Telecom
FG Unveils Nigeria at 60th Commemorative Stamps
As the nation continues in the euphoria of attaining 60th independent anniversary, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on thursday, unveiled and launched two sets of postage stamps produced to commemorate the nation’s diamond jubilee.
The two sets of postage stamps comes in N100 and N500 denominations, designed with the Nigeria at 60 logo with expression of various indigenous musical instruments on it.
The Minister recalled that the production of the postage stamps was the idea of the Presidential Sub-committee on Diamond Innovation and Change which he headed during various events to mark the nation’s diamond jubilee anniversary.
He said; “We came up with about 11 items and this is the last one to be executed out of the items as part of our celebration and reflection.”
He added that the postage stamp symbolizes the unity in the nation’s diversity.
“Our diversity supposed to be our source of strength and not weakness; it supposed to be our source of unity and not disunity.
“This is not just time for celebration but rather time for reflection and appreciation of our diversity”, he advised.
While acknowledging that Nigeria Postal Service, (NIPOST) has been facing challenges and constraints in carrying out its mandates particularly in regards to regulations, policies and financing, the minister disclosed that there are ongoing efforts at transforming the service for efficient service delivery.
He stated that part of the achievements the service have recorded in less than two years in the saddle as the minister include the resolution of the lingering issue on collection of stamp duty which has now been resolved in the 2020 Financial Act that recognised NIPOST as the producer of stamp duty in Nigeria.
“For the first time, the Finance Act 2020 recognized NIPOST as the producer of stamp duty in Nigeria and not only that, the stamp duty is to be used as authentication and validation. It is a clear indication that our efforts have yielded positive result,” the minister explained.
He listed other efforts at repositioning NIPOST to include; formulation of Rule Making policy that would ensure robust regulation and empower the service to make subsidiary legislations, unbundled of NIPOST into two companies-properties; a development company, and transport and logistics company.
“These are the two companies that are at the final stage and we do hope that we will come up with NIPOST microfinance bank. We will leverage on all the offices we have in the country to ensure that we provide service to our citizens and others,” he added.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Post Master General, Dr Ismail Adewusi noted that postage stamps are significant for promoting socio-political development of the country.
He stated that all national heroes of the country have been celebrated with the use of postage stamps and it won’t be out of place to commemorate the diamond jubilee with a postage stamp that would “enrich our historical values.”
He maintained that the idea behind the production of the postage stamps promote unity in the nation’s diversity and urged Nigerians to focus on ideals that unite them and shun every divisive tendency.
In his goodwill message, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, commended NIPOST for what he called; “accelerating milestone it achieved in the production of the postage stamp.”
He recalled that the minister gave the directive on September 29, 2020 for NIPOST to come up with commemorative postage stamp, the feat the service achieved in a short period of time.
Mallam Abdullahi noted that the postage stamp would ensure the nation’s journey to digital economy is accelerated as it would play a big role in digitizing the economy.
Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), the Archbishop of Owerri has raised caution on the deployment of Artificial Intelligence.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria
Ugorji called for a balance that prioritises human welfare alongside technological progress, mindful of ethics and morals, as well as risks such as job displacement, threat to world peace, spread of falsehood through propaganda, manipulation of the human person, and privacy concerns through advanced hacking and deepfakes.
The clergyman raised the concern during the ComWeek Public Lecture in Abuja on Artificial Intelligence, noting that the exclusive use of technology in religious formation, pastoral care, and education has enhanced theological knowledge, accessibility and mission of the universal church.
Keynote Speaker at the event, Father Anthony Akinwale, deputy vice chancellor of Augustine University Lagos, dismissed the speculations that the intellectual roles of humans will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence, explaining that AI relied on humans to function and did not have a mind of its own to choose to or not to obey commands with which it was programmed.
Akinwale further cautioned that AI should be solely used for the common good of mankind and not for destructive purposes.
Most Reverend David Ajang, chairman on Social communication of the Catholic Bishops Conference, called for a reflection on the power of communication as a divine gift, “one that holds the potential to bridge divides, enlighten minds and unite hearts in the pursuit of truth and common good”.
9mobile, Nigeria’s customer-centric telecommunications company has refreshed its ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ offerings with additional benefits to enable new and potential customers enjoy more value on calls, data, SMS and CUG for their Businesses.
The ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ product offering is a flexible and customizable plan with an array of add-on services. The plan gives customers benefits of extra cost-saving tariff within the bundle, and 100% bonus data upon repurchase of select bundles.
