Ministry of Innovation and Technology Ethiopia to host 17th annual IAD Summit, June 2019

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MiNT) Ethiopia have partnered with Extensia ltd. to host this year’s Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopia. As Official Summit partner, MInT have committed the highest level of support and participation at the summit, contributing to the agenda by ensuring the participation of high-level speakers from the government of Ethiopia, inviting top representatives from the United Nations, African Union, Smart Africa and other African Governments.

Quote from Minister of Ethiopian Innovation and Technology, His Excellency, Dr. Ing. Getahun Mekuria:
It is my honor to welcome you all to the African’s diplomatic capital—and a rising conference tourism destination city of Addis Ababa. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MiNT) in collaboration with its esteemed partners organize Ethiopia’s 3rd International ICT Expo week with the intention of bringing together established technology service vendors, private and public sector decision makers, integrators, and users of ICT technology for business or public good, as well as startups and academia with unique solutions, to create important networks and valuable partnerships. The one week event combines, rewarding and recognition of Ethiopian innovators, unrivaled conference content and panels with a major exhibition and a well-crafted networking opportunity. The Expo will take place at the Millennium Hall from June 6 to 10, 2019 and in parallel the Innovation Africa Digital summit (IADs) at Sheraton Addis hotel from June 10 to 11, 2019.

The city of Addis Ababa provides the appropriate setting for business travelers, and those curious to explore the opportunities of the wider Ethiopian market. ICT Expo Ethiopia will also support growth within the private sector and expect to welcome more than 200,000 visitors, and in the IAD summit more than 500 participants expected to participate from the world.

Quote from Extensia CEO:

Extensia is proud to host our flagship IAD summit at the prestigious Sheraton Addis for the 4th time and with continued support from the government of Ethiopia. This year’s IAD summit is great timing for Ethiopia considering the recently announced market liberalisation plans in the country. His Excellency, Dr Getahun Mekuria has embraced the theme of the summit and the opportunity to support African Countries in improving their national ICT agendas.

The 17th annual IAD Summit addresses the need for African Countries to accelerate their ICT maturity. With only 3 sub Saharan African countries in the top 100 of the ITU’s Global ICT maturity index there is much work to do and tremendous opportunities ahead. Each country is looking towards 2030 sustainable development goals and the foundations for the achievement of many of these goals can be supported by a healthy ICT ecosystem. Each country has it’s own distinct identity and own objectives driving their ICT agenda and the IAD summit provides an opportunity to identify best practices and innovative strategies for accelerating these agendas. Global ICT leaders will share thoughts, ideas and best practices with an audience of Ministers, Regulators, Service Providers and Major End Users from across Africa.
Ministry of Innovation and Technology Ethiopia to host 17th annual IAD Summit, June 2019

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MiNT) Ethiopia have partnered with Extensia ltd. to host this year’s Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit at the Sheraton Addis, Ethiopia. As Official Summit partner, MInT have committed the highest level of support and participation at the summit, contributing to the agenda by ensuring the participation of high-level speakers from the government of Ethiopia, inviting top representatives from the United Nations, African Union, Smart Africa and other African Governments.

Quote from Minister of Ethiopian Innovation and Technology, His Excellency, Dr. Ing. Getahun Mekuria:
It is my honor to welcome you all to the African’s diplomatic capital—and a rising conference tourism destination city of Addis Ababa. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MiNT) in collaboration with its esteemed partners organize Ethiopia’s 3rd International ICT Expo week with the intention of bringing together established technology service vendors, private and public sector decision makers, integrators, and users of ICT technology for business or public good, as well as startups and academia with unique solutions, to create important networks and valuable partnerships. The one week event combines, rewarding and recognition of Ethiopian innovators, unrivaled conference content and panels with a major exhibition and a well-crafted networking opportunity. The Expo will take place at the Millennium Hall from June 6 to 10, 2019 and in parallel the Innovation Africa Digital summit (IADs) at Sheraton Addis hotel from June 10 to 11, 2019.

The city of Addis Ababa provides the appropriate setting for business travelers, and those curious to explore the opportunities of the wider Ethiopian market. ICT Expo Ethiopia will also support growth within the private sector and expect to welcome more than 200,000 visitors, and in the IAD summit more than 500 participants expected to participate from the world.

