E-Business
Reconciling Schedules Bane of Pension Industry – Obaro
John Obaro, managing director, SystemSpecs at a Workshop on Remita Pension for Pension Fund Administrators and Pension Fund Custodians in Lagos spoke on Remita Pension, a world class electronic courier service that rides on e-Payment platforms to deliver funds to bank accounts and associated schedules to relevant bodies in pre-specified formats. Excerpts:
About the Workshop
Essentially, it is a forum to create awareness on the Pension Industry Solution, a solution that can assist employers to fulfill their regulatory obligations of remitting contributory pensions on monthly basis to their respective PFAs. So we are meeting with key players in the industry- the PFCs and the PFAs to show them the capabilities of the solution. The solution assists employers to upload their schedules and effect e-payment such that their diverse PFAs are able to receive electronic schedules on real time basis.
PFAs & PFCs Blaming Regulators for not making Money
I do not think it is an issue of blaming regulators as such. The process in place for employers to fulfill their regulatory obligations has hitherto been cumbersome and when it is difficult to fulfill a law, even when the will is there, you may still have operational challenges and that is the kind of thing going on in the pension industry. It is a cumbersome process for a typical employer to deal with 5-10 PFAs. Employees leave the organization, so every month they need to re-compute how much pension should be paid on each employee, what should go to each PFA, that can easily become a nightmare so you find many organizations now having to set up desks or units to follow up because of the operational challenge. That is part of issues leading to PFAs not getting as many contributors as they would love on their platforms. That is one of the reasons we came up with a solution like this to make life easier for the employer who can upload all his schedules at once. There is no reason to break them to any structure, it goes to different PFAs, irrespective of the PFCs managing them and the PFAs and PFCs are able to see only the things that relate to them.
Reconciling Schedules
These are some of the symptoms of the current operational process. It is a fall out because the system itself wouldn’t work so you would always have things that create a kind of problem and that is where Remita comes in. It is no more simple for you to send a schedule that does not balance with the payment you want to make because it is the system after it accepts the schedules from the employer that re-computes the total contributory pension to be paid by that organization. The organization is debited for this sum and the various PFAs are credited in their accounts with the various PFCs. Immediately the payment is confirmed as successful, the PFAs and the PFCs immediately see schedules of those who have paid.
Relationship with Banks
Remita is an e-payment solution and what we have done is only to extend the features of the e-payment and translate it to business to make life operationally easier for organizations. As an e-payment solution, what it means is that we have relationship with the banks so for any employer using the platform, he would have filled an application form with the bank. It is actually the bank that will enable the organization on the Remita platform such that when transactions come from the Remita platform, the banks are able to recognize and respect that instruction. So the bank effects the debit and we move it on to the other banks and the bank then credits the beneficiary.
History of Remita Pension Solution
It was developed in 2005, the early days of the pension reform. That was when we started working on this solution and we’ve always had our eyes on the pension industry. The solution is about five years old, that is Remita but this is the first time when we have are focusing and bringing out the operational convenience for employers and PFAs. Remita is basically a payment engine. As a payment engine, we focus more on getting payments right, building relationships with all the banks so that they can respect instructions coming in from bank platforms and then of course our core area which has always been human manager payroll had moved our clients unto the platform, then we went into vendors and contractor payments and now we are focusing on the pension industry. Several organizations have been using it for pension payments. What we are discussing with the PFAs and PFCs is that we are now focusing on the pension aspect of Remita because the issue of funds not matching schedules has become a major crisis in the industry and since this is one of the core areas of strength of Remita, of course it is time for us to push it.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has opposed a bill seeking to compel major global social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria.
The rights advocacy group urged the National Assembly to discard the proposed legislation, warning that it could become a tool for censorship and undermine citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of expression, despite being presented as a measure to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy and improve corporate accountability.
The position was contained in a presentation submitted yesterday by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator, HURIWA, to the chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko, has already passed second reading in the Senate and is before the committee for further legislative consideration.
HURIWA said it carefully reviewed the proposed legislation and concluded that compelling global technology companies to establish offices in Nigeria was unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
The organisation argued that while the firms generate substantial revenue from Nigeria’s vast digital market, they already engage Nigerians through existing structures, including paying eligible content creators, working with local technology professionals and participating in legal proceedings whenever required.
According to the group, appointing local representatives where necessary would adequately address concerns about engagement with regulators and users without forcing the companies to maintain physical offices.
