Telecom
NCC to Strengthen Media Collaboration
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commended the Nigerian media for their role in adequately and accurately educating the Nigerian public about the Commission’s ‘2017 Year of the Consumer’ initiative.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, EVC, NCC
The Commission says it is determined to strengthen collaboration with the media for increased education of telecoms consumer in the country.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman (EVC) of NCC, stated this during the 2019 Award/Appreciation Night hosted by the Kano Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists which took place at Bristol Palace Hotel, Kano, where the EVC received recognition award for outstanding leadership and regulatory excellence exhibited since assuming office in 2015 as the country’s chief telecoms regulator.
Speaking at the forum with the theme: ‘Media and Good Governance: Issues and Challenges’, Danbatta disclosed that the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 short code instituted by the NCC for curbing unsolicited text messages and the NCC 622 toll-free Number for consumer complaints management, have increased in usage because of effective public education by the media acting as a critical partner of the Commission.
Danbatta, who thanked the NUJ Kano Correspondent Chapel for the honour bestowed on him took the audience on a memory lane on how media had and have continued to help in publicising NCC’s Year of the Consumer initiative launched in 2017, with a philosophical focus to address critical consumer-related issues in the telecommunications industry.
According to him, two of the major derivatives of the initiative are the DND 2442 Short Code and the NCC toll-free number 622. “For me, the print and electronic media serve as an important interface between the agencies of government like the NCC and the public. I remember when we declared 2017 as the Year of the Consumer, we assembled the best, the crème of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to help disseminate the messages about the initiatives to the nook and cranny of the country,” Danbatta said.
The EVC stated that today, the DND Short Code has empowered Nigerians to stop receiving unsolicited text messages. He also declared that from a little half a million, the level of subscription to the Code is over 22 million and the number is growing.
“The same thing with our toll-free number 622 through which subscribers can lodge complains about the quality of service, about when they observe their data declines at most alarming speed or when they are being subjected to unwholesome practices by the service providers.
“They can lodge their complaints using the 622 in English, Pidgin or local languages of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. Though the 622, we have succeeded in resolving more than a million complaints from consumers,” Danbatta said.
The NCC Chief Executive noted that the Commission couldn’t have achieved the success rates without an important partnership between the Commission and the journalists, who, he said, helped the Commission “to educate consumers on and popularised the availability and usage of the DND 2442 Short Code and the 622 Toll-free Number.”
He stressed that, based on the importance attached to media partnership, the NCC dedicates two engagements with the media every year. “We engage the media from the beginning of the year in order to inform them about what our plans for subscribers are in the industry and at the end of the year in order to tell them what progress we have made.”
Danbatta said by doing this, “Nigerians are very much aware of the activities of the Commission and therefore, the NCC relies and will continue to rely on and strengthen collaboration with the media for the dissemination of important information about its activities to the public.”
Other notable indigenes of Kano State, who received recognition awards at the NUJ event, alongside Danbatta, include the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullah Ganduje; his wife, Dr. Hafsat Gganduje; Chairman, Tofa Group, Isyaku Umar Tofa; and Managing Director, Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Dr. Jamil Gwamna.
SHELT, a leading cybersecurity-as-a-service provider, has earned inclusion in the 2025 MSSP 250, the annual ranking of the world’s top 250 Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) by MSSP Alert, a CyberRisk Alliance publication.
SHELT
The list evaluates firms on business performance, service breadth, and industry impact, spotlighting those excelling in growth, operational excellence, and advanced managed security amid rising cyber threats. Selection criteria include annual recurring revenue, profitability, workforce expansion, business growth, and the depth of managed security offerings.
SHELT’s recognition underscores its investments in scalable security operations, threat intelligence, and tailored managed services across multiple regions, enabling clients to navigate complex risk landscapes effectively.
“Being recognised in the MSSP 250 is a meaningful milestone for our team,” stated Youssef Abillama, CEO of SHELT. “It validates our focus on building practical, resilient security services that help organisations manage risk and respond effectively to today’s evolving cyber threats.”
The company hailed the honour as testament to its teams’ dedication and expertise worldwide, reaffirming commitment to enhancing capabilities and delivering trusted cybersecurity solutions.
Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, has appointed Dina Powell McCormick, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, as its new president and vice chairman, bolstering its leadership amid aggressive AI and infrastructure expansion.
Dina Powell McCormick
The announcement, made on Monday, positions Powell McCormick – who recently stepped down from Meta’s board after eight months – to guide overall strategy, including multi-billion-dollar investments in data centres and global partnerships.
A Goldman Sachs veteran with 16 years in senior roles and prior stints as deputy national security adviser under Trump and in the Bush administration, she brings deep finance and international ties to the role.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hailed her as “uniquely qualified” for the company’s next growth phase, while President Trump praised the move on Truth Social as a “fantastic choice”.
The hire signals Meta’s efforts to strengthen White House relations, following recent dinners with Trump and U.S. investment pledges worth hundreds of billions
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has suspended the @Twitter account, replacing its profile with a standard notice citing violation of platform rules.
Musk
The action, which occurred on Sunday, January 11, left users encountering the handle greeted by a bold “Account Suspended” message on a black screen, with no details provided on the specific rules broken or the duration of the suspension.
The development has sparked widespread confusion and nostalgia among users, given that Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X in July 2023, approximately six months after acquiring the platform for $44 billion in late 2022.
The @Twitter handle had remained dormant since before Musk’s takeover, serving as a legacy remnant of the platform’s original branding, and its suspension appears to mark the final erasure of the Twitter name amid X’s ongoing efforts to combat spam, impersonation, and rule violations.
X’s official statement on the suspended page simply reads: “X suspends accounts that violate our rules,” without offering an appeal process or further explanation, unlike standard user suspensions.
Public reactions on social media ranged from humorous laments of “RIP Twitter” to speculation that the move resulted from automated moderation or a deliberate cleanup of legacy trademarks.
xAI’s Grok AI described it as a purposeful retirement of outdated elements rather than a genuine infraction, while neither Elon Musk nor X spokespeople issued any comment as of Monday morning.
This incident underscores the evolving identity of the platform under Musk’s ownership, which also saw a domain shift to x.com in 2024, further distancing it from its Twitter roots.
Industry observers note that while the suspension aligns with X’s stricter enforcement policies, the lack of transparency has fueled debates on consistency in applying rules to high-profile legacy accounts.
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