General News
Jonah Jang’s MTN Faux pas
No doubt these are not the best of times for Plateau state, and for its governor, the main priority would be restoring the famed peace on the plateau, but that wasn’t what Governor Jonah Jang bargained when he made an unexpected faux pas on MTN Nigeria over a call centre manager’s decision to vacate the state for reasons of insecurity and safety of staff.
When news first broke on social media that the Plateau state government had called on residents and indigenes of the state to boycott services of MTN Nigeria, it was taken as one off the ever rolling mills of Nigeria’s rumour banks.
However, Yiljap Abraham, plateau state commissioner for information and communication, said last week in paid advertisement in select national newspapers that the state government took the decision following what he termed the mobile providers’ “discriminatory remuneration and underpayment of the over 1, 700 workers at the MTN Jos Call Centre, majority of whom are citizens of Plateau state, in comparison to their colleagues in other Call Centres across the country.”
The Plateau government has even set up a coordinating office let by its director-general, research and planning in the governor’s office to monitor and collate the effectiveness of its boycott call (or is it order?).
How do you order citizens to boycott services of a mobile operator that offers you the biggest coverage? What peace message would you be serving calling for a boycott when the issues could have been resolved otherwise if properly investigated?
Wale Goodluck, corporate services executive (CSE), of MTN Nigeria noted that the call centre was operated by an outsourced partner, Messrs CNSSL who employed about 650 staff. So it wasn’t yet up to the figure of 1, 700. The MTN CSE noted that the centre was to ultimately grow to employ about 2, 200 personnel.
He stated that continued ethno-religion violence in the state had put the lives of the call centre staff at risk prompting CNSSL to shut down the centre.
“MTN chose to open the call centre facilities in Jos with the hope of contributing to peace and harmony in the city by gainfully engaging the youth. It is sad that we are no longer in a position to do so, as our partners have had to close shop due to the prevailing situation in the area,” said Goodluck.
For a government desirous of maintaining good corporate relationship, especially with multinational big spenders, Governor Jang ought to have explored other avenues of mitigating the operator’s concern about security of its staff rather than choosing the war path.
Instead of stating: “MTN is not the only service provider and the obvious option for Plateau state citizens is to have recourse to alternative GSM services;” the government needed to have called the call centre operator and discussed terms of engagements.
No doubt Plateau state remains a keg of gun powder in the Nigeria security equation. Not until the deep rooted socio-ethnic-religious issues dividing the citizens are resolved, boycotting services of a mobile operator would rather add to the burden.
Often times, those who govern us appear oblivion of the real issues but rather chose to chase shadows as demonstrated by Governor Jang. By glossing over the Plateau crisis and using MTN as a scapegoat, Jang may possibly be opening up a Pandora’s Box.
Nigeria still grapples with issue of quality of service offered by operators. Broadband penetration remains a herculean task without feasible solutions in sight. Telecom services although largely seen as a big success story, remain largely an urban phenomenon.
Plateau state and the entire north region, (except Abuja) remains underserved due largely to factors other than insecurity. The issue of insecurity occasioned by activities of al Qaeda linked terrorists groups only adds to exacerbate an already bad situation.
Whereas Governor Jang, would want citizens to believe the call centre was direct investment of MTN Nigeria, truth is that CNSSL (communication network support services limited) is a wholly owned Nigerian ‘telecom support services company with expertise in design, implementation and maintenance of fibre optic cable networks, copper networks, access networks, and VSAT/ wireless networks.’
Writing in a post by Emeka Oparah, Airtel Nigeria Communications Diretor on facebook last week several commentators lampooned the governor for his action:
Emeka Ogbeide: You now know why we are where we are! Dis man na governor but na ororo dey him head. How can he produce concrete result? Warning; any location with a military chief executive will be no different. They never depart from barrack autocracy. Edo state just escaped. Watch out for others, joro jara joro.
