Old students renovate Egba Obafemi Grammar School, management commends - ITREALMS

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The authority and management of Egba-Obafemi Community Grammar School (EOCGS) located in Obafemi-Owode local government area of Ogun State have commended old students of the institution for the renovation of the buildings, which include the staff quarters of the school.

The Principals of Senior and Junior School gave the commendation in a letter of appreciation jointly signed by them and forwarded to the old students’ association of the school, which was founded in September 1977.

Debt Profile: Data by DMO validates Osun’s success on debt management - ITREALMS

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The Spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Mallam Olawale Rasheed has said that data released by Debt Management Office has vindicated the Adeleke led administration on the debt profile of the state.

He added that as against the falsehood published by certain online news platforms and amplified by the All Progressives Congress (APC), State External Debt according to the DMO has reduced by 15% while Domestic Debt reduced by 42%.

LASTMA embarks on 3-day training for senior officers - ITREALMS

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The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has commenced a 3-day in-house training programme, to enhance the operational efficacy and service delivery standards of senior officers, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement available to ITREALMS endorsed by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, the opening ceremony was declared open on Monday at the LASTMA headquarters by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa.

FG targets 10,000 IT heads @MDAs with responsible data management course - ITREALMS

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The Federal Government of Nigeria has concluded plans to upskill heads of Information Technology (IT) in the nation's Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through a course on Responsible Data Management, targeting some 10,000 public servants, reports ITREALMS.

Disclosing this in a press statement available to ITREALMS and endorsed by the Head, Research & Development at the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Tolulope Pius-Fadipe, said that the four months free course is in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, through NDPC office and Data.Org.

NASENI EVC receives management briefings, pledges open door system - ITREALMS

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The new Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr. Khalil Halilu, has started to receive briefings from departmental heads, even as he charged the management team to commit fully to the new direction being charted for the agency, reports ITREALMS.

Halilu stated this Monday, as he began receiving operational briefings from the agency’s management and senior staff. He reiterated that under his watch, NASENI will run an open-door system that welcomes ideas and suggestions.

OSPRE charges stakeholders in preparedness for early warning, disaster management - ITREALMS

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The Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), a center for the coordination of early warning and response mechanisms in Nigeria has charged stakeholders to collaborate as well as put in place measures that ensure rapid response to issues that constitute a threat to human security.

Director General OSPRE, Chris Ngwodo who gave the charge at the end of the two-day inaugural summit and technical workshop of the concord initiative in Abuja noted that, to mitigate the continuous outcry of inefficiency government needs to work in collaboration with the civil organization as they cannot carry out the duty of safeguarding citizens alone.

NAPIMS: Shell’s Bonga best in class – ITREALMS

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The National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) has described the deep-water operations of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) as best in class.

The Group General Manager of NAPIMS, the investment arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC), Mr. Bala Wunti, gave this commendation when he led his leadership team on an inspection of the SNEPCo-operated Bonga Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel last Thursday.

ITU to elect next management team @Romania - ITREALMS

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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has advanced plans to elect its next management team at the forthcoming Plenipotentiary Conference holding in Bucharest, Romania, between 26 September and 14 October, reports ITREALMS.

ITU plays an integral role in enabling sustainable digital development and inclusive uptake of new services and technologies for all people everywhere.

Inuwa: Enterprise content management'll save FG N4.5bn annually - ITREALMS

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The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has said the implementation of the service-wide Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution, organized by the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, will result in an annual saving of about N4.5 billion in Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

Inuwa, who was represented by the Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions (ITIS) Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi disclosed this while presenting a paper at the one-day ECM Service-Wide Round Table Workshop on ECM implementation with the topic "The Modalities of Software Clearance on ECM Solution for MDAs" at the Rotunda Hall, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.

Expert tasks public institutions on rumour management - ITREALMS

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A public relations strategist, Dr. Walter Duru, has called on public institutions across Africa to evolve plans for rumour management as part of their overall communication strategy.

Duru, an Assistant Professor of Communications and Multimedia Design made the call while contributing to a discourse on communications and citizens engagement during the just concluded ID4Africa Conference held in Marrakech, Morocco.

