News
Billions Waste as Bureaucracy Stalls NRTP
National Rural Telephony Project (NRTP), the little successful $200 million conceived in 2001 to take telephony services to the rural areas is now caught in a web of confusion, claims and counter charges with fingers pointing left and right, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report.
As argument swung up and down, the ministry of Communications Technology said the project is still on course.
Operators of the project under the aegis of Association of Rural Telephony Operators of Nigeria (ARTON) however said they are yet to get certificate of no objection from newly established Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
But stakeholders have also queried the credentials of the companies to take telephony to communities in Nigeria which have not heard a telephone ring or create over 10 million jobs directly.
NRTP which began under former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration about 11 years ago was to cover 218 local government areas in the first phase and provide over 636,256 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) lines in the 774 local government areas and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the second phase to bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural areas.
The government borrowed $200 million from the China Export Import (EXIM) Bank and provided 15 per cent counterpart funding of N5 billion to execute the project.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the project was dead on arrival due largely to its faulty design and execution.
Three Chinese companies – ZTE Corporation, Huawei and Shangai Bell – were awarded the NRTP contract to take telephony services to the rural areas but ended up building only exchanges.
Sensing it could not run the project, the federal government in 2009, transferred the second phase to G-cell Wireless Limited, Hezomic Limited, Key Communications Limited, Suburban Broadband Limited and Voicewares Network Limited.
They were to build, operate and maintain the project in the different zones under the modeled of a Lease, Operate and Own (LOO) framework.
The selection process followed a competitive bidding process prescribed by the World Bank for privatization and concession transactions and undertaken in the most transparent manner possible.
The operators were supposed to operate the networks for a period of 10 years within which they would pay a specified amount of money to the government.
But awardees explaining delays in rolling out the services said that they are yet to take possession some four years after the award.
Engr. Gerry Ekesiani, chief executive officer, Voicewares Networks Limited, one of the operators of the project that won the contract to operate South-east and Benue exchange, said it is yet to roll out service even with operating licenses, numbering plan and frequency by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) because of some bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He said the ministry of Communications Technology is yet to get certificate of no objection from newly established Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that ARTON already have similar approvals from Attorney General of the Federal and Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) but the newly established ICRC requested that the transaction leading to their emergence is vetted before they take off.
Ekesiani added that the continued delay in the rollout of services is causing ARTON financial losses while the equipment have become object of vandals and thieves.
He also warned that the equipment may become obsolete by the time the final approval is obtained as CDMA 2000 1x technology installed for the project is a legacy.
Ekesiani urged the of Communications Technology to expedite action to ensure that they are given approval license soon.
He also decried the campaign for national backbone infrastructure instead of looking at expanding optic fibre infrastructure which have been already laid as part of NRTP to link all the local government areas which will serve as national fibre optic ring.
The ministry of Communications Technology however said it is working to ensure the take off of the NRTP.
Engr. John Ayodele, director, Telecom and Postal Services at the ministry of Communications Technology, said that the project is being delayed because of policy shift.
Ayodele said the ministry is waiting for ICRC approval letter which will be used to apply for ratification of President’s approval by federal executive council.
He added that the ministry has held a meeting with the operators to ascertain their readiness to continue with the project when the final approval is obtained.
The director said the current effort is the last to ramp-up the process of handing over to operators.
Elsewhere, Bayo Banjo, managing director, Disc Communications and president, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) said stakeholders in the information and communications technology were not carried along in the process leading to the emergence of the operators.
He said little known companies may derail the original aim of the project of taking telephony to the rural areas.
Commenting, Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) urged operators of the project to seek ways of collaborating with GSM operators to realize objectives of the project in the designated areas.
Ajayi said that the Rural Telephony Project was a laudable initiative by the federal government when it was conceptualized but that the coverage of GSM service in many rural areas has affected the commercial viability of the NRTP.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
PalmPay Group (“PalmPay”), a multinational fintech company providing digital financial services across high-growth emerging markets, is pleased to appoint Samuel Oluyemi as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of its Nigeria practice, effective immediately.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for PalmPay as it looks to reach more underserved communities and continuously strengthen the reliability and security of its services. It also comes as Nigeria’s broader financial services sector continues to modernize, bring millions more Nigerians into the formal financial system, and strengthen the cybersecurity and fraud-prevention standards that underpin public confidence in digital payments.
As COO of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr. Oluyemi will oversee PalmPay’s Nigerian operations — where the company provides a full suite of digital financial services to individuals and businesses — and communicate with regulators to ensure the company’s growth happens harmoniously with the country’s financial, digital, and social inclusion goals.
Mr. Oluyemi brings more than two decades of experience at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (“NIBSS”). During his tenure as the Business Development Lead, he championed the development of key national payment services — including the Digital Validation of Nigerian International Passport (e-Passport Validation), Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (“e-DMMS”), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (“EPCCOS”) — and played a pivotal role in introducing and driving early adoption of NIBSS Instant Payment (“NIP”), Nigeria’s first online, real-time, inter-bank transfer system in 2011 and its subsequent extension to the Other Financial Institutions (“OFI”) segment of the Nigeria Payments System.
He holds an MSc in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan with extensive local and international professional training.
“Samuel joins PalmPay at an important stage in our journey to strengthen the foundations that will support our long-term goal of driving financial inclusion,” said Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria. “His extensive experience makes him well positioned to help us scale sustainably while maintaining the operational discipline, governance and customer-first culture that define PalmPay.”
“PalmPay has established itself as one of the most impactful fintech companies in emerging markets by making financial services more accessible and affordable for millions of people,” said Mr. Oluyemi.
“I am excited to join the company and look forward to working alongside an exceptional team to strengthen operational excellence and support PalmPay’s vision of building a leading digital financial services platform. Together, we will continue delivering secure, reliable, and customer-focused financial solutions while contributing to the continued evolution of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.”
As Nigeria’s digital financial services sector continues to mature, this appointment reflects a broader commitment guiding PalmPay across all markets it serves: building financial services that are secure, reliable, and effective enough to earn a permanent place in people’s everyday lives.
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