Quote from Extensia CEO:
Extensia is proud to host our flagship IAD summit at the prestigious Sheraton Addis for the 4th time and with continued support from the government of Ethiopia. This year’s IAD summit is great timing for Ethiopia considering the recently announced market liberalisation plans in the country. His Excellency, Dr Getahun Mekuria has embraced the theme of the summit and the opportunity to support African Countries in improving their national ICT agendas.

The 17th annual IAD Summit addresses the need for African Countries to accelerate their ICT maturity. With only 3 sub Saharan African countries in the top 100 of the ITU’s Global ICT maturity index there is much work to do and tremendous opportunities ahead. Each country is looking towards 2030 sustainable development goals and the foundations for the achievement of many of these goals can be supported by a healthy ICT ecosystem. Each country has it’s own distinct identity and own objectives driving their ICT agenda and the IAD summit provides an opportunity to identify best practices and innovative strategies for accelerating these agendas. Global ICT leaders will share thoughts, ideas and best practices with an audience of Ministers, Regulators, Service Providers and Major End Users from across Africa.

Nigeria: Telecoms Services Remain Poor Despite Promises From Operators, Regulatort

Despite promises of improved telecoms services from both the regulator and operators, it appears that the over 174 million active subscribers in Nigeria have been scammed by those promises, as telephony services across the country remained at its lowest ebb.

From Lagos to Abuja, Ondo to Port Harcourt, Jos to Enugu, Borno to Sokoto, the profile of the quality of service, especially from the GSM operators, the quartet of MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel, and 9Mobile leaves much to be desired.

To make matters worse, operators are currently mulling increase in voice tariff, which they tied to increasing harsh business environment.

Checks by The Guardian confirmed the barrage of complaints by subscribers, who experienced increased dropped calls, aborted and undelivered short message services (SMS), and countless failed calls. Equally, Internet services remained a challenge; just as much as uploading and downloading activities, all of which make 4G services nothing to write home about, despite promises from Smile, nTel, Swift, and others, which claimed superiority.

Subscribers are also groaning under what they described as frustrating porting experiences. Besides, The Guardian gathered that about 40 per cent of subscribers data are not been rolled over by the operators, which further compounds users woes. The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, had two years ago in Lagos, directed operators to roll-over unfinished data.

While subscribers piled up complaints over these lingering failures, watchers of the unfolding development in the telecommunications industry wondered why, despite repeated sanctions by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the sector’s regulator, poor services are rising in the industry, 17 years after the telecoms revolution in the country. This is even as operators insist they have continued to make almost yearly investments on network roll outs and facilities upgrades nationwide.

Speaking with The Guardian, a telecoms expert, Kehinde Aluko, wondered how long Nigerians would continue to suffer, despite spending between N2 trillion and N3 trillion on telecoms services, especially on airtime annually.

Aluko noted that the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set by the NCC do not reflect their performance and challenges of the industry, “I think something drastic needs to be done. There is serious rip-off in the sector; how will I send a text, money will be removed and the message will not get to destination? Or how do you explain dialling a number, the number is not connecting and your money is removed. The situation is disheartening!”

Narrating her experience in Abuja, a Globacom subscriber, Toyin Adebisi, complained that she had been experiencing drop calls and undelivered SMS in the last one month, and wondered if the NCC still monitors operations of the operators.

According to her, drop calls; uncompleted calls; illegal credit deductions, and the menace of unsolicited SMS remain the order of the day with the networks.

Another subscriber, Chukwuka Maria, a business woman, an ‘MTN loyal customer’ also complained of drop calls and connection failures. She lamented that her clients now find it difficult to reach her for business transactions; “on a more serious note, sometime last year, I almost lost a business worth N3.5 million because they claimed I could not be reached, whereas my phone had the 4G network signal bars on. It is really annoying.”

A postgraduate student of the Federal University of Technology (FUTY), Yola, Emmanuel Gbenga, admitted that all the service providers have issues.”Using my Glo line for calls here is really stressful and data speed can be very slow at times. MTN is fair sometimes, but not dependable. For some days now, I have to tried a number more than once before it goes through. Maybe we can say that network is unstable or what is really happening?” he queried.