Describing rumour management as an important public relations function, the communication expert argued that rumours can puncture public trust, frustrate investments and adversely affect project implementation, if not properly managed.

FinTrak Credit 360 brings efficiency to risk management process - ITREALMS

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Fintrak Software Limited, Nigeria’s foremost indigenous financial technology (Fintech) solution provider with physical presence in some African countries recently brought the banking and financial industry stakeholders together to update them on their robust Credit Risk Management solution known as FinTrak Credit Risk 360. The industry experts applauded the software as a robust indigenous solution for banks in Africa.

Speaking during the presentation, the Group Managing Director, Bimbo Abioye stated that “FinTrak software delivers customized state of the art business transformation solutions that can intelligently combine efficiency with critical information needed for management decision-making process. FinTrak Credit 360 software has been able to improve user banks overall operational efficiency by over forty percent through automated strategic and digitized policy controls."

Christmas: Konga's management team handles deliveries to customers - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce giant, has gone a long way to spread festive cheer among its teeming customers. To this end, Konga’s co-Chief Executive Officers, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh and Nick Imudia; as well as other Management Executives of the company have personally handled deliveries to customers in various locations.

Among the locations visited are Lekki, Victoria Island, Gbagada, Ikeja, Apapa, Ikotun, Ikoyi, Surulere, Ipaja, Yaba, Sango, Mowe, among others.

Indeed, the process which commenced on Friday, December 13 saw the entire management of the Konga Group deliver products directly to customers. The gesture was conceived as a means of appreciating the entire Konga customer base for its patronage throughout the year. Equally important, Konga had seized on the idea to further appreciate customers for the “most successful” Black Friday sales ever; as well as wish them a Merry Christmas.

Meanwhile, the process was led by co-CEOs Prince Ekeh and Imudia as well as Head of Logistics, Emmanuel Ekuma. Other Management team members who handled deliveries include Vice President, KongaPay, Joshua Fatoye; Head of Finance, Emmanuel Ekwedike; Vice President, Konga Retail, Kalu Johnson; Vice President, e-Commerce, Dave Omoregie; Vice President, Konga Travel, Eric Nana and Vice President, Operations, Kenny Oriola, among others.

‘‘At Konga, the customer remains the king,’’ disclosed co-CEO, Imudia. ‘‘Our loyal customers have remained central to our many successes this year. In 2019, we had the most successful Konga Yakata – our own version of the popular Black Friday sales. This is in addition to significant growth witnessed in various areas of the business including subsidiaries such as Konga Travel.

‘‘Therefore, we considered it very essential for us to show our appreciation to our customers. One of the initiatives we decided on was for the entire management team of Konga to call up randomly selected customers and deliver their product orders directly. Also, it was a way of personally wishing them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance.’’

Acquired by the foremost technology conglomerate, the Zinox Group, in January 2018; Konga has enjoyed a remarkable transformation and hugely successful 2019 which has seen it occupy leadership of Nigeria’s e-commerce space. In addition to major rollouts which have grown its physical store presence to more than 30 nationwide; Konga has also made critical infrastructural investments with the set-up of major regional warehousing facilities.

In addition, it has recorded significant adoption of its payment platform KongaPay which recently added ATM card-less and USSD features. Also enjoying huge traction is K-Xpress, Konga’s in-house logistics company which has proven its capacity in handling last-mile and same day delivery to the company’s customers; while also resolving the logistics pain-points of external customers.

Furthermore, Konga Travel, another subsidiary of the Konga Group and composite travel booking agency; has grown 25% on a month-on-month basis while bagging a number of awards within its first full year of existence.



‘‘2019 has been a very good year for us and Nigerians can see the huge revolutionary strides Konga has brought. However, what we are currently seeing is a tip of the iceberg. There are many more exciting strategies and innovations to expect in the New Year,’’ concluded Imudia.

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Danbatta is Nigeria’s Security, Emergency Management Ambassador - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has been recognised as Nigeria’s Goodwill Ambassador for Security and Emergency Management in Nigeria (SAEMN), reports ITREALMS.

