Suspension of PTAD boss, Mayshak, confirmed by Adeosun

ITRealms:

The indefinite suspension of the pioneer Executive Secretary and Director General of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Mrs. Nellie Mayshak and three other senior staff of the directorate, has been confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this in a press statement made available to ITRealms, the Special Assistant (SA) on Media to the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi, said that Mayshak was placed on suspension by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and a director from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has since been appointed as acting Executive Secretary and Director General.

ITRealms also said that the suspension, which is a normal civil service procedure is to pave way for an unimpeded investigation into the activities of the directorate under the watch of Mrs Mayshak.

While the Ministry assures pensioners that the suspension will not affect pension payment and services, it promises to make public, the findings of the investigative panel on the issues leading to the suspension.

ITRealms recalls that PTAD was established in August 2013 under the Pension Reform Act of 2004 to oversee the management of pensions under the defined benefit scheme for pensioners not transiting to the defined contributory scheme.

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Onyemenam says @NIMC 'We’ve attained paradigm shift'

ITRealms:

The Director General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Barrister Chris Onyemenam, has said his team attained a paradigm shift with the successful setup and implementation of the National Identity Management Scheme (NIMS) in the country, reports ITRealms.

Onyemenam made this declaration in a chat with selected media over the weekend, saying that the value proposition that flows from the NIMS cuts across the three tiers of the government, the private sector, the family, and to the international society.

“If you take it by extension to the civil service generally, the concept of ghost workers or duplicate identities will be eliminated. No one can be in Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) more than once, because the individual will be traced through the biometrics and the National Identification Number (NIN),” he said.

The NIMC DG expressed confidence in the current setup of the scheme, revealing that the Commission activities is in tandem with global best practice, which says, “Uniquely identify every citizen and legal resident, in terms of ‘who you are’ and not what you are eligible to or what you can participate in like the Voter card, or what you are obliged to like Tax, or what you need like the driver’s license.”

Onyemenam explained that the ability to create a single version of truth will serve the entire country because the NIMS is a cross cutting platform. 

“If you don’t know people and they commit a crime, they can deny it. If someone is able to have more than one identity then they can benefit from their own acts of deception,” he said.

As said by him, nowadays, 419 is rampant because people could claim to be who they are not and still get away with it. 

“So in terms of fighting crime, what we have done with the NIMS is an important tool for law enforcement agencies to fight crime, corruption and/or ensuring that the war against corruption succeeds, because you can’t hide from yourself after having been identified by the Commission as a criminal,” Onyemenam said.

He emphasised that because it is from birth to death, NIMS provides the economic planners of the country that hardcore data about some of the social economic characteristics of citizens in a slightly more factual sense than what other organisation provides, for instance, “if you know the people in the age bracket 0-13 and you want to be able to feed them, you will use the uniqueness of the identity that has been given to them, to ensure that the benefit goes to them only.” 

The same, he said, applies to scholarships, bursaries, stipends to the unemployed, etc. this is the kind of benefit that the element of none repudiation and unique identification confirms on the administration of subsidies, special programmes, and general economic management or eceonomc governance in the country.   

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +ITRealms DSA
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Digital Migration: NBC unveils Home Assistance Scheme

ITRealms:

The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Emeka Mba, has announced a Home Assistance Scheme which is aimed at enabling Nigerians realize the digital switchover, ITRealms reports.

He stated that government would bear part of the cost of the Set Top Boxes in order to protect Nigerians from cut-throat prices, even as the scheme would also address the concerns of the investors who have pumped in huge amount of money into the project of manufacturing the boxes. He assured Nigerians that the boxes when produced would not cost more than N1500.

Mba was speaking at the official signing of partnership agreement between Media Concepts International Limited (NBC licensed Set Top Box manufacturers) and KAON Media, South Korea (MCI chosen OEM partner) with National Broadcasting Commission, Tuesday in Lagos.

The NBC boss thanked both MCI and KAON for being part of the digital migration process, stressing that Nigeria offers a huge market and with Digital switchover the entire value chain in Broadcasting will change, switching from analogue to digital, adding that beyond being able to watch television with the set top box it can give you internet services thereby shutting the digital divide in the country.

He also thanked the indigenous investors like MCI who are investing in this project, adding  that there will  be massive job creation as a result of the project bearing in mind that the manufacturing of the boxes will be done in Nigeria.