A Media Consultant, Ogunmoroti Funsho, said MTN call network had offered pockets of failure, but the rate of failure is minimal for data.

Meanwhile, another customer, Damilola Sunday, said MTN data had been terrible. “We don’t get the data value of our money but voice services are okay for calls. There was one day that a call was on and the person couldn’t hear me. The person called back because the network was fluctuating. It has happened many times like that,” he noted.

Sunday added that Glo data in terms of volume is larger but it is only good at night. “I live in Ikorodu, but work at Ketu. The only time I have good network in Ikorodu is at night. The speed in the Ketu area is okay during the day though. I think this network issue also has to do with location,” he added.

While some subscribers belonged to all the four networks due to the multi-SIMs services, others that either belonged to one or two of the networks lamented that they are being denied access to port.

A Globacom subscriber in Lagos, who spoke with The Guardian and had actually planned to port from the network to another, alleged that Glo has refused to allow the transaction to sail through.

One of the subscribers, Joseph Onyekwere, said he had wanted to port from Globacom to 9Mobile, but “that process was frustrated from Globacom. The 9Mobile officials tried severally for about four attempts, it wasn’t successful, till this moment. I think the regulator should look into matter. The process appears not seamless anymore.”

Consumers generally also complained of data roll over challenges due to service fluctuations and poor customer response to issues.

Speaking with The Guardian, the President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the issue of poor QoS has become an embarrassment to the industry. He said both voice and data services are currently at the lowest ebb, stressing that the mood in town is not palatable at all.

“It is very unfortunate that we are still experiencing such. Even, the NCC is handicapped on this matter. All the operators are guilty,” he stated.

Ogunbanjo decried that despite activating the DND code 2442, “I still get unsolicited SMS from 9Mobile. I plan to approach the court soon.”

Proffering a lasting solution, the NATCOMs boss urged NCC to call a stakeholders meeting, where the issues will be tackled thoroughly with a matching order to the operators that will be backed by sanctions, which they (telcos) will agree to.

Ogunbanjo wants NCC to monitor equipment installed by operators to be sure they are genuine and up to date, “the regulator will also need to ensure that operators actually installed radio equipment on their BTS for improved 4G experience.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said poor telecommunication services will persist as long as social problems such as wilful damage to telecommunications infrastructure, and epileptic power supply persist in the country.

He added that the operating environment is not conducive enough to maintain uninterrupted services.

Adebayo urged the Federal and states governments to synergise and come to the aid of operators in solving the issues of multiple taxes and regulations affecting the growth of the industry.

He argued that no business would thrive in an environment where resources that could have been used in network upgrade are being diverted for repairs of damaged infrastructure in violence-prone areas.

Adebayo revealed that ALTON, the industry body for all telecommunications companies in Nigeria, is proposing a cost-based tariff for voice calls, saying the new model would reflect the cost of doing business in the country.

Adebayo, who spoke against the backdrop of moves by operators to raise tariff; noted that current rates do not consider the multiplicity of taxes and levies in the telecom industry.

He said: “We are asking that tariff should be cost-based and for that to happen, we need to understand what are the costs that are being incurred due to multiple taxation and consequently, and relate that to the tariff that will be charged in those areas. That is actually what the conversation is about.

“We are going to be approaching the NCC with all the cost information, and we are going to be requesting through the established protocols for a cost-based tariff. We will not be right to say it is an increase in tariff but tariff that will reflect the cost of service provision.

“There is a base price, a minimum bottom price – that has been determined by the NCC, and that is based on general cost of service provision and operating expenditure and recurring cost. It certainly doesn’t consider issues of taxation and levies.”

However, the NCC has blamed poor telecom services being experienced by customers on poor power supply by electricity distribution companies in Nigeria.

Manager, Technical Department, NCC, Musa Diabu, said this in Okene, Kogi State, when the Commission held a sensitisation programme on the need for citizens to collectively protect telecom infrastructure in the country rather than leaving them to security personnel only.

