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Tag: Isa Pantami

  • Pantami, Mufti Menk mourn as popular Nigerian cleric Mufti Yaks dies at 20

    Pantami, Mufti Menk mourn as popular Nigerian cleric Mufti Yaks dies at 20

    Niger State-born Islamic cleric Abdullateef Maiyaki, popularly known as Mufti Yaks has died after a brief illness.

    The NewsGuru.com (TNG) learnt that the cleric died at 20 in the early hours of Saturday at the National Hospital in Abuja.

    Zimbabwean Islamic speaker, Mufti Ismail Ibn Menk, who’s said to be a role model of the deceased cleric announced Yaks’ demise on social media. He said,  “I’m saddened by the news of the death of the young Abdul Latif Miyaki Mufti Yaks this morning.

    “He was a very talented young lad trying to spread goodness. May Allah Almighty forgive him, accept his good deeds and grant him the highest ranks of Paradise. Ameen.”

    Also, former minister of communications and digital economy Isa Pantami confirmed Yak’s death, after which expressed sadness over the development.

    He said; “Inna lil Laahi wa inna ilaiHi Raajiun! Just heard that our beloved son, Abdullateef Aliyu Maitaki, popularly known as MUFTI YAKS passed away. What a great loss! Janaza by 10 am at Justice Maiyaki’s residence Dutsen Kura Gwari, Minnah. May the Almighty Allah admit him into Jannatul Firdaus”.

    Until death, Mufti Yaks was a motivational speaker. Information on his website says he was “very passionate about kids and children who find themselves in homes where there is no love and good family relationship.”

  • I am frustrated over NIN-SIM linkage policy – Buhari’s Minister

    I am frustrated over NIN-SIM linkage policy – Buhari’s Minister

    Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami has expressed frustration over the non-usage of NIN-SIM linkage to fight insecurity in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Pantami as saying he sacrificed his life to ensure implementation of the NIN-SIM card linkage while he was in office as Minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Pantami’s frustration is coming in the wake of the recent abduction of six siblings and their father. The bandits, who kidnapped Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar and his six children, have killed three of the abducted persons.

    Speaking on the inability of the federal government to use the NIN-SIM card linkage policy to fight insecurity, Pantami said he is worried.

    “NIN-SIM policy has been working. However, the relevant institutions fighting criminality are to be requested to ensure they utilise it effectively when a crime is committed.

    “Lack of utilising it is the main problem, not the policy. While in office, I know 3 instances where the policy was utilised, and it led to the success of their operations.

    “On the lack of utilisation, I am more worried than anyone, as my life was threatened by criminals for reintroducing it, including on BBC Hausa & and national dailies. I resisted and ensured its implementation.

    “If it is not being utilised by the relevant institutions in charge of securing lives and property, then I am more frustrated than any person, as I sacrificed my life and ignored all the threats to life.

    “This is just a point out of 100 on the policy. May the Almighty rescue all the kidnapped and bring absolute peace and stability to Nigeria, and may He (SWT) continue to guide our leaders and help them always in discharging their responsibilities,” Pantami stated.

  • Before a former minister returns to the ministry – By Okoh Aihe

    Before a former minister returns to the ministry – By Okoh Aihe

    An industry source called the other day to ask one troubling question: did you hear anything? I hear things all the time was my riposte. It will be an unfortunate disservice to over three decades in the journalism profession if I don’t hear things.

    Oh, this is about Dr. Isa Pantami, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. He doesn’t want to leave the Ministry or its parastatals. He is plotting a return.

    Hey! You can’t quarrel with that. Dr Pantami can take any action that excites his body. After all, he is a politician. And Nigerian politicians are known to be very restless, like locusts, which is why they move from one party to another once they sense any impending moment of dullness or a dip in the expected returns on political investment. Pantami is obviously too exciteable to accommodate any dullness.

    Whether out of excitement, enthusiasm or even overzealousness, Pantami swept into the ministry with gusto and began to initiate series of actions that would reverberate in the entire telecommunications industry. Actions in the industry, whether by the Ministry or the regulator, are weighed on the strength of the Communiications Act 2003, which can unquestionably be described as the Bible of telecommunications.

