Telecommunication firms have issued fresh threats to withdraw Unstructured Supplementary Service Data service if banks do not pay their N120bn debt owed to them.
According to the telcos, the issue has dragged on for too long and a court resolution might be needed since the banks do not seem to be ready to clear the debt.
The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed this to journalists.
This revelation is coming despite a recent resolution by the telcos and banks to settle the USSD issue that has been lingering for about four years.
Adebayo highlighted that the matter is commercial, and it is appropriate to withdraw the service. He however noted that political interference has ensured that telcos have not been able to enforce the commercial terms.
The immediate past Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, noted that the USSD debt was slowing down financial inclusion in the country.
Recently, Adebayo confirmed that the USSD debt issue was still unresolved, with banks and telcos discussing a repayment plan.
EFCC, ICPC Chairmen Can’t Come From Same Zone – Falana
https://swifteradio.com/2023/10/16/efcc-icpc-chairmen-cant-come-from-same-zone-falana/
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana, has said that both chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, cannot come from the same geopolitical zone.
Falana stated that appointing the chairmen of the two anti-graft federal agencies in Nigeria from the same geopolitical zone is against the federal character principle.
He noted that since the chairman of the EFCC is from the southern region, the northern region should produce the chairman of the ICPC.
The senior lawyer said EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, is “eminently qualified” to head the anti-graft agency having previously served as Chief of Staff to the EFCC Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023) as well as having 22 years cognate experience.
Both Olukoyede and ICPC Chairman, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), who has been in office since February 2019, are from the South-West geopolitical zone.
On October 12, President Bola Tinubu appointed Mr Olukoyede as the new EFCC boss for a renewable term of four years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.
Olukoyede’s appointment followed the controversial resignation of embattled ex-EFCC boss, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was suspended on June 14, and detained by the Department of State Services, DSS, over “weighty” allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.
Olukoyede’s appointment has been met with criticisms, as many claim that he is not an Assistant Commissioner of Police and not qualified to lead the EFCC.
The First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu has said that President Bola Tinubu was working toward restoring Nigeria’s greatness.
She spoke at the State House when she received the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Nigeria, Mr Salem Saeed Al-shmasi.
She commended the UAE for the confidence and likeness they had expressed toward Nigeria and her citizens.
The first lady also thanked the Chief Executive Officer of a UAE NGO, NOOR Foundation, Dr Manal Taryam, for all it had done for the country, especially its intervention in Katsina State in the last four years.
She acknowledged that the intervention had saved many citizens from blindness.
Oluremi Tinubu
Earlier, Taryam had said that the organisation had, through the provision of free cataract treatment and other eye related surgeries, treated a lot of people with eye problems in Katsina State.
Manal Taryam
Recall that both the first lady and her guests acknowledged that the visit was very significant.
Lagos Orders Motorists To Vacate All Bridges
https://swifteradio.com/2023/10/16/lagos-orders-motorists-to-vacate-all-bridges/
The Lagos State Government has issued a 7-day ‘Vacation Order’ to motorists and commercial bus drivers operating on top of bridges across the South West Nigerian State.
The state government, in a statement signed by the Director Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq expressed that the order became necessary as motorists and commercial bus drivers have continued to defy government order and causing serious obstructions around these bridges with great negative impacts on the integrity of the bridges and traffic.
Giwa confirmed that the present administration is expending huge resources for constructing standard bus terminals and garages for commercial activities in every part of the State.
According to the Special Adviser “Every motorist/commercial bus driver operating along ‘Apongbon’ and ‘Idumota’ Cater Bridges, ‘Elegbata:, ‘Ebute-Ero’ and … ‘Ejalonibu’ must as a matter of urgency vacate these areas as lastma would commence strict enforcement operation immediately after the expiration of this ultimatum until zero tolerance is achieved across the state”
