News
SIM Registration: Atcon, Alton Say ‘No 3rd Party’
Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) and the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) have said that third parties should not be allowed in the proposed SIM card registration process.
A third party is someone (or company) other than the principals (telecom companies) directly involved in a transaction or agreement.
Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, Atcon president, said that “Atcon made it clear that operators should be allowed to register their subscribers’ SIM cards themselves. When you want to open a bank account, the bank marketers come to you to do the marketing, they give you all the forms to fill and open the account for you. There is no third party that is working for the bank.”
Also nodding in agreement, Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, Alton president explained that the process must be transparent as much as possible, it must be friendly, and it must be seamless and flexible. “Operators we expect should be allowed as a first option to register their own subscribers. As a second option and for reasons of convenience, people should have the option of going to nominated centres to register.”
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that in preparation for the take off of the exercise, telcos have started to recruit temporary staff from different regions of the country to register subscribers.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), telecoms regulator, had in February moved the deadline for SIM card registration from March 1 to May 1 giving mobile time to prepare for a government-imposed programme to register new SIM cards issued to mobile-phone users.
NCC said the postponement became necessary following the discovery that large quantities of SIM cards with instant activation features, which were already distributed by the service providers before the earlier announcement, would not have been cleared out before March 1.
The law requires mobile-phone subscribers to provide details such as fingerprints and photographs of themselves.
News
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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