He lamented the incessant theft of telecom facilities across Nigeria, stressing that vandalism of telecom infrastructure has become the bane of quality of service.

Source: Extensia

African ICT Foundation Rebrands, Seeks Nomination for New Board of Trustee

As part of its rebranding and re-engineering process, which began few months ago, the African ICT Foundation has begun the search for a new Board of Trustee to position the Foundation to meet its key objective beginning for 2019.

African ICT Foundation is an independent not-for-profit, and non-partisan empowerment and educational organisation whose mission is to formulate, evaluate, and promote policy solutions that accelerate innovations and boost productivity to spur growth, opportunity and progress in the ICT ecosystem Africa.

According to statement issued in Lagos, South West Nigeria, by the Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Mr. Emmanuel Bassey, the African ICT Foundation was established in 2009 to discover new opportunities in ICT that will have positive impact on the African economy, tackle attended challenges, and avoid potential pitfalls.

He disclosed that a key aspect of the rebranding is the inauguration of a new Board of Trustee to drive the affairs of the Foundation in the coming years, saying that the Foundation is rebranding for effective delivering of its objective hence the need for a new board.”

He said: “At inception it had as its board member: Dr. Samuel I. Ikiddeh – NNPC as Chairman, Engr. Emmanuel E. Ekuwem-Phd –Teledom group,(now SSG to the Akwa Ibom State government) . Engr. Lanre Ajayi – Former ATCON President and Pinet Informatics Ltd. CEO, Mr. Aliyu D. Ibrahim – (NCC), Dr. Olufunsho Olusanya, Rector,D S Adegbenro Ict Polytechnic Polytechnic, Itori Ogun state(Former ICT gateway Polytechnic, tori Ogun State) and Rev. Oke Omezi, Legal Practitioner and Pastor of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM).

Mr. Usman A. Rufai, Faculty of Science, Computer science Department ,University of Lagos, and Prof. Effiong Johnson- University of Uyo.

Bassey explained that the Foundation is poised towards providing policymakers in the continent with high-quality information, analysis, and recommendations they can trust.

While expressing confidence of the new Board of Trustee to meet the objectives of the Foundation, he promised that in all ramifications, it will adhere to a high standard of research integrity with an internal code of ethics grounded in analytical rigor, policy pragmatism, and independence from external direction or bias.

He stated that Africans can nominate respected ICT personalities who have made their mark and creating impact in Africa’s ICT ecosystem by visiting the Foundation’s website:africanictfoundation.org.

The Foundation, according to him, “will be led by a board of experts in the ICT industry in Africa and African descent that are internationally recognized in policy issues and have recognised footprint in the industry.”

He said the board will be a team of policy analysts and fellows includes authors and recognised experts in the fields of telecommunications, public policy advocacy, economics, tax policy, trade, privacy, cyber-security, and life sciences, among many others.

The board will run the Foundation through a secretariat based in Nigeria with other offices in Africa.

Upon inauguration of the board, which shall consist of the Chairman of the Board/President, Vice Chair/Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and representatives of other African countries, the board shall elect its officials.

Source: NigeriaCommunicationsWeek

MTN Executives to Resign as Telco Battles FG Fines

There are strong indications that some executives of MTN Group will exit the telecom firm in the next few months as the company battles to resolve its issues with the Nigerian government over the reparation and payment of tax claims worth $10.1 billion.

Bloomberg said quoted people familiar with the matter as saying Mr Herman Singh, chief innovation officer of MTN, is expected to resign to establish his own tech venture.

If this eventually happens, the exit of Mr Singh will come as Babak Fouladi, chief technology officer prepares to join Dutch telecommunications firm, KPN NV, in a similar role next week.

MTN confirmed Fouladi’s departure, which was announced by Rotterdam-based KPN earlier this month. Singh declined to comment.

The executives are leaving after a three-year period of considerable turmoil at MTN. A shock $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria in 2015 embroiled MTN in 10 months of negotiations and prompted a management overhaul. Then earlier this year, authorities in the West African nation announced another round of multi-billion-dollar demands.