The DG who said the digital migration project include set top boxes, signal distribution and content, said the 2017 switchover date is sacrosanct not closing the door for other possibilities because according to him “we are switching off people and government would like to carry everybody along.” He warned those who may wish to embark on brisk businesses by bringing boxes from outside to kill the dream. He said there are 13 NBC certified companies for the boxes  and any other set top boxes from other sources will not work in Nigeria.

He also stated that there is budget that have been mapped out to tackle e-waste resulting from the disused televisions and set top boxes because all electronic devices have life span. He said because many analogue television sets will be affected there will be locations for dumping so that appropriate authorities could collect them for disposal.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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Danbatta, Emeka Mba to speak at Nigeria Telecom Impact CEO Forum 2015

 ITRealms:

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Danbatta, Director General, National Broadcasting Commission, Emeka Mba, are expected to address the Nigeria Telecom Impact CEO Forum 2015, ITRealms reports.  

Other speakers at the event include CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Yusuf Kazaure and his counterparts from MTN, Michael Ipoki; Airtel, Segun Ogunsanya; Etisalat, Matthew Wilsher; MainOne, Funke Opeke among other CEOs. 

ITRealms gathered that top Nigerian CEOs from diverse sectors of the economy will be gathering on October 30 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Lagos, to deliberate on how the influence of telecommunications could contribute 25 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Themed “How Telecoms Can Contribute 25 per cent to the GDP by 2025”, the Impact CEO Forum would focus on the recently rebased GDP figures, which revealed that Nigeria’s telecommunications sector is “a star performer in the economy”.

Organiser of the event, ICT Watch Network, Mr. Tayo Adewusi, said as more sectors of the Nigerian economy appreciate the importance of telecommunications in improving their productivity and efficiency, there is a need to have an open platform where “C-level executives of various sectors will meet the telecommunication companies to discuss current trends and make realizable projections into the future”.

Adewusi said Impact CEO Forum is envisioned as the foremost influential meeting of top-level executives who will assess the impression of telecom on their businesses. As such, he informed, the event has attracted about 50 CEOs and 300 participants from all sectors of the economy from telecoms, agriculture, banking, entertainment, broadcasting and manufacturing, ITRealms learnt.

Other areas the influence of telecoms is heavily being felt is lottery and pooling, education, law, e-commerce, emergency management, tourism, customs and immigration. Others are travel and logistics, capital market, maritime, sports and government.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE,

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Pix: Prof Umar Danbatta,

Emeka Mba apologises for inability to meet ITU deadline

ITRealms

The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission, Emeka Mba has apologised for the inability of Nigeria to meet the ITU deadline, ITRealms reports.

Speaking at the 6^th Annual NigeriaCom conference and Exhibition held in Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, from September 14-15, 2015, pointed out that the Commission took all the steps necessary within available resources in the attempt to ensure Nigeria was able to switch off analogue transmission.

The theme of this year’s event, ITRealms gathered, focused on the next phase of connecting businesses and lifestyles across the digital economy. Day one focused intently on operator strategies and the regulatory position in creating affordable access to grow the digital economy. Key insight was provided into growth of mobile commerce and mobile financial services.

Day two centred on data and winning the content battle ground through quality user-based platforms. Highlights of the presentations included an ‘Update on Nigeria’s digital switchover’ by DG, NBC.

“The major reason why Nigeria was not able to switch off was due to late planning, and absence of funding for infrastructure and Set-Top Boxes.” Mr. Mba noted that the successful implementation of the Digital Switchover required some creative thought leadership. He stressed that. The Commission was focused on creating a future that will bridge the digital divide especially in homes that see TV as a primary source of information.

The Director General, ITRealms learnt,  revealed that June 20, 2017, has been chosen as the new switchover date from analogue to digital terrestrial television transmission in the African sub-region. “Digital Switchover is a very expensive venture”, he stated. “However, following the availability of substantial part of the funds needed to execute the transition, machinery has been put on ground to advance the process”, he added. 

Other presentations included “Connecting the Unconnected –Connectivity that matters, The event also featured panel discussions, speed Networking sessions, Exhibitions and interactions.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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NBC DG commends Okere’s CWG over teleport

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Mr. Emeka Mba has commended the Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG) led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Austin Okere, over its teleport facility, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Mr. Mba gave this commendation during an courtesy visit to CWG headquarters in Lagos, saying the visit has afford his team at NBC the opportunity of inspecting CWG’s satellite facility that will serve as the support base for the soon to be launched SES digital TV platform.