This, ITREALMS gathered was in recognition of his efforts towards fast-tracking implementation of Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs) especially at a time the country is faced with a number of security situations, as before his appointment in 2015 no single emergency communications center was operational in the country but Nigeria boasts on 18 centers now.

Danbatta received the recognition at the first-ever Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA 2019) organised in Abuja by the Emergency Digest, a publication of Image Merchants Promotion Limited, in conjunction with the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC).

At the event, which was attended by many stakeholders, particularly agencies in the security governance sector, Danbatta beat other contenders and nominees in the category to emerge winner for his proactive decision to activate and oxygenate the implementation of ECC across states of the Federation and federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.

The NCC, as a corporate entity, was also recognised with the Corporate Social responsibility Award in Security and Emergency Management in the country.

On assuming office as EVC of NCC in 2015, Danbatta quickly put machinery in place to accelerate the implementation of ECC across the country in line with the decision of the Nigerian government to enhance security of lives and properties in the country and in line with the provision of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.

Danbatta’s decision was based on his recognition of the NCC’s mandate in this regard, which is to promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number which shall be designed as the universal safety and emergency assistance number for telephone services generally; as well as encourage and facilitate the prompt deployment throughout Nigeria of seamless, ubiquitous and reliable end-to-end infrastructure for emergency communications needs.

Consequently, the Danbatta-led NCC has fully activated and operationalised ECC in 17 States across the country and the FCT. The list of the states include Benue, Kwara, Plateau, Kaduna , Kano, Katsina, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Imo, Enugu, Anambra and Adamawa.

Speaking during the presentation of the award to the EVC, the Chairman of Panel of Jury for SAEMA 2019, Mohammed Audu-Bida, said nominations for winners were based on verifiable outstanding performance and track record of excellence in the category for which the nomination was made.

According to him, a total of 254 entries were received for all the categories, out of which 136 nominees qualified for the competition. Thereafter, 54 finalists were selected by the jury from which 18 winners of the 18 categories emerged.

The Awards is instituted to recognise remarkable and invaluable contributions to the security, emergency management and peace development by individuals, groups and relevant stakeholders. The Award also recognises gallantry, rescue efforts, safety measures, teamwork and outstanding contributions to security and emergency management in Nigeria.

Chuks Egbuna/Editor

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Pix: Chukwuma Azikiwe, Head, Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) Project, Special Duties, NCC (Left) receiving the awards on behalf of the EVC of NCC from Mohammed Audu-Bida, Chairman of Panel of Jury for SAEMA 2019 at the event.

IM revolution: Give us NIMDA now says forum - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Stakeholders in Nigeria may be gearing up for a revolution in the Information Management (IM) industry with their strong demand for the creation of National Information Management Development Agency (NIMDA), reports ITREALMS.

This call was made at the weekend by the body of the National Information Management Stakeholders’ Forum (NIMSF) who spoke through the founder, Records and Information Management Awareness (RIMA) Foundation, Amb. (Dr) Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole in Lagos.

NIMSF also called for the breakout of Information and Archives departments from the current Ministry of Information and Culture by creating NIMDA to enable transformation and repositioning, especially on data and information governance in the country.

In addition, NIMDA, he said, for instance, will be setting the standards and ensuring that qualified and certified personnel are assigned to the management of government data and information.

Also, he said, developing and promoting best practices in government business processes and providing adequate training and monitoring for data and information management personnel in government, will be part of the proposed agency mandate.

NIMDA, he noted that when set up will ensure all government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) comply with standards, processes, procedures, and specifications as it applies to data, information, records, content, and archives use, classification, storage, collaboration, retention, and disposition.

Further, NIMDA, he told ITREALMS, will work with other relevant government agencies in ensuring appropriate information management and technology tools are deployed at all government MDAs for effective information security and governance and so on.

He insisted that for an effective National Digital Economy Policy implementation, there is a need for the industry to effectively and consistently engage the Ministry of Information and Culture, stressing that “effective data and information governance will go a long way in ensuring the success of the initiative.”

