News
NCC Commences New Licensing Round for 2.3Ghz Frequency
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has begun a new process for the sale of the 2.3GHz Frequency spectrum band following the cancellation of the earlier sale enmeshed in controversies, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
This will lay to rest the claims and counter charges that greeted the previous sale which saw the emergence of Mobitel, MultiLinks and Spectranet Ltd and the exclusion of Galaxy Wireless which claimed it met the requirements but was not named as one of the winners.
Piqued by growing outcry and deluge of petitions against the sale, Prof. Dora Akunyili, minister of Information and Communications cancelled the sale and stood by the cancellation of the initial sale insisting that the process lacked transparency and that due process was not followed.
The minister’s insistence is despite warnings of far reaching consequences of the cancellation by the NCC.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek however gathered that both the ministry and the NCC have now agreed to commence a new process following the official release of the 2.3GHz frequency spectrum to the NCC on Tuesday.
The spectrum was released to the NCC by the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) charged with carrying out bulk trans-sectoral allocation of spectrum to authorized statutory bodies at their 14th meeting which held in the Conference room of the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Dr. Abubakar Mohammed, permanent Ssecretary to the ministry, in a statement Wednesday in Abuja said the new step is a way forward as earlier agreed between the minister and the NCC.
According to him “With this development the first step in the new sale process has begun”
While releasing the frequency band on Tuesday, Alhaji Ikra Bilbis, minister of State, Information and Communications who chaired the meeting noted that the ratification and release of frequency(s) by NFMC must be received before further processes are commenced given that the NFMC had in an earlier meeting questioned the right of NCC to commence the sale of the 2.3GHz frequency without a formal official release by the Council.
Some of the petitions against the 2.3GHz licensing round, concluded on May 8 is that the NCC only effectively gave the companies that indicated interest in the licence just a week (or five working days) within which to raise N1.3 billion to pay for each licence.
One of the petitions alleged that in this period of economic meltdown, five working days were not enough to raise the amount required before the deadline.
The NCC adverts were published Thursday, April 30, while May 1 was a public holiday and 2-3 fell on a weekend, leaving the firms just five working days to raise the fees.
It was also alleged that the exercise lacked transparency as the NCC was accused of adopting first-hand information approach with some companies said to have been favoured over others because they had prior information even before the commission placed the adverts in the papers with a week’s deadline given for payment.
One of the petitions called for a thorough investigation and alleged that one of the companies that was said to have scaled through by paying the required N1.3 billion actually paid only 1 per cent of the stipulated funds into the designated account the NCC mandated the companies to pay into.
The deluge of petitions led to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) quizzing Ndukwe to answer allegations of flouting due process.
One of the allegations against the NCC was that Mobitel, one of the successful applicants, who was able to raise and pay the N1.3 billion in less than five days, was said to be indebted to the commission to the tune of N246 million in October last year, which it was unable to pay, leading the NCC to waive a total of N243 million for Mobitel, leaving a balance of N3 million for the firm to pay.
Mobitel has faced a lot of challenges that threatened its existence since its President and CEO, Alaba Joseph, died in his office in 2005 following a failed bid by the receiver appointed by a bank to take over the company following a court order.
Ndukwe was also accused of spending beyond the budget limit and misleading the Federal Government into the award of contracts for community information centres in some states in the country.
Top officials of the NCC have been questioned by the EFCC on the matter. The Head of Finance and the Executive Commissioner for Engineering and Technical Standards were also said to have been questioned.
News
Legend Internet Repays N10Bn Commercial Paper

Legend Internet Plc has announced the full and timely repayment of its Series 1 Commercial Paper under its N10bn multi-layered issuance programme, marking a key milestone in the company’s engagement with Nigeria’s debt capital market.

Aisha Abdulaziz, chief executive officer, Legend Internet Plc,
The repayment, completed on schedule and in full, underscores the company’s financial discipline and its continued commitment to maintaining strong investor relations in a tightening funding environment.
The Series 1 issuance had earlier attracted significant demand, recording a 119.7 per cent oversubscription at launch, reflecting strong investor appetite and confidence in the company’s credit profile, operational performance, and long-term expansion strategy.
Speaking on the repayment, Aisha Abdulaziz, chief executive officer, Legend Internet Plc, said the outcome reinforces the company’s credibility and operational strength.
“The successful repayment of our Series 1 Commercial Paper demonstrates Legend Internet’s unwavering commitment to meeting its financial obligations and maintaining the trust of the investment community.
This milestone further reinforces the strength of our business model, operational discipline, and long-term vision for building resilient digital infrastructure across Nigeria,” she said.
She added that investor confidence has remained central to the company’s funding strategy, saying, “We remain deeply appreciative of the confidence shown by our investors, advisers, issuing houses, and market partners during the issuance and throughout the tenor of the programme. Their support continues to position Legend Internet for sustainable growth and expansion.”
The Commercial Paper programme forms part of Legend Internet Plc’s broader capital strategy aimed at supporting broadband infrastructure expansion, strengthening working capital efficiency, and accelerating investment in Nigeria’s digital connectivity.
Legend Internet Plc operates as a digital infrastructure and broadband services provider, with a focus on fibre connectivity, enterprise solutions, and next-generation digital services designed to expand access and support economic inclusion across Nigeria
News
FG Unveils AI Public Services Platform

