across the country, and this has impacted connectivity today, but efforts are being made by affected telecom operators to rectify this situation.”

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Economy

Lagos Police probe officer caught extorting motorist

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Lagos Police probe officer caught extorting motorist

The Lagos State Police Command has commenced an investigation into the extortion of a motorist by one of its officers, ASP Luka Bashayi of the Ogudu Area Command on Saturday.

A video which went viral on X on Saturday showed the policeman telling the driver of the car,

“Make am N10,000, sharp sharp and go now” as the driver replied, “I no get.”

The officer was also heard calling out some digits in the video.

The caption read, “Very hardworking Nigeria police officer, “do sharp sharp and go nw” u know the matter😅😅😭😭 #Princemoye1 see ur men.”

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Commenting on the video, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, wrote, “This is not allowed, so shameful. It’s condemned. We need more info about this. We will fish him out.”

Giving updates on the issue, the Lagos State Police PRO, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed that the command’s Complaint Response Unit have started investigations on the matter.

He wrote, “We will not gloss over this. He is ASP Luka Bashayi, serving at Ogudu Area Command.

“Meanwhile, #Lagos_PoliceCRU has commenced actions on this.”

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