The stock has halved over the period, valuing the carrier at 169 billion rand ($12.2 billion). That’s even as demand for data services in Africa booms and MTN expands in fast-growing services such as mobile money. The company agreed to a partnership with Orange SA last week to ease payments across the continent.
The shares declined a further 2 percent on Tuesday to 88 rand as of 1.13 p.m. in Johannesburg, the steepest fall in a week.

Rob Shuter, MTN chief executive officer was hired from Vodafone Group Plc two years ago in the wake of the first Nigeria penalty, which was eventually settled for about $1 billion.
Fouladi was lured from the same company later that year. Singh, formerly with MTN’s crosstown rival Vodacom Group Ltd., was appointed in 2015.

Stephen Van Coller, another high-ranking executive, left MTN at the end of August to take the helm of technology firm EOH Holdings Ltd. Originally hired as head of mergers and acquisitions, the former investment banker was moved to run digital services before quitting less than two years into his tenure.
MTN’s latest dispute with Nigerian authorities is over an allegation the company illegally transferred $8.1 billion out of the country and owes $2 billion in back taxes. While the transaction matter looks close to being wrapped up, with Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele saying he’s on “the verge” of announcing an amicable resolution, the taxation claim is still outstanding.

Other headaches for MTN include problems extracting cash from Iran, its third-biggest market, after U.S. President Donald Trump reinstated sanctions against the country. The carrier has also come under pressure to list country units on local stock exchanges, with Uganda the latest to link a share sale to license renewals.

Source: NigerianCommunicationWeeks

TD Africa Inks Distribution Agreement with Vertiv

Technology Distributions Ltd, Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) distributors and Vertiv, an American multinational corporation yesterday announced their partnership to distribute Vertiv solutions in Nigeria.

Speaking at the official launch of the partnership, Wojtek Piorko, Director,Sales Middle East and Africa, Vertiv, Said that, the reason they choose Technology Distributions (TD) is because they are very experienced in IT channel distribution.

He explained that Vertiv intend to work with TD not only in Nigeria but in other countries in Africa. Today’s event is to work with our local partners to grow their business, especially in channel business.

“We need very experienced partners that have wide audience and many resellers to sale to, and that’s why we have chosen Technology Distributions, they are our IT channel distributor and we work with them not only in Nigeria but in other countries of the region.

“Technology Distributions have wide reach of the market, we have great product but we also understand each other very well, we communicate where necessary, he said.

He noted that, Vertiv products have been in Nigeria for the past 20 years delivering top quality products to its customers.

“We’ve been in Nigerian market for the past 20 years, is not that we are completely new, although Vertiv brand name is new to the market but all critical product lines that we offer are products that were already in the market delivered by Emerson Electric, but now Vertiv brand is with completely new opening, new team, new structure that is dedicated to this specific market,” he added.

Stanley Okpalaeke, Group Executive Director, Technology Distributions (TD) said that TD’s major strategy in the partnership is to build deeper relationship with its partners, and to seek how TD will help grow their businesses, adding that, if they are able to grow their partners’ businesses, TD business will grow also.

“Our major strategy is our partners; we want to build deeper relationship with our partners.

“We are seeking how TD will help you grow your businesses because if you grow, we will grow too,” he said.

He explained that their partner ecosystem cut across all Africa, adding that they also have major hubs in Dubai and UK.

He added that, they have at every point in time N12 billion worth of stocks to cater for their customers’ needs.

“At every point in time we have N12 billion worth of stocks, the reason is because we do not want to disappoint our partners,” he stated.

Speaking earlier, Mrs. Chioma Chimere; Managing Director, Operations, Technology Distributions, said that Vertiv have come to help Nigerians solve the challenges they face with power, with their range of high end UPS solutions.

She noted that, even the power we have now is not clean and that is why Vertiv is here to give us maximum protection.

TD is the first manufacturer-accredited local distributor for the sub-region, TD, with the support of the OEMs, successfully confronted the myriad challenges posed by the hitherto unstructured market.

Among the first measures they embarked on was the formulation of a clear policy on the channel of distribution that led to the adoption of the prevailing four-tier market structure comprising Manufacturer (OEM), Distributor, Reseller and End-User.

