Telecom
Airtel to Feed 5000 IDPS at Christmas in ‘Airtel 5 Days of Love’
Telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced plans to feed 5,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across five different IDP camps under its annual Christmas programme, “Airtel 5 Days of Love”.
The initiative to distribute 1,000 palliative packs to five select IDP camps in five states across the country over a period of five days will kick off on Monday, 13th December in Ugha IDP Camp, Benue State. Next stop will be in Kasaisa IDP Camp in Damaturu, Yobe State on Tuesday, 14th and on Wednesday, 15th December, we will be at the IDP camp in Ekiti State.
On Thursday, 16th December, the programme will hold in Anka, Zamfara State. The distribution will be concluded at the IDP Camp in Ekende, Ogoja, Cross Rivers State on Friday, 17th December.
Speaking during a virtual press conference yesterday, Surendran Chemmenkotil, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, noted that this year’s edition of “Airtel 5 Days of Love” is symbolic as it coincides with the company’s 20th anniversary in Nigeria which he described as a landmark achievement and glowing testimony to Airtel’s commitment to the government and people of Nigeria.
“Against the backdrop of our 20th anniversary and 20 years of GSM operations in Nigeria, I must express my profound appreciation to all the stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecom’s ecosystem. Airtel appreciates you all and most importantly, we value all our customers, especially those that have been with us since 2001,” said Mr. Chemmenkotil.
The Airtel CEO added that 2021 has been an interesting year and as the year winds down, it will be good for well-meaning individuals and corporate organizations to express love and appreciation to their stakeholders especially the less privileged.
“It is that time of the year when we all count our blessings, appreciate our friends, help and uplift the less privileged and generally show love to one another and everybody.
Aside the special token we are extending to our fellow Nigerians in these five IDP Centres, we would like to seize this opportunity to wish all Nigerians a merry and safe Christmas and prosperous New Year”, the CEO concluded.
The Airtel ‘5 Days of Love’ programme, which is in its 7th edition, is designed to identify with less privileged persons as well as support the downtrodden in communities where Airtel operates.
Through the programme, Airtel says it is uplifting the less privileged and providing support for the vulnerable as this aligns with its overall CSR theme of touching lives and improving the standard of living of the less privileged.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
MultiChoice is closing its continental streaming platform Showmax after 11 years, notifying subscribers Thursday of the board’s decision to discontinue the service in the near future to refocus on sustainable digital offerings.
MultiChoice
The email assured no immediate disruption: “You can continue streaming as usual, and no action is required from you at this time.” Showmax, launched in South Africa in 2015 and expanded across Africa, offered movies, series, documentaries, and sports to rival Netflix and others amid rising online entertainment demand.
The shutdown follows Canal+’s approved takeover of MultiChoice last year, with the French giant offering ZAR 125 per share for remaining stakes.
The deal mandates HDP ownership boosts, local content investment, and splitting MultiChoice’s SA broadcasting arm into an independent entity to meet regulations.
MultiChoice prioritised subscribers during the transition, promising advance notice on timelines.
Showmax’s exit signals consolidation pressures in Africa’s cut-throat streaming market, where global players dominate despite local content strengths.
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