Telecom
NCC Looks Elsewhere as Sale of Preregistered Sim Cards Booms
The over N6.1 billion poured into the ongoing Sim card registration is going down the drains with fresh evidences suggesting ready availability of preregistered Sim cards at every nooks and corners of the country Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations have found.
Preregistered Sim cards are those in which the biometric identity of a different person is used to register the number of Sim cards, and then sold to different people such that identity of the user is not same with the one who registered the Sim.
The implication is that armed robbers; kidnappers and other criminals can buy these cards and hide under the anonymity they provide to perpetuate heinous crimes.
Checks around the country revealed that the trade is booming with a preregistered Sim card selling for as much as N1, 500. A fresh Sim card from any GSM operator cost just N200.
Even with the best efforts of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the trade is assuming the nature of organized crime with a chain that extends as far as the major dealers who purchase Sim cards in bulk to the hawkers on the streets and to gang kingpins.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the federal government had embarked on the Sim card registration because of the increasing wave of crimes assisted by telecommunications as criminals hide under the anonymity of telephone access to commit crimes such as kidnapping and robbery.
The rationale is that if the owner of each SIM card in the country is known, it would be easy to trace any crime committed with the aid of a phone to a person.
Further checks showed that some unsuspecting poor Nigerians were being used to register such Sim cards in large quantities.
The government voted a questionable N6.1 billion for the registration even when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) undertook similar registration of all bank account holders in Nigeria without any special budget.
But there are series of scandals surrounding the handling of the money meant for the exercise which the NCC is fighting to absolve itself of any wrongdoing.
Critics said that whatever the benefit of preregistration is, that the government lack capacity to take advantage of it or to protect the citizens.
They said that the Sim registration process is too disorganized to make any meaningful impact and blamed the government for not doing enough to educate Nigerians on the dangers of preregistered Sim cards.
Bola Olubodun, a security expert , said, that process have been compromised because vital information of some Nigerian subscribers are now available to fraudsters and crooks of all kinds.
Tony Ojobo, director, Public Affairs at NCC, however, told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that the process is achieving its objectives.
He said that the constitutional way of fighting illegality is through the use of law enforcement agencies which the commission has been using.
According to him, some vendors of preregistered Sim cards have been arrested and enjoined Nigerians to report to the Nigerian Police any vendor of preregistered Sim card.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMs) however urged Nigerians to trust the system.
“ The law states that you have to register your Sim card, anybody going outside that is going contrary to the dictates of the law and should be made to face the wrath of the law” he added.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recalled that the Sim card registration exercise begun in February 2011 when the Nigerian Communications Commission signed contract with seven registration service providers to handle the registration process in different parts of the country along with telecommunications operators.
The contractors included SW Global for the South-East region — Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, and Imo; PNN for the North-Central region — Abuja, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Nassarawa; Chams for Lagos; and JKK for the South-West region – Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo.
Others were DATAGROUPIT for the North-East region — Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba; EAGLE/CBC for the North West region — Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa; and E-Kenneth/SageMetrics for the South-South — Cross River, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa.
Since March 28, 2011 that the Sim card registration actually began, many issues had been thrown up.
But desperate to justify the process, Ojobo, who was a guest at a television programme in Lagos, said that the verification process had commenced and would be preceded by number portability, which is designed to empower GSM subscribers to switch to a different network provider while still maintaining the same phone number.
He said that the Sim registration exercise is taking time to close because “After the digital collection of the database, the process of harmonising and cleansing was begun. The numbers of SIM card that were initially collected was 100 million, at a time when the active subscription was about 97million.
“Because of this volume, caused by multiple cases of double registration, the operators found the process of collation tough, and it took a long while for them to upload the information to NCC backings. When this was done, we also discovered mismatching, and the process continued” he added.
News
NITDA Communications Director Hadiza Umar Named in 2026 PR Power List, Graces Glazia Magazine Cover
Mrs. Hadiza Umar, Director of the Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has been officially recognised as one of Nigeria’s top public relations professionals in the prestigious 2026 PR Power List.
The definitive annual list, compiled by GLG Communications in partnership with The Guardian, was unveiled to commemorate World PR Day.
It celebrates 50 outstanding professionals within Nigeria and the diaspora whose strategic communication strategies have significantly shaped organisations, influenced public discourse, and advanced the profession over the past 12 months.
Adding to the momentous milestone, Mrs. Umar was hit with a major surprise at the exclusive PR Power List Soirée and Awards ceremony held at the Alliance Française in Ikoyi, Lagos, where she was unveiled as a front-cover personality for the Glazia Magazine PR Power List Special Issue.
The double recognition highlights her exceptional distinction and impact in public sector communications and narrative management.
Speaking on the dual achievement, Mrs. Umar expressed profound gratitude for the honours, describing the magazine cover appearance as a breathtaking surprise.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be recognized on the 2026 PR Power List and to feature on the cover of Glazia Magazine alongside other exceptional industry titans,” Umar said.
“This milestone is a testament to the enabling environment and visionary leadership of the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, which has allowed us to strategically drive the narrative of Nigeria’s digital economy and technological innovation.”
Mrs. Umar, a highly respected corporate communications strategist, holds professional fellowships in the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (Chartered), the African Public Relations Association (APRA), and the Institute of Corporate Administration (CICA).
Under her supervisory role, NITDA’s media relations have consistently projected national information technology frameworks, start-up support frameworks, and digital literacy initiatives, to position Nigeria competitively on the global stage.
The 2026 PR Power List selection process involved a rigorous, independent evaluation led by a distinguished international jury.
The organisers noted that the class of 2026 represents professionals raising the standard of strategic communications and introducing new ideas to the industry.
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
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