    Under his watch the Nigerian Communications Communications Commission (NCC) conducted two 5G auctions in the 3.5GHz band and raked in over $800m. That was a good harvest, something extraordinary that the Buhari government would always gloat over.

    In spite of the preceding observation, the minister does not  have the good luck to enjoy the kind of cover which the NBC Act Cap N11 2004, gives the counterpart in Section 6, to the effect, that the minister can give any general direction that can override any regulatory decision of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Instead the Communications Act 2003 shields the Nigerian Communications Commission from every external encumbrance and restricts the minister and his ministry to the areas of policy.

    This could be the reason some of the actions of the minister at the Communications and Digital Economy ministry didn’t seem to ingratiate him to the industry irrespective of his claims of achievements. He came in a blaze and left in a welter of furore. On being appointed minister in August 2019, Pantami immediately moved into the regulator’s property at Mbora, Abuja. This was too close for comfort. The regulator’s peace had been traduced and uncertainty would soon envelope the regulator that used to be the pride of the nation and even the continent.

    The minister started to exert undue influence on the regulator by way of regulatory capture. All of a sudden, there was a rash and indiscriminate employment at the NCC. Could the minister have gotten too close to know that there was staffing need at the NCC and decided to help solve the problem?  Employment used to be planned at the NCC like procurement, methodical and diligent, and only available for some of the best in the land.

    This time there was a deluge of employment without respect for the principles of the Federal Character Commission. Most of the people recruited were spirited into zonal offices where their employment would never really be accounted for. The nominal roll spiralled from less than 800 in 2019 to over 1600 in 2023. Some people call what happened at the NCC a big employment scam. But I wouldn’t be that harsh. The regulator came under so much pressure that it forgot it’s indenpence enshrined in the Act or lost the scent of its corporate culture.

    For instance, the minister claimed to have been given approval by former President Muhammadu Buhari to employ three directors. Profs. Salahu Balarabe Junaid and Aminu Ahmad were employed as NCC directors. Perhaps they were part of his technical team but it broke the norm. Why were they not employed as Ministry staff? In the past, NCC staff were seconded to the ministers for all necessary technical  support, people with competences in various fields of communications.

    Furthermore, as a proof of the obtuse recruitment at the Commission in the past few years, a promotion exercise carried out by the regulator early this year, had all 15 Senior Officers (GL9) that were promoted come from a section of the country. Insiders even nailed  it down to a couple of states in that part of the country. Some workers at the Commission said that was a very strange development and traced it to external pressure.

    Pantami’s tenure at the ministry destroyed peace and long existing camaraderie at the NCC and sowed discord, distrust and suspicion among the staff. Some workers were given positions of advantage and all of sudden they began to themselves as products of sections of the country instead of the harmony that used to be among them. They were no longer part of the knitted whole.

    In a particular instance, the minister wrote to the President early in the year and prayed that a particular position at the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) be indemnified in the name of one person, until this person retires. I can testify that the person in the position is a good man, a very good, affable guy. I don’t think that such indemnity is what he yearns for. No. Not at all. But  I also want to say that good souls can buckle under sustained pressure.

    Although the minister is the USP Board chairman with the executive vice chairman of the NCC as vice, he does not have the support of the Communications Act 2003, from Sections 112 to 120 to canvass such request or validate such appointment.

    To support his prayer, the   minister  made reference to a certain section of the Act in his memo to the President late December. Beyond the Act, this is what Section 23 of the Universal Access and Universal Service Regulation 2007, says: The Commission shall appoint an individual person to serve as the head of the USP Secretariat ( the USP Secretary ) who shall be responsible for the day to day operations of the secretariat. The USP Secretary shall be an employee of the Commission that has been seconded from the Commission’s staff to serve as the USP Secretary on or a full-time basis.“

    The  Commission has its internal employment policy  which allows it to move workers around internally to work in different positions. The minister has only meddled in, and muddled up such internal policy.