Ifeyenwa Chybe: If this is quite tru…….pls i suggest he need medicals……
Ken Ogujiofor: What a shame, relocation of call centre which employs 1700 workers is more important to Jang than the security of about 3m people within Jos and environ to be d front burner for his state executive meeting. We sure do have ladders (sorry LEADERS) in this country. Next time they will meet to issue orders for boycott of beef by indigenes as a result of Fulani cattle rearers attack.
This is one experiment going awry and for Plateau government and indigenes, they still have time on their hand to ameliorate the situation by calling on the affected parties for meaningful dialogue.
Definitely, it is in the best interest of both parties to get the call centre up and working – it saves employment burden for the Plateau state government, raises MTN’s profile in the national spread and increases capacity of the young graduates who finds job in these centres.
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) indicted the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and other ministries over administrative lapses that allowed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) to operate.
Musa Aliyu, chairman, ICPC, stated that NITDA, alongside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Budget Office, and other bodies, failed to carry out adequate due diligence and standard operating procedures.
ICPC said however, clarified that the findings pointed to severe internal control weaknesses and administrative negligence rather than active official complicity by NITDA and the other affected agencies.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general, was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out these illegal acts.”
Nigeria tax system is build on taxing prosperity not poverty, according to Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service
Adedeji, also dismissed the insinuation that the government’s tax reform is aimed at extracting money from Nigerians .
He said the essence of reform is creating an economic environment where individuals and businesses can prosper.
Dr. Adedeji made the clarifications on Sunday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the administration’s tax reforms and addressed concerns over rising government revenue amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s objective is to tax the fruits of investment rather than the investment itself.
“For us at Nigeria Tax, we are not there to extract. Our focus is not revenue. I don’t want to tax poverty. I’m to tax the fruit, not the seed, and I’m to tax the return, not investment.”
Adedeji explained that the government would generate more revenue as businesses became more profitable, without necessarily increasing the tax burden on individuals and companies.
He said a company that made N100 in profit could generate N30 in tax revenue for the government, but if its profit increased to N200 or N300, government revenue would rise accordingly.
“So, if I want to make more, I must work for you to make more. And that is why it is in the best interest of us in Nigeria Revenue Service that businesses are doing well, individuals are doing well,” he said.
He said the approach was consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, which seeks to remove barriers to investment and create a more conducive environment for businesses to operate and expand.
Adedeji cited reforms in the electricity sector as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate economic activity.
He noted that the Electricity Act had devolved powers to state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, arguing that improved power supply would boost production and productivity across the economy.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam, Nigerian scholar, has been invited to serve as a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology.
Prof Chidi Oguamanam,
The appointment, which covers four years from 2026 to 2029, recognises Oguamanam’s contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines.
The invitation was conveyed in a letter from UNESCO on Saturday, which described the commission as an independent advisory body and forum for reflection on major ethical challenges arising from advances in science and technology.
The letter stated, “Recognising your significant contributions to the ethics of science and technology and related disciplines, it is my honour to invite you to become a member of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology for a period of four years, from 2026 to 2029.”
Established in 1998, the commission brings together experts from different regions and disciplines to examine ethical issues associated with scientific and technological developments, climate change and the environment.
UNESCO said regional balance was important to the commission’s membership to promote multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary debate on emerging ethical challenges.
According to the organisation, the commission provides guidance and recommendations through its reports to UNESCO, its member states, the scientific community, policymakers, civil society and other stakeholders.
Its previous work has contributed to global normative instruments, including the Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change adopted in 2017 and the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence adopted in 2021.
UNESCO noted that the commission had recently published reports examining the ethics of quantum computing and space exploration and utilisation.
The organisation said the commission would now focus on new areas identified for its future work programme, including emerging ethical challenges arising from scientific and technological developments.
In inviting Oguamanam to join the commission, UNESCO expressed confidence in his expertise and active contribution to the development of its forthcoming reports.
The organisation also said it expected members to contribute to “horizon scanning” of emerging ethical challenges and help identify issues that should be addressed in the commission’s next cycle.
Oguamanam’s appointment adds to Nigeria’s representation in international discussions on the ethical implications of science, technology and innovation.
He is expected to serve on the commission alongside experts from different regions and academic disciplines during the 2026–2029 term.
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