Publiseer, Nigerian Digital Publishing Startup Reports Profitability

Publiseer, Nigerian digital publisher has reported a profit for its first quarter in 2018, adding over 200 new releases in the past 30 days.

The company posts a first-quarter profit of $10,877.58, comfortably ahead of its expectations. Following the profits, Publiseer has launched its ‘Premium Distribution Service’ that will distribute books and songs for an upfront fee, allowing its authors and musical artists to keep 100% of their earnings.

Nevertheless, old and new clients can still use its ‘Freemium Distribution Service’ that gives Publiseer a 25% commission on sales.

It’s taken just 8 months for Publiseer to become a money-maker. The digital publishing company reported its first profitable quarter today, driven by a 20% rise in submissions and a faster reputation growth overseas.

Publiseer has thrived since its launch in August 2017, and traction has grown drastically. Since its international popularity is growing exponentially, the company is making moves to expand its services outside of Nigeria.

In response to this, Publiseer has distributed the works of Canadian Youtuber Heidi Shai, American Jazz musician Ragtime Joe, and Missouri producer ANB Beats.

In Africa, Publiseer has distributed the books of Cameroonian writer Juan Gutied and Zimbabwean author Godfrey Masanga.

As of writing, Publiseer has distributed 92 books and 374 tracks by 73 authors and 154 artists, having received over 1,000 submissions since August 2017.

Chidi Nwaogu, Publiseer’s CEO said: “Starting Publiseer, we weren’t focused on profitability as an early-stage company, rather, we were focused on customer satisfaction and retention. But at the beginning of the first quarter of this year, submissions doubled and thus our releases too. It’s good building something that meets a growing need, and which eventually makes lots of money.”

Publiseer is a digital publishing platform for unsigned and independent writers and musicians with low-income or from low-income families.

However, the platform is open to well-established authors and musicians looking for new avenues to distribute and monetize their creative works on the World Wide Web.

Publiseer has distributed the works of A-list Nigerian artists like CDQ, Klever Jay, Erigga, and DJ Jozenga of RayPower FM.

MTN Introduces 17-Digit Recharge PIN 

Management of MTN Nigeria has announced the introduction of a new 17-digit recharge card Personal Identification Number (PIN).

In 2016, the nation’s largest telecommunications company increased the number of its recharge voucher digits from 12 to 16.

Two years later, the firm is increasing the digits to 17.

According to MTN Nigeria, the value on the 17-digit recharge cards and the 16-digit recharge vouchers remain the same.

However, in its adverts to sensitise its subscribers on the new development, the company did not give reasons for the change.

MTN Nigeria is part of the MTN Group, Africa’s leading cellular telecommunications company. On May 16, 2001, MTN became the first GSM network to make a call following the globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission earlier in the year. Thereafter the company launched full commercial operations beginning with Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

MTN paid $285m for one of four GSM licenses in Nigeria in January 2001. To date, in excess of $1.8 billion has been invested building mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria.

Since launch in August 2001, MTN has steadily deployed its services across Nigeria. It now provides services in 223 cities and towns, more than 10,000 villages and communities and a growing number of highways across the country, spanning the 36 states of the Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Many of these villages and communities are being connected to the world of telecommunications for the first time ever.

Source: NigerianCommunicationWeek

TELECOMNLC Pickets MTN, Others for Maltreating Workers

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that it picketed the corporate headquarters of MTN and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), because of their anti-labour activities and inhuman treatment of workers.
Comrade Ayuba Wabba, president of NLC, said that the action was planned to coincide with the International Day for Decent Work; adding that the labour movement must fight hard, henceforth, to ensure decent work ideal was established and followed in Nigeria.
The NLC president, who regretted the high level of anti-labour practices in the two organization and others across the country, stated that casualisation of workers by multinationals and other indigenous companies is a crime against humanity and will be resisted by labour.

Citing the case of NTN Nigeria, he pointed out that while the company is refusing unionisation, its counterpart in South Africa, Kenya and Ghana are unionised and they have better working conditions.

He said the congress has received several complaints about the anti-labour practices in these companies.

Wabba said “We have identified two organisations, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board where casualisation has been on and workers have been denied the rights to unionise among other issues.