    Here is what seems to be Pantami’s final act. In a letter dated May 8, the Commission conveyed the approval of waiver request made to the President through the minister by Emerging Markets Telecommunications Limited (EMTS). At a time the country is neck-deep in debt and lacks cash to run even daily operations, the President gave a 50 per cent waiver on the huge debt being owed by EMTS on spectrum fees. The waiver is as follows: Forty Three Billion, Six Hundred and Eighty Million, Forty Eight Thousand, Seven Hundred and Sixty Seven Naira and Fifty Kobo only (N43,608,048,767.50) and for the 2100MHZ band, the sum of Twenty Nine Billion,Three Hundred and Twenty Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand And Six Hundred Naira only (N29,329,977, 600). Over the next ten years the balance would be paid in instalments as follows N4,360,804,876.75 for the 900/1800MHz and N2,932,997,760.00 for the 2100MHz band.

    On Monday night, an industry source told this writer, “we shall respond. We know who is doing this. It is not the NCC but the minister.”  Such response may further cause its own disharmony in the industry and cost the government much needed funds.

    Under the last administration, the NCC behaved like refugees of a conquered territory, permanently under fear. There was nothing too small to attract the minister’s attention. In May last year, having been blindsided on a conference organised by the NCC in Lagos, the minister fired a memo to the Commission demanding for all their programmes for the remaining months of the year.

    Under the last administration, some agencies suffered shame and top government officials were pressured to behave like zombies and turn their back on the rule books and the industries they were appointed to regulate.

    Do you hear things? This writer hears a lot. There are frantic moves in some agencies for certain things not to ever come into the open. Others are making the rounds in government circles to maintain perpetuity in office or, on the extreme side, just lobotomise everybody to ensure the past is interred, forever.

  • Pantami’s history of digital deception and desperation – By Tokunbo Adebayo

    Pantami’s history of digital deception and desperation – By Tokunbo Adebayo

    By Tokunbo Adebayo

    In a recent press statement, Isa Ali Pantami, the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, shamelessly proclaimed that he single-handedly raised the ministry’s quarterly revenue from a meager N51.3 million to a staggering N408.7 billion.

    This audacious claim, however, has been debunked by fact-checkers, exposing Pantami’s desperate attempt to rewrite history and secure a comeback as a minister under the new administration of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The fact-check by the Cable Online Newspaper, however, provides an insight into Pantami’s pattern of deception, his habitual use of unverified statistics and dubious accomplishments throughout his career.

    Pantami’s ascent to the position of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was not surprising considering his track record of manipulating unverified statistics during his tenure as the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

    Pantami would proudly claim to have saved the government billions of Naira without ever providing credible evidence or allowing independent verification of his alleged accomplishments. It is a disheartening reality that such misleading claims went unchallenged, allowing him to perpetuate his deceptive tactics.

    During his time at NITDA, Pantami presented himself as a champion of cost-saving measures and technological advancements. However, the lack of transparency and verifiable evidence behind his claims raises serious doubts about the actual impact of his initiatives. The Nigerian public deserves factual information and honest assessments, not mere rhetoric and baseless assertions.

    Pantami’s recent assertion of raising the ministry’s quarterly revenue from a paltry N51.3 million to an astonishing N408.7 billion exemplifies his desperation to regain power. The sheer audacity of this claim cannot be ignored, especially when fact-checkers, such as The Cable newspaper, swiftly revealed its falsehood. Pantami’s brazen attempt to deceive the public and bolster his image for personal gain is indicative of a man driven by self-interest, rather than genuine concern for the welfare of the nation.

    It is important to emphasize that false claims about revenue generation not only mislead the public but also cast doubt on the overall credibility of the government and its ability to effectively manage public funds. Nigerians deserve leaders who can demonstrate transparency and accountability in financial matters, rather than resorting to grandiose yet unverified statements to further their own agendas.

    Yet, the motivation behind Pantami’s blatant lies becomes evident when considering his desperate bid for a ministerial position in the administration of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As a minister, Pantami would have the opportunity to exercise his influence and continue his deceptive practices and the regulatory capture of agencies under his supervision. His calculated attempt to inflate his achievements demonstrates a willingness to manipulate the truth, all in the pursuit of political favor and personal gain.

    Pantami’s track record of using unverified statistics to bolster his image raises concerns about his integrity and suitability for public office. But we all know how his desperation to become use the title of “Professor” led to a serious standoff with ASUU which flatly rejected the appointment as fraudulent. Pantami has continued to shamelessly use the unmerited title to massage his inflated ego.

    The Nigerian government therefore should prioritize the appointment of individuals who have a proven track record of transparency, honesty, and genuine dedication to the public interest. The appointment of individuals based on their propensity for manipulation and deception only serves to undermine public trust in the government and hampers the nation’s progress.