Federal government has launched GovGuideNigeria, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital platform designed to streamline access to public service information through WhatsApp and the web.

The platform consolidates information from more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 government agencies, marking a significant step in Nigeria’s drive to expand AI-enabled public infrastructure and digital government services.
According to Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, the initiative aims to simplify interactions with government services, particularly for underserved communities that often face challenges navigating complex public-sector systems.
Developed in collaboration with the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Meta, and Publica AI, GovGuideNigeria uses conversational AI to provide real-time responses via WhatsApp and a web interface in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
Sade Dada, head of public policy at Meta, said the multilingual rollout highlights the growing use of natural language processing within African public institutions to improve digital inclusion and broaden access to services.
Ignatius Willie, chief executive of Publica AI, said the platform demonstrates how Africa’s next generation of digital public infrastructure can be developed locally using African languages.
GovGuideNigeria is intended to address longstanding challenges in Nigeria’s public information system, where citizens often struggle to access reliable guidance because of fragmented government websites, poor communication channels and the expense of travelling to physical offices.
Through AI-driven automation, users can obtain information on immigration procedures, documentation requirements, public programmes and agency-specific services through chat-based interactions.
The launch also reflects Nigeria’s broader ambition to integrate AI into digital governance, while strengthening partnerships between government agencies, global technology companies and local AI startups to modernise public service delivery.
News
Elon Musk to Become First World’s Trillionaire with SpaceX Historic IPO

Elon Musk is poised to become the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX, his company, confirmed plans to go public.

Elon Musk
Because Musk owns the majority of the shares, it could push his net worth over the trillion dollar mark.
The entrepreneur is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI.
Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of May 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $788 billion.
SpaceX has filed for a blockbuster public listing in the United States, paving the way for what could become the largest stock market debut in Wall Street history.
The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, announced plans to begin trading under the ticker symbol “SPCX” as early as next month.
The listing values SpaceX at about $1.25 trillion, with Musk’s majority ownership potentially worth more than $600 billion alone.
Combined with his existing holdings in companies including Tesla, the IPO could push Musk’s personal wealth above the $1 trillion mark.
The long-awaited filing also offered investors a rare look into SpaceX’s finances.
The company reported $18.6 billion in revenue last year but recorded a net loss of $4.9 billion. In the first quarter of this year, SpaceX generated $4.7 billion in sales while posting a $4.3 billion net loss.
Financial disclosures showed the company holds $102 billion in assets, including rockets, launch infrastructure and satellite systems, while carrying debts totalling $60.5 billion.
Despite the losses, analysts suggested investors were unlikely to be deterred given SpaceX’s dominance in commercial space launches and satellite internet services.
Ruth Foxe-Blader, managing partner at Citrine Venture Partners, described the planned flotation as “extremely exciting.”
“SpaceX is just an absolutely sprawling, enormous project with so many different selling points, and so many points that really point to the future,” she said.
SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite internet network and also owns Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI.
The IPO filing revealed that xAI recently reached a major commercial agreement with rival AI company Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot.
Under the arrangement, Anthropic will reportedly pay $15 billion annually to access data centre infrastructure linked to xAI operations in the American South.
The filing also disclosed that SpaceX expects to incur more than half a billion dollars in legal costs from multiple ongoing lawsuits and regulatory disputes.
Among the cases listed were claims alleging that xAI’s chatbot Grok had been used to create sexualised deepfakes of women and girls, alongside patent infringement disputes, music copyright claims, data breach allegations and investigations into compliance with European Union content moderation rules.
Musk has previously said he plans to dissolve xAI as a standalone company and pursue his AI ambitions directly under SpaceX.
The filing came shortly after Musk lost a high-profile legal battle against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman.
Musk had accused OpenAI of abandoning its non-profit mission after shifting towards a commercial model, but a jury dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that he had waited too long to bring the claims.
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