“Secondly is MTN. Every three months, they sack the workers and give them a new contract. This is not acceptable, our laws does not accept that, and those workers need to be liberated.

“We need to tell them that they need to respect international labour laws, they need to also respect our own labour laws but importantly, they must respect human and trade union rights.

“Workers have dignity, workers are not slaves and therefore, all workers must be treated with the best of attention. Injury to one is injury to all. Injury to the workers at MTN and AEPB is an injury to all Nigerian workers.”

Wabba said: “In South Africa, MTN workers are unionized all by the Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU), their affiliates from the telecommunication sector. Same with the one in Kenya and that of Ghana, our question is why should the MTN workers in Nigeria be the people that will be treated worse?

“This campaign is a global strategy endorsed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) all over the world that we must stand up for MTN Nigeria workers and they must have their rights, they must also have a condition of service that is commensurate with MTN workers in South Africa, in Kenya and the other parts of the world.

“Why should there be a difference between the condition of MTN workers here in Nigeria and what obtains elsewhere around the world”.

He, however, warned that labour would come back to picket MTN outlets nationwide if these issues were not tackled.

‎He added: “We have tried to engage the management, and we have mutually agreed that a process of dialogue to discuss this issue and also to discuss the issue of MTN workers in Nigeria in general will take place and that they are going to revert back to us in the next one week and then the process of dialogue. The whole idea is making sure that Nigeria MTN workers should not be second class workers when compared to other MTN workers around the world.

“We must insist that they must continue to work in dignity, they must continue to work in honour and therefore, they are not be enslaved. We have told them very clear that the corporate headquarters is in Lagos and so this is a starting point and we will be ready in the near future if this issue is not addressed, to actually picket MTN offices all over Nigeria because we have done that in the past and we thought that MTN workers deserve a better deal.

“If we need a revisit, certainly we will be there, if we need further step to expand the scope of coverage of this action we will do it. If we are going to need the support of our other counterparts from Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, ITUC global will give us a signal and we will do a global campaign to actually address the issue”.
Wabba who led the picketing, earlier at the corporate Headquaters of AEPB and MTN gave the management one month to address the anti labour practices, or the congress would return to picket the organisation.

Source: Nigeria Communicationsweek

Shittu Commends EU-Nigeria Business Forum Support To ‘Digital Agenda’

Mr. Adebayo Shittu, the minister of Communications, has said has expressed delight with the support the country has received from European Union- Nigeria Business Forum with regards to digital transformation.

According to the minister, the government of Nigeria has been conscious of the role ICT can play in national development and has therefore been committed over the last 15 years to ensuring that ICT facilities and services are expanded rapidly.

Shittu made the remarks during his keynote address at the 6th European Union-Nigeria Business Forum 2017 held on Thursday at the Eko Hotels, Lagos, adding that the Nigerian ICT sector today is one of the fastest growing despite the economic recession and contributed 9.8% in GDP in 2014 alone.

“Globally ICT has become a veritable tool for advancing growth and economic diversification in countries, even those that are not endowed with natural resources. ICT has changed the way people communicate, learn, and conduct businesses. A World Bank econometric study carried out in 2009 showed that every 10% increase in ICT investments generates a 1.38% increase in GDP”.

Speaking further on the significance of ICT, the minister “In order for the ICT sector to supplement or replace the oil and gas sector, we have put in place strong policy frameworks which favour the sector. We want the ICT sector to be the cash cow for our nation. The success of Local Content drive in the telecom and ICT in Nigeria would accelerate the progress of the sector.

“Nigeria is also using ICTs to build a more inclusive society. Our broadband initiatives, which are being implemented across technologies and at various level of governance, are in line with union’s priority of bridging digital bridge and providing broadband for all. Nigeria is committed to a sustainable ICT environment at a global level, as well as within its national boundaries”.

He said the Nigerian government is addressing the issues of investment in ICT infrastructure, and ICT education and regulation in order to build on the successes of this digital revolution.

Shittu commended the EU-Nigeria Business Forum, organizers of the Forum for its unflinching commitment towards transforming economies of developing and emerging to Digital Economy, stressing that the theme of the conference ‘Youth as an Engine of Broad-based Economic Transformation’ is apt and timely, because it brings attention to a segment of the Nigerian population that should have been increasingly contributing to the economy of the country.