    Pantami’s use of unverified statistics and deceptive tactics carries significant consequences. Such behavior erodes public trust and undermines the integrity of public office. When individuals entrusted with positions of power distort facts to suit their agendas, the entire nation suffers. The reliance on false claims to advance one’s his social climbing career only perpetuates a culture of dishonesty and hinders the progress and development of the country.

     

    Tokunbo writes from Lagos

  • FG approves banks to issue debit cards that double as identity cards

    FG approves banks to issue debit cards that double as identity cards

    The Federal Government says Nigerians can now request their commercial banks to issue them with a debit card which doubles as their National Identity Card at no extra cost.

    Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, who disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, said the approval was obtained at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He explained that the approval followed a memo from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) allowing banks to print a multipurpose debit cards that double as National identity cards.

    He said: ”It is going to be a form of multipurpose card where it will serve as your national identity card on one hand and also your bank card on the other hand, either Mastercard, Visa or any other kind of card.”

    According to Pantami, although the NIMC Act 2007 only mandates Nigerians to have a National Identity Number and not necessarily a printout card, demands for cards have swelled nonetheless.

    “As in the NIMC Act 2007, section 27, what is mandatory for our citizens and legal residents is the acquiring of the National Identity Number, not the card. However, the card is optional.

    “But many citizens, particularly those living in rural communities, always go to NIMC offices complaining that they need the card at hand, even though it’s optional.

    “To make it easier, NIMC last year, we introduced a smart ID card you can download from NIMC app. It is just a smart card. You don’t need to have it physically, but that is becoming difficult for our people living in rural communities.”

    To ease the difficulty, Pantami said NIMC had partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria ”so that citizens who are interested in having a card at hand can easily go to the relevant banks.”

    According to him, the bank is permitted to print the card along with either Mastercard or Visa card.

    ”It is going to be a form of a multipurpose card that will serve as your national identity card on one hand and also your bank card on the other. And based on the agreement, it is without any additional costs on our citizens.

    “So when you apply for a card at your bank, you can indicate that ‘I want this card to be multiple purpose where it will serve as my bank card and also my national identity card’.

    ”Both of them are going to be printed on the same card and it is going to serve the same purposes without any additional costs,”

    The Minister disclosed that NIMC and the CBN signed a nondisclosure agreement to protect the privacy and confidentiality of card applicants.

    “NIMC and the central bank signed a nondisclosure agreement where your privacy and your confidentiality must be respected in the course of providing the card for you.

    “When you apply for the card, the bank will apply online to NIMC through their database.

    ”When they verify and confirm that your record in the database is in alignment with your record in NIMC database, it will be permitted and the card is going to be printed for you immediately,” the minister added.

    The Minister also said that FEC also approved a memo proposing the deployment of an automated system to integrate NINs with individual SIM cards.

    The system, he noted, would consolidate the implementation of the NIN-SIM linkage.

    He said “As we all know that previous administrations made efforts to verify NIN and SIM starting from 2011 without success.

    ”In February 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the implementation of the policy and the revised version of the policy was also launched and unveiled by Mr. President on May 6, 2021.

    “As it stands today, the NIN and SIM policy registration is being implemented. In order to consolidate the implementation.

    “The Nigerian Communications Commission came up with a proposal that will enhance the implementation of the policy and bring many more benefits to it.”

    Pantami said the automated system would sanitise the database and ease the process of SIM replacement for Nigerians or legal residents.

  • Let the Communications Minister return to the Ministry – By Okoh Aihe

    Let the Communications Minister return to the Ministry – By Okoh Aihe

    In another one week, the new government of Nigeria will be over two days old. Still enjoying the freshness of a child with all his innocence, if there is anything like that in the life of some of our politicians who are wayward for crookedness.

    The other significant import is that every high level player in the past administration would long have gone home, holding on to the Shakespearean maxim of the past being prologue. They have seen and they have conquered; it is now the responsibility of some of us, little fellas, to begin to chronicle their exploits in office or even judge them.

    One of those top government functionaries who should be home by now is the Communications and Digital Economy Minister, Dr Isa Pantami. Or does he want to go home?