With the update, 9mobile customers on this plan will also enjoy free incoming calls while roaming on select networks in the following 10 countries: UK, UAE, South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Egypt, France, Germany, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia when they recharge ₦5,000 and above in a month.
A further benefit of the plan is the ‘Add-on solutions’. With this, companies and institutions will enjoy seamless business operations’ continuity and optimization through Close User Group (CUG), Fleet Tracking, Cloud PBX, Cloud Services, and Device Financing. Others are International Call Bundles, Roaming Bundles, and Special International Destinations Calling.
Commenting on the development, Nneka Owolabi, Director Enterprise Business, highlighted the telco’s unwavering commitment to ensure customers and subscribers enjoy premium customer experience, and wholesome value for their subscription on the 9mobile network.
“At 9mobile we have proven time and again that premium customer experience is important for us. It is the essence of our operations. That is why we have reintroduced the ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ for customers and subscribers, particularly businesses to enjoy value for their loyalty to us, and upscale their businesses”, he said.
Owolabi also stated that the ComboPak combines all business needs in one affordable bundle with cheaper voice calls, data subscription, SMS, and CUG, saying “It’s a ComboPak offering that keeps you, and your business stay ahead of trend”.
“What 9mobile ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ does is to create and sustain an ecosystem where people, in this case, customers and subscribers, and businesses run systematically with a combination of our tools efficiently. This is certain to revolutionize the way Nigerians communicate, stay connected, and transact businesses effectively”.
Subscribers to ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ plan will enjoy unique voice calls, SMS & data.
The service allows flexibility to move across packages based on your needs. For ₦1,000 ComboBasic bundle cost, customers will dial *246*4*33# to enjoy 60k/MB Browsing, 12k/sec in bundle calls, 12k/sec out of bundle calls, ₦2.60/SMS, and CUG; while for ₦1,000 ComboValue bundle cost, customers will dial *246*4*30# to enjoy 700MB, 30 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 10 National SMS, and CUG.
For customers with ₦2,000 ComboPremier bundle cost, all they need to do is to dial *246*4*33# to enjoy 2.1GB, 60 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 25 National SMS, and CUG. Customers subscribing to ₦5,000 ComboBlack bundle cost will enjoy benefits of 7GB, 300 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 25 National SMS, and CUG.
The unique value adds on the ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ plan for customers also includes: Bundled Plans – for customers to enjoy flexible and customizable plans with an array of add-on services, and extra cost saving tariff within bundle.
Unlimited Add-ons – this is Add-on solutions – include CUG, Fleet Tracking, Cloud PBX, Cloud Services, Device Financing, Shared Data, International call bundles, Roaming Bundles, and Special International Destinations Calling, for customers.
This is in addition, to free data offer which is a 100% bonus data upon repurchase of select bundles.
Convenience has been embedded into the ComboPak plan for Subscribers also to check account balance by dialling *310#, and data balance by dialling *323#, while migration or opting out of the plan is absolutely free.
MTN Nigeria’s Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, is the first ever winner of the “Global Corporate Secretary of the Year” award by the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA). She was honoured with the award at an event on April 23rd, 2024, in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia.
The CSIA Global Awards was instituted to recognise the efforts of corporate secretaries and governance professionals that not only impact their organizations but also international platforms. Of the three main award categories- Global Corporate Secretary of the Year, Rising Corporate Secretary of the Year and Governance Professional of the Year, Uto was awarded the Global Corporate Secretary of the Year for her hard work, diligence and professionalism by a distinguished jury of expert practitioners and thought leaders in the corporate governance field.
Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria congratulating her on the recognition said, “At MTN, we understand the critical role strong governance plays in driving sustainable growth and fostering trust among stakeholders. Uto’s exemplary leadership underscores our commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency. We are proud of Uto’s commitment to corporate governance. She deserves the recognition.”
Ukpanah, the pioneer winner of this award has worked with MTN Nigeria for over 18 years. She is a corporate lawyer with extensive experience in company and commercial law. Her contributions in developing sustainable corporate governance structures in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have been instrumental in fostering transparency and ethical business practices.
Ukpanah’s dedication to ethics and corporate social responsibility advisory services has positioned her as a respected leader in the industry, driving positive change and setting high standards for corporate excellence. This is seen in her active participation on the ‘Code of Corporate Governance Committee,’ ‘9to5 Woman,’ ‘Bankers Committee on Corporate Governance’, among others.
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