CSP Ajisebutu takes over @Makinde Police Division - ITREALMS

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The former Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and now Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Francis Ebhuoma, has officially handed over the baton of administration to the new DPO, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ade Ajisebutu, at the Makinde Police Divisional Headquarters, Mafoluku-Oshodi, Lagos, reports ITREALMS.

Noteworthy is that CSP Ade Ajisebutu is a seasoned police officer who was the former Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) until recently. He assumed office at Makinde Police Division as the DPO.

Mastercard names Prasad, new Sub-Saharan Africa Division President

ITREALMS:

Spurred on by the company’s steady growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and in line with its focus on investing in the continent, Mastercard has appointed Raghav Prasad as Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa. Prasad will strengthen the company’s ongoing commitment to delivering value to customers and consumers in Africa by leveraging technology to build stronger and more inclusive payment ecosystems, reports ITRealms.

Prasad brings his extensive 30-year global financial services and payments industry experience to further Mastercard’s goal of financially including 100 million people by 2020 – an objective that can only be achieved by working with partners across the public and private sectors and by introducing market-relevant digital payment solutions such as Masterpass QR, Mastercard Payment Gateway Services along with its core Debit, Credit, Prepaid and Commercial solutions.

With a proven track record as a leader, Prasad has a deep understanding of the payments sector, and brings unique insights into the region honed while running his own consulting practice focusing on the Middle East and Africa as well as working for global players like Citibank and RBS.

“The influence and true potential of technology is seen on the continent like almost nowhere else in the world. Africa has an amazing advantage of not having invested in legacy infrastructure and can embrace the latest technologies, especially mobile, to transform the payments landscape. Technology innovation is influencing the way consumers engage with the world around them, shaping economies, creating smarter, more connected and financially inclusive cities,” said Prasad.

Mobile continues to act as a critical conduit of growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, currently accounting for nearly a tenth of the global mobile subscriber base and is predicted to grow faster than any other region globally over the next five years. Additionally, the World Bank estimates that over 64 million adults in the region already have a mobile money account – making it the most easily accessible technology for those currently excluded from the formal financial services sector.

It also serves as an increasingly important tool for the continent’s growing youth population. Africa will become the youngest and most populous continent in the next few decades, according to the Africa Development Bank Outlook 2018 Report. Its labour force will expand to nearly two billion in 2063, a trend that is supported by the fact that over 12 million young people join the workforce every year.

Prasad predicts that the demographic dividend of a large young and tech-savvy population will lead to many of these youth starting up businesses of their own, and becoming job creators. “Our work in supporting the MSME sector is critical to our role in Africa, and solutions such as Masterpass QR are turning the tide on cash dependency as well as helping millions of merchants to go digital for the first time. This is more attractive for businesses and consumers alike – and we see youth being a key driver of the adoption of new technologies now, and in the future"

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Orange Business Services expands sales operations to Nigeria

ITRealms:

Business-to-Business (B2B) division of the Orange Group, the Orange Business Services, has extended its sales operations into the Nigeria’s market, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this in a press statement made available to ITRealms, Director, International Public Relations, Orange Business Services, Elizabeth Mayeri, said this expansion to Lagos, is a show of commitment to support enterprises in Africa with the expansion of its Lagos, Nigeria presence.

She also said that the establishment of a new sales office in addition to the existing customer support activities in the country, would assist senior IT decision makers with strategies to grasp the market opportunities being brought by digital transformation.

“The potential for businesses to expand in Nigeria is demonstrated by the size and rate of growth already achieved by existing Orange clients, especially in the financial sector,” she said.

Vice president, Africa at Orange Business Services, Giorgio Heiman, was quoted as saying, the expansion of Orange Business Services to Lagos would support the many Nigeria-based businesses who want to increase their business performance and profitability.

“We act as a trusted advisor to help our customers compete on an equal footing in what is rapidly becoming a global market. This includes competitive, high-quality IT services delivered in all countries in which they operate,” he said.

Stressing that Orange Business Services in Nigeria supports both Nigeria-based businesses, which are growing and transforming, thanks to digital technologies, and multinational companies from elsewhere on the continent and beyond, which are looking to expand within Africa.

“We place great emphasis on local presence in our markets. There are many growth opportunities in IT, particularly in high-growth markets like Nigeria and across West Africa, but these can only be harnessed if service providers have a local understanding of strategic, political and cultural sensitivities in a region. Orange delivers consistently reliable telecommunications across Africa, including hard-to-reach places and in jurisdictions where the regulatory environment is still developing,” Heiman said.

Remmy Nweke

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DStv flouts court judgement – Counsel

ITRealms:

 

A team of lawyers led by Oluyinka Oyeniji has told a court in Lagos that Digital Satellite Television, (DStv) a division of MultiChoice Group, has disobeyed its earlier order restraining price increase on its services, ITRealms reports.

Counsel in the class action suit brought against DStv informed the court that the satellite television service provider has gone ahead to give effect to its price increase contrary to the order of the court.

ITRealms recalls that Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had on April 2, 2015 made orders restraining DStv from giving effect or enforcing its planned increase in cost of the different classes of viewing or programmes pending the determination of the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction, which was adjourned till April 16, 2016.

When the matter came up on Thursday, ITRealms gathered, the counsel told the court that DStv had breached the order by going ahead to enforce the price increase.

Oyeniji whose team of lawyers include Osasuyi Adebayo, Mufutau Olajobi, Yemi Salman and Fola Oluwole for the applicants, while DStv was represented by Moyo Onigbanjo (SAN) and M.K. Adesina among other lawyers.

He informed the court of his application for interlocutory injunction, stressing that DSTV had disobeyed the orders of the court and that relevant applications for contempt proceedings had been filed.

ITRealms was however informed that the court adjourned the matter till May 5, 2015 for the argument of the preliminary objection.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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