    From all indications, the minister did his bit and should be having a deserved rest, but for the controversies. There are concerns at the moment about last minute spectrum sales and the broadcasters raising a cry that their business is being carved to pieces before their very eyes. This will not stir my innards for this material. Time will avail us of the veracity in every whisper at some point.

    In spite of what the minister may claim to have achieved, one particular action he took very early on assumption of office will haunt his legacy well into the future. Because that action raises a mirror to his activities as minister, whether they were genuine or specially designed to paper over some very terrible operations within his administration. The question this raises for me at the moment is, where will the next Minister of Communications and Digital Economy operate from? To extend it further, from within the Ministry or from the regulator’s property at Mbora, Abuja?

    Dr Isa Pantami was appointed Minister of Communications, as the portfolio  was designated in August 2019. Immediately, he took over the property built by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its subsidiary, the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) at Mbora. Was it sheer ignorance or plain hubris? Whatever it was, the regulator was helplessly arm-twisted while the industry looked unperturbed or simply in trepidation for the present or a future that would come with all its ugliness.

    Perhaps one should establish here for proper understanding that the Ministry of Communications was domiciled at the Secretariat before the arrival of Pantami. Going to the Minister’s office in those was like walking through a pantheon of the gods; it was both chilling and thrilling to look at the pictures on the walls,  beginning from Arthur Prest (1951-1954), Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe (1954-1957), Samuel Ladoke Akintola (1957-1959), Olu Akinfosle (1959-1964), Aminu Kano (1966-1969), Ramat M. Mohammed (1972-1975), Olawale Ige (1990-1993) until Isa Pantami who may have abandoned them in their place of historical display and admiration to a place of opulent dwelling befitting a princely habitation.

    Speaking in Dallas in 1963, President J. F. Kennedy declared: “History after all, is the memory of a nation.”

    The framed pictures at the minister’s office in the ministry used to present that slice of history, a rich legacy that lingers. But did Pantami tread on that trajectory of history in order to carve a space for himself in the digital ecosystem for posterity?

    There is no problem with ambitions and aspirations and a burning readiness to strike a niche. It is the minister’s relocation of his office to the property of the regulator that flies in the face of modern telecommunications regulatory practices and strains common sense beyond reason.

    I am sure he should have found out by now that even if that action was taken innocently, it has gone a long way to invalidate the gamut of progress recorded in the sector in over two decades. Getting that embedded within the regulator has impaired its ability to function independently and display a high level of transparency in executing regulatory functions.

    Global bodies like the ITU, World Bank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) all encourage the independence of the regulator and the need for the government and the regulator not to cohabit to avoid unnecessary pressure and industry capture.

    For instance, a document by infoDev, a World Bank Group multi-donor program that supports entrepreneurs in developing economies, explains the roles and advantages of the regulator as follows: “Separate regulatory authorities can implement government policy in an objective and impartial manner. Separation from state-owned telecommunications operators increases the ability of regulators to act impartially toward all market participants, for example in matters involving competition policy or interconnection.

    “Market confidence in the impartiality of regulatory decisions generally increases with the degree of independence of regulators from both operators and governments. Such market confidence promotes increased foreign and domestic investment in both incumbent operators and new entrants in the sector.”

    For most countries of the world, the telecommunications sector provides low hanging opportunities to attract investment and foster exponential development by making services available to the people. It is therefore the responsibility of the regulator to ensure that the market is commodious for the various stakeholders to express themselves in providing services and technology.

    There is no doubt that the NCC has done well for the telecommunications sector until 2019 when Pantami became the minister. All of a sudden the operating environment was minimised to accommodate sensibilities that were less professional and more of personal ego tripping.

    An NCC source told this writer that the past four years have been a nightmare which has refused to end. An organisation used to doing things very discreetly and in a structured manner was exposed variously to needless controversies which harmed the regulator even more.

    The source said that it is never a good wish for the minister and the regulator to share the same accommodation, ending with a prayer that a thing like that should never happen to the NCC again. The source explained that even if Pantami had the best intentions, human nature and weaknesses would supervene and gradually begin to corrode the strength of the regulator. Such corrosion has in no doubt weakened the Commission, making it more of an apparition to those who used to admire its ways.