It also dismissed claims that mandatory country offices would significantly improve consumer complaint resolution, technology transfer or employment generation.
HURIWA maintained that the platforms already have effective feedback mechanisms for resolving users’ complaints and routinely appear before Nigerian courts through their representatives whenever litigation arises.
The group, however, said its greatest concern was the potential for the proposed law to be used as an instrument for restricting freedom of expression.
It argued that establishing local offices could expose global social media companies to pressure from government authorities to remove online content considered critical of those in power.
According to the rights group, the presence of social media companies in Nigeria could become an avenue for authorities to pressure them into abandoning internationally recognised digital rights standards in favour of politically motivated content moderation.
It recalled previous attempts to regulate social media in Nigeria that generated widespread concerns over possible restrictions on free speech, stressing that any legislation affecting the digital space must contain clear safeguards against abuse.
The organisation warned that the proposed law should never become “a backdoor mechanism for government surveillance, arbitrary content removal or political censorship.
Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s most regulated online gambling markets, even as illegal operators continue to dominate the continent, according to a new report by Gaming Compliance International (GCI).
The report, the first comprehensive assessment of online gambling across all 54 African countries, showed that Africa’s online gambling Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reached $23 billion in 2025.
However, only $5.2 billion (23 per cent) was generated by licensed operators, while $17.8 billion (77 per cent) remained in the unregulated market.
In West Africa, total online gambling revenue rose to $4.8 billion in 2025 from $4.3 billion in 2024. Of the 2025 figure, regulated operators accounted for $1.5 billion (31 per cent), while $3.3 billion (69 per cent) flowed to unlicensed platforms, highlighting the region’s persistent enforcement challenges.
Nigeria stood out as the region’s strongest performer, recording the lowest unregulated market share at 56 per cent, compared with the West African average of 69 per cent and the African average of 77 per cent.
The study also found that online gambling participation across Africa increased from 198 million people (13 per cent of the population) in 2024 to 215 million (14 per cent) in 2025.
Despite this growth, GCI estimated that illegal operators deprived African governments of about $3.55 billion in tax revenue in 2025. The number of unlicensed gambling platforms targeting African consumers also rose to 4,129, up from 3,644 in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, Matt Holt, chief executive officer, GCI, said the report provides regulators with the first continent-wide benchmark for strengthening oversight and consumer protection.
Ismail Vali, president, GCI, urged governments to develop competitive and well-regulated markets that encourage consumers to patronise licensed operators, boost public revenue and attract greater investment.
Online gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the Nation Lottery Regulatory Commission.
At the height of the Northern Hemisphere tourist season, demand for communications and mobile Internet services rises sharply. Kaspersky’s security experts have uncovered scams that target anyone purchasing mobile connections or SIM cards worldwide.
Fraudsters create counterfeit websites that look like the portals of major regional and international telecom providers to trick users into revealing their phone numbers, personal details or banking information.
Kaspersky is sharing several examples of these fake login pages that mimic legitimate telecom operator sites and giving recommendations on how not to be deceived.
In the first case, scammers exploit the brand name of an international telecommunications company operating services in Asia, Africa and Europe. Fake authentication pages encourage users to put in their phone number and credentials.
While the first example shows the different design, the second scam site closely mimics the original log in page, making it hard for users to tell the difference and spot a fake. Entering authentication or payment data on fraudulent web sites may result in money or data loss and become a reason for more frequent spam and fraudulent calls.
Another example is a scam page which poses as another international communications company, working in North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In this scheme scammers encourage users to top up their mobile data/Internet plans by entering their personal information and bank cards details.
Kaspersky experts have also identified a scam when cyber criminals suggest users enter their personal data to check and pay a bill inquiry. Such scam schemes are usually aimed at gaining victims’ personal data for further fraud or account hacking and stealing money.
“Because of the active use of AI, scammers can now create fake pages with ever increasing accuracy and speed, targeting the most popular user interest areas. We constantly see scams revolving around sports events, music concerts, seasonal sales and holidays. Unfortunately, the telecoms industry is no exception.
To keep your data and money safe, be vigilant when purchasing mobile or Internet plans online. Using an eSIM – purchased through an official app – is one way to avoid fake telecom sites, as it eliminates the need to enter personal details on questionable web pages.
If you’re unsure about a site’s legitimacy, search for the brand name directly in a search engine and enable a security solution that blocks phishing links for you,” comments Tatyana Kulikova, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
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