He applauded CWG’s vision for introducing a free to air Direct-To-Home (DTH) Television to the Nigerian broadcasting populace. 

“The idea of a free to air satellite TV platform is novel to the TV experience of average Nigerians. Its coverage capacity will be instrumental in our quest to take quality broadcasting to every corner of the nation. More so, it will allow indigenous stations compete competently and affordably with regional and global ones, in terms of picture and content quality,” he said.

Mr. Mba also assured CWG management that NBC will provide the necessary support the company may require to make certain this project is a success.

Welcoming the NBC delegation with a presentation, the Head, Presales at CWG, Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, gave an overview of CWG’s history of innovation and service excellence.

Odegbami, DigitalSENSE Business News reports, told the guest that CWG offers integrated ICT solutions that add value to the operations of diverse clientele, using highly skilled and well-motivated workforce.

”At inception, CWG was basically an Information Technology (IT) infrastructure sales firm. The group has since evolved into a pan-African ICT powerhouse, with focus on enabling businesses through strategic partnerships with world-class organizations and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs),” he said.

According to him, CWG recently innovated her business model to be based on Subscription and Cloud Computing under an umbrella aptly tagged CWG2.0. Odegbami explained, the business concept, of CWG 2.0 is a cloud based subscription business model birthed and driven by the quest to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) grow and make notable social impact. 

This, he said, includes Openshopen, an e-commerce platform that allows shop owners open their own virtual stores online; and SMERP, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution built to assist business owners manage their Accounting and Financial Record Keeping.

“Our strategic collaboration with SES Astra, a foremost global satellite company to bring the first Direct to Home digital TV is an integral part of our CWG 2.0 vision. The partnership entails SES providing space segment, using their ASTRA 2F satellite, at 28.2 degrees East, while CWG will manage the teleport services required to project the signals to viewers, using high operational standards”, he added.

Addressing NBC delegation earlier, Mr. Austin Okere, thumbed up NBC for its efforts in ensuring that the nation beats the ITU June 17 deadline for migration to digital TV broadcasting. “The CWG/SES platform, beyond being a business idea, is our social impact investment contribution to ensure that none of the 27 million households in Nigeria are left out in the digital TV switchover,” he said.

Firstly, Okere said, visual content will be made available to millions of households at no cost, through a Free to Air (FTA) medium.

Stressing that secondly, CWG is offering a platform that will enable broadcasters deliver their content to a broader audience cost-effectively.

“Most importantly, our platform offers the nation the opportunity of meeting the core requirements needed to beat the ITU transition to digital broadcasting deadline,” he assured.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +NBC News +Austin Okere @CWG
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Pix:  L-R: Mr. Philip Obioha, COO, CWG Plc; Mr. Emeka Mba, DG, NBC; Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and CEO, CWG Plc and Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, Head, Presales, CWG Plc when MR. Mba visited CWG’s corporate headquarters in Lagos.

ZICTA to construct 500 towers by 2016

ITRealms:

In a bid to expand rural mobile communication and fast track digital migration, Zambia's Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) has advanced plans to construct 500 communication towers by the end of 2016, ITRealms authoritatively gathered.

So far, ZICTA is constructing 169 across the country in order to enable villagers communicate effectively.

ITRealms investigations reveal that ZICTA has awarded the project to construct the 169 towers to China’s Huawei Technologies as part of its efforts to increase communication among Zambia’s rural population.

ZICTA, ITRealms gathered, said that by the end of this year, there will be more than 204 communication towers constructed across the country adding that by the end of 2016, the number of towers will reach 500.

Director General, ZICTA Margaret Mudenda said the project has both financial and political backing from the Zambian government that wants to see the benefits of mobile communication reach remote rural areas.

“So far, 169 have been installed across the country to enable villagers to communicate effectively. By the end of 2014, there will be 204 towers,” Mudenda said.

The towers, ITRealms checks found, will be shared among the country’s three mobile phone operators—MTN, Zamtel and Airtel, while the regulatory body will levy the mobile operators.

The project, ITRealms reports, is also considered part of the country’s digital migration process as some of the towers will also be used by radio and television stations to transmit signals.

Chukwudi Obi

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