    Such development has led this writer to one conclusion, that as Pantami vacates office, his successor should head to the accommodation in the ministry in order to start rebuilding what is left of the Telecomms sector. Without pretences, the ruin is much, and the building process will take time. Even more time for the NCC to gather itself together after submitting its authority to a minister who was too psychedelic to learn the rudiments of telecoms regulation.

    Telecommunications is serious business. The regulator should be allowed to pay unfettered attention to a sector which is providing the building blocks for the nation’s economy. Never again should a personality be appointed to exhibit a larger-than-life image over such an important sector, and then mock the nation with adulterated knowledge.

  • Telecom operators to disconnect banks over N120bn USSD debt

    Telecom operators to disconnect banks over N120bn USSD debt

    Telecommunications Operators in Nigeria say they have been granted approval by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to disconnect banks over N120 billion Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt.

    This was made known in a statement signed by Mr Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), on Friday in Lagos.

    He said that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) would disconnect banks if they failed to pay the debt owed.

    Adebayo said that the approval was granted because in spite of the multi-party stakeholder efforts to resolve the situation and prevent any impact on services, banks continued to incur greater debt, without making the commensurate payments.

    He said members of the public would recall that MNOs and banks had protracted disagreements concerning the appropriate USSD pricing model for financial transactions, transparency of charges, mode of collection and liability for payment of the outstanding and continuous service fees due to the MNOs.

    “Due to the inability of MNOs and banks to reach an agreement on the issues, MNOs in 2021 sought to disconnect banks due to the unpaid debts which stood at N42 billion as at that time.

    “However, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, intervened and asked the MNOs not to disconnect banks as the action will negatively impact on the digital and financial inclusion policy of the Federal Government.

    “Unfortunately, the patriotic intervention of the minister and the NCC have been taken for granted by the banks, as two years after, the banks have failed to sign a final agreement,” he said.

    Adebayo noted that It was pertinent to note that the contract between MNOs and banks on the use of USSDs for banking transactions was strictly commercial and MNOs were at liberty to withdraw the services if the transaction was unprofitable to them.

    He noted that MNOs have invested billions of naira in expanding their systems to accommodate the USSD needs of banks over the years.

    Adebayo said this had resulted in more Nigerians having access to banking services in addition to enabling banks to trim down costs by requiring less branches to service their growing customers.

    He said that unfortunately, MNOs were not getting paid for their services and the debt that stood at N42 billion in 2021 had now risen to over N120 billion.

    “It is obvious that the level of debt is unsustainable given the time or value of the huge cost of the continuous upgrade, operation of the systems and infrastructure dedicated to supporting USSD transactions of banks.

    “In view of the foregoing, unless banks meet their debt obligations, MNOs will disconnect all banks indebted to them for USSD services rendered,” Adebayo said.

  • FG approves National Blockchain Policy

    FG approves National Blockchain Policy

    The Federal Government on Wednesday in Abuja approved the implementation of the National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria.

    A blockchain is a decentralised, distributed and public digital ledger used to record transactions across many computers.

    Such records cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network.

    Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami said at the end of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting that the policy was developed in consultations with stakeholders involving more than 50 institutions and personalities.

    “With the approval of the National Blockchain Policy, we can safely say that blockchain technology with all its components and types have been institutionalised in the country.

    “The Federal Government had earlier approved the National Digital Economy policy and strategy for a digital Nigeria.

    “It was unveiled and launched on Nov. 28, 2019,’’ Pantami said,

    The minister explained that following the approval of the policy, cabinet directed regulatory agencies to liaise with the National Information Technology Development Agency to ensure that regulatory instruments were introduced in national economy and security.

  • In the twilight of a government, tech projects guzzle billions – By Okoh Aihe

    In the twilight of a government, tech projects guzzle billions – By Okoh Aihe

    Lately, there has been a rash of tech contracts, all wearing the accoutrement of patriotism and the insignia of a government that is desperate to leave a fertile legacy for the people. The little problem is that time is running out fast for this administration and it is nigh impossible to bundle high end projects into the few days that are left in its lifespan. Just over a month!

    Let’s take a few screaming headlines in the past few days and months, just a few: FG awards Over N85bn Census Contract to Zinox Technologies (The Guardian, February 9, 2023); Census: FEC approves N15.3bn for ICT devices to aid exercise (Premium Times, April 6, 2023); and FEC approves N24.2bn free Internet for 20 airports, varsities and markets (Vanguard, March 29, 2023).