The minister added that the theme aligns with the Ministry’s mandate and forthcoming Africa Union and EU summit later this year.

“Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the theme for this forum couldn’t have been more opportune than now when the nation is striving to digitize the economy by defining the role of youth in economic transformation by leveraging ICTs. Riding on ICT has become expedient as traditional approaches are failing to reverse the unemployment trend. The present Administration has acknowledged ICT as being integral to growth and sustainable development. ICTs are reshaping the world”, he said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed Asks Set Top Box Manufacturers to Give Nigerians Multi-Purpose TV 

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture has challenged the manufacturers of Set Top Boxes/Decoders in the country to produce a multi-purpose television set that will help in transforming the TV experience of Nigerians.

The Minister spoke in Calabar on Thursday when he commissioned the ultra-modern Digital Set Top Box manufacturing plant, owned by the Gospell Digital Technology.

He said the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in the country is aimed at giving Nigerians a total television viewing experience that will transform their lives and change TV viewing forever.

”I have continued to reiterate, and the quality of the service we launched goes to confirm, that our objective is not to just move Nigerians from analogue to digital in a simple technical sense, but to improve the viewing experience and give them increased variety of channels and services.

”The average home today – in order to have access to the various types of entertainment – will require a television, a Set Top Box and a VCD/DVD player. This era is about to end. I am challenging the industry to move to one device in the home – the television. Give us a TV with a built-in decoder and the requisite middle-ware inside it, being able to access Nollywood releases with or without the internet, and with a remote control that can convert the TV into a computer.

”And please not for the rich, but for every Nigerian home. With that we will have succeeded in the reduction of the cost of access to television, information and education,” he said.

The Minister hailed Gospell Digital Technology for building the country’s largest electronic manufacturing and assembly plant, saying the investors and the managers of the manufacturing plant have exhibited absolute confidence, ”first in the future and economy prosperity of our beloved country, and of course in the Digital Switch Over (DSO) programme.

The plant, situated in the Calabar Export Free Trade Zone, has the capacity to produce 2.4 million Set Top Boxes annually, and has already provided 500 jobs.

”Going by its achievements in so short a time, the company’s vision of becoming the leading manufacturer of household electronic video, home entertainment and electrical appliances in Africa is very much within its reach,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

Also present at the commissioning were the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade; the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Senator Suleiman Adokwe; Senator Shehu Sani, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; Senator Mao Ohuabunwa and the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mala, Is’haq Modibo Kawu.

Source: Nigerian Communicationsweek.

Etisalat to Pull out of Nigeria in 2 Weeks

Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat has terminated its management agreement with its Nigerian arm and given the business time to phase out the brand in Nigeria.

Hatem Dowidar, the chief executive of Etisalat International told Reuters on Monday, the company has given few weeks to operators of the brand to phase out Etisalat in Nigeria

The Chief Executiv said the company, with a 45 percent stake in the Nigerian business, is transferring its shares to a trustee after talks to renegotiate a $1.2 billion loan failed.

Dowidar said all UAE shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria, including state-owned investment fund Mubadala, had exited the company and left the board and management.

He said discussions were ongoing with Etisalat Nigeria to provide technical support, adding that it could continue to use the brand for another three weeks before phasing it out.

“There’s a new board and we are not part of that company. We have sent our termination letter for the management agreement,” he said.

Etisalat Nigeria took out the loan with 13 local lenders in 2013 to refinance an existing loan and fund expansion but struggled to repay four years later.

When asked if the company will return to the country anytime soon, Dowidar said “the train has left the station on that one. Being in that market as an investor … are we willing to risk more money compared to the reward for the long-term?”

“Etisalat is among the top two in markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt and Afghanistan,” he said.

“(Nigerian) lenders may try to continue to operate the company until they find a buyer (or) they may merge the company with the existing players in Nigeria.

“The brand agreement in either of these two scenarios won’t be a long-term thing, so we take out the brand; in the long term Etisalat won’t be in Nigeria.”

Source: Nigeria telecom news