NIMDA, he said, will be tasked with managing the “Information Lifecycle of data, information, documents, contents and archives generated by all government agencies, ensuring enabling standards, specifications, processes, laws, and policies are in place for a good data and information governance regime in the country.”

NIMSF, he told ITREALMS was developed by the RIMA Foundation to advance sustainable development at all levels in the information management industry.

“Our activity aims to enhance open, accountable and participatory decision-making and governance on sustainable development through enhancing the involvement of all industry stakeholders. We focus particularly on the effective engagement of stakeholders on information management related policy processes,” he said.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Pix: L-r: Protocol Officer, Span Kitiya James; Monsurat Amina; President/Chairman, Governing Council, Dr. Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole; Member, Governing Council and Director of Training, Dr. Kolawole Oseni and Head of HR, Merit Emmanuel, all members of Institute of Information Management (IIM-Africa) during the press conference by National Information Management Stakeholders’ forum held at IIM-Africa’s secretariat last Friday in Lagos State, Nigeria.

CTO takes telecom management course to Cameroon - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is taking its Diploma in Telecommunications Management Studies(DTMS) to Cameroon in August, reports ITRealms.

Communications Officer at CTO, Osman Siddiqui, confirmed this to ITRealms, saying that DTMS would take place from 20 August – 28 September 2018 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

This session of DTMS, ITRealms gathered, has been developed specifically for CTO francophone members and will be taught in French only.

Siddiqui noted that to be an effective telecom professional all round knowledge about the sector from technical, policy, regulation and management skills is required.

“Organisations in the sector are actively encouraging technical employees to obtain managerial, marketing and other skills while facilitating non-technical staff to gain a greater understanding of technologies, networks and applications,” Siddiqui said.

The DTMS, ITRealms  also gathered is a unique programme suitable for both public and private sector, employees.

“Over the past eight years the DTMS has provided comprehensive training to over 180 telecom professionals from across the World including South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, Swaziland, Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Fiji Islands, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nigeria, Seychelles, and Rwanda, and Cameroon.

The DTMS, position itself as a well-balanced six week programme developed to help personnel in the telecommunications sector gain a thorough understanding of all aspects of the industry, from network operations to marketing and management.

ITRealms further reports that the course is delivered through a combination of lectures and group exercises, to make the learning relevant and practical.

Nenye Dom/GEE 

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IMOPOLY ASUP rebuffs management, wants audience with Gov. Okorocha - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The Imo State Polytechnic chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics - ASUP has rejected three proposals made by the Management of the Institution over non-payment of five months arrears of salaries owed her members, reports ITRealms.

In a Communique issued at the end of an emergency meeting of the ASUP held recently, the union requested to have audience with the executive governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, in conjunction with the management of the Institution on the issue.

The communique, signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Union and Chairman, Communique drafting Committee, Ven. Jonathan Egesi, reads in part:

“After due consultations, deliberations and considerations on the proposal made by the management of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo on Monday, June 11, 2018, on issues bothering our salaries, the following resolutions were reached:

“The ASUP IMOPOLY chapter will not accept the proposal made by the management of IMOPOLY to supplement the 70% subvention from government with 10% and pay us 80% of our salary starting from May, 2018”

“That ASUP IMOPOLY Chapter will not accept the proposal on the intention of the management to isolate three (3) months (February, March, and April) salary arrears and defray it before the end of 2018.”

“On the issue of re-computing the difference between 100% and 80%, which would be presented to the Governing Council of Imo State Polytechnic for consideration as debt owed to staff, the ASUP IMOPOLY resolved not to accept the proposal.”

It would be recalled that lecturers of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo are being owed five (5) months arrears of salary; February- June, 2018.

It is unclear, what the decision of the Union will be in the coming weeks, as investigations reveal that life has become very difficult for its members, following the non-payment of salaries.

All efforts to reach the Rector of the Polytechnic, Rev. Father Wence Madu for comments proved abortive, as his lines could not be reached.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE 

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MDXI, Avanti Group partner on GES management

ITREALMS:

The MDXI data centre has partnered with Avanti Communications Group Plc, a leading British satellite operator, to host and manage the satellite operator