    Beautiful projects, you may want to suggest. There is no doubt that the nation needs a dependable census in order to save us from frivolities with figures. It is hardly possible for two government departments to quote the same population figure for the country. Everything is guesswork, making planning even a guesswork because there is no structured explanation of the number of people the nation is planning for.

    There is also no doubt that Zinox Technologies, the first major indigenous computer manufacturers with high networth international reach, is appropriately suited to handle this huge project. Two tech contracts or more have been awarded for the same project. The eyebrows could be kept very busy, being raised all the time at the nature of contracts being awarded at the twilight of this administration. A question by a layman here is what contracts are being awarded that couldn’t be bundled into one to deliver on a project. The people behind Zinox, including the chairman, Leo Stan Ekeh, have proven so much of their tech mettle that they couldn’t just be selling shells to the National Population Commission (NPC) without any blood (software) running in them. There has to be a convenient explanation for the various contracts.

    There is another problem anyway. The Nigerian government has done so badly with technology lately, especially viewed from the template of INEC 2023 election disaster, that it will prove a little Herculean for any one in government to canvas for credulous acceptance of their activities based on the dependability of technology. Just add the Adamawa supplementary election outcome to the plate of disasters on INEC’s table, it becomes even more difficult and an undeserved haste for the government to be pushing for a census using technology, without putting a closure to very troubling elections.

    However, the most puzzling of the contracts is the rollout of WiFi at airports, varsities and markets across the nation. Attractive as it may sound and look, it breaks all credulity, strains business sense, questions morality and demonstrates the government’s meddlesomeness in places where it has no business.

    This writer can say here without equivocations that there are already provisions by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), domiciled at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), (you may also want to add Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND), to fund technology rollout in higher institutions. However, this particular contract has been passed to the NCC for funding instead of those other bodies. What business has the regulator with the airport WiFi?

    Announcing such a needless intervention, a happy Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, said:

    “The Federal Executive Council today approved two memos for the Nigerian Communications Commission, a parastatal under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

    “In these two memos, certain intervention projects are going to be implemented by the federal government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Communications Commission, of providing internet in 20 selected airports in Nigeria and higher institutions of learning and also some markets to support micro, small and medium enterprises.”

    The minister’s effusions are understandable but totally misplaced and misdirected. Those funds being taken from the NCC are not for the right cause.

    It is the responsibility of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to develop its facilities as stated in the FAAN Act of 1996 as amended in 1999. It states in part:

    “To develop, provide and maintain at airports and within the Nigeria Air Space all necessary services and facilities for the safe, orderly, expeditious and economic operations of air transport.

    “To provide adequate conditions under which passengers and goods may be carried by air and under which aircraft may be used for other gainful purposes, and for prohibiting the carriage by air of goods of such classes as may be prescribed.”

    The Act accommodates relationships with other parties like agents or working in partnership with other persons to build out facilities for passengers’ comfort and general efficiency of the airport.

    Since nothing is novel under the sun and Nigeria does not live in isolation from the rest of the world, we decided to have a quick check at some of the most popular airports around the world. First stop was London Heathrow.

    When the Heathrow management needed to upgrade the airport WiFi facilities in April 2019 for the delight of its numerous passengers, it got into a relationship with an American Internet service provider, Boingo, which provides such tech services in different airports across the world.

    At the time, property head at Heathrow, John Arbuckle said: “Whether passengers are streaming, browsing or working on the go, we’re excited to improve their connectivity experience with the latest generation of Boingo’s award-winning Wi-Fi.

    “This is just one of many initiatives that Heathrow has invested in to serve and delight our 80 million passengers, making Heathrow a world-class airport.”

    Dawn Callahan, Boingo chief marketing officer, called their Passpoint Wi-Fi technology a game-changer which they were happy to introduce at Heathrow.

    Next stop is Dubai, the tiny Emirate country that some Nigerians love to vacation in or even buy property at the Burj Khalifa with stolen money just to rub shoulders with genuine dollar billionaires from other parts of the world.

    Five years earlier, in February 2014, Boingo was selected to manage the WiFi facility and digital advertising sales and support for Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central with a combined traffic of 66 million passengers at the time. The facility would allow passengers easy access to high speed internet and entertainment contents.

    October 2005, Boingo was among the three wireless internet service providers selected to provide WiFi facilities at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; the other two being Concourse Communications Group LLC and Sprint Nextel Corp.

    Boingo is also a leading WiFi service provider to some of the major airports around the world, including: Beijing Capital International, Tokyo International, O’Hare International and JFK International in New York.

    This material is not about Boingo but just to demonstrate here that there is nothing we are doing in Nigeria that has not been done in other parts of the world, even in a much better way. It is the responsibility of the airport authority or owners to develop and maintain facilities at the airport, and to pick partners who can monetise the facilities so deployed. Running the airport is a major business for professionals with niche specialisation. It is therefore unconscionable to blackmail parastatals like the NCC to fund projects which are outside the provisions of the Acts establishing them or projects not originally budgeted for.

    “So, we have set our team in order, we have developed the sustainability model, so that even after the deployment, the maintenance will be very effective,” the minister said.

    Who are the we and who is deploying what and who is maintaining the facility? It is free WiFi to the unsuspecting airport user. What is the subterranean thinking behind this WiFi freebie? This, for me, looks more like a shrouded gambit leading to ill intentions.

    One is beginning to suspect that the major reason the nation is in so much financial difficulty, with many more people slipping into multidimensional poverty, is because there are so many funds going into the wrong projects where there are embedded interests.

    In which other country of the world is the telecoms regulator building WiFi at the airports?

    The NCC has been corralled for the wrong reasons and pushed beyond the confines of basic telecoms regulations. There is fear, financial and intellectual haemorrhage at the organisation because of extraneous pressure, and the system seems too conquered to complain or even cry out in pain. This regulator needs help. Urgently!

  • FEC approves N24.2bn for free Internet in universities, markets

    FEC approves N24.2bn for free Internet in universities, markets

    Nigeria’s cabinet has approved N24.2 billion for the provision of Internet facilities at 20 airports, some institutions of learning and markets across the country.

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, disclosed this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja.

    According to him, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will spearhead the provision of the Internet facilities at the designated airports and institutions.

    He said: “The Federal Executive Council has approved two memos for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  a parastatal under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

    ”In these memos, certain intervention projects are going to be implemented by the NCC.

    “Internet will be provided in 20 selected airports in Nigeria and higher institutions of learning as well as some markets to support micro, small and medium enterprises.

    ”A contract was awarded for the provision of broadband in some selected airports. 20 of them are going to be covered in the first phase of the project.

    ”You have three airports in each geo-political zone.

    ”In South-West you have two in Lagos State, one in Ondo State; South-East you have Imo, Anambra and Enugu States will benefit; Rivers and Akwa-Ibom States for South-South.

    ”North Central has the Federal Capital Territory and Kwara States; Kano, Sokoto and Kebbi States will benefit from the North-West, while Borno, Adamawa and Gombe States will benefit from the North-East Region.”

    According to him, the Internet broadband will be provided for free for use by passengers coming to the airports, adding that a sustainability model has been developed for effective maintenance of the facilities.

    He also announced that 43 higher institutions of learning would be linked to the Internet facility.

    “Some of them are universities, some polytechnics and the price for the contract which covers the airports and institutions of learning is N18.95 billion.

    ”The second approval was for the provision of broadband to some selected markets, at the cost of N5.25 billion.

    ”The total for both memos is N24.20 billion and the project is going to be implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),” he explained.

    Also addressing the correspondents, the Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammed Abdullahi, revealed that the Council approved N41.4 billion for the construction of a Centre of Excellence for environmental restoration in Kana Local Government Area of Rivers.

    He said: ”I presented two memos, one was for the award of contract for the construction of a centre of excellence for environmental restoration in Kana Local Government Area of Rivers State in the sum of N41,472,263, 848.60, with a completion period of 24 months.”

    According to him, the centre is to facilitate an efficient and cost-effective approach to contamination management and environmental restoration as well as provide training on environmental remediation.

    “The centre will contain an admin block, auditorium, research building as well as male and female dormitories, library and clinic, among others.”

    The minister added that the council also approved N18.3 billion for the construction of a specialist hospital for the people of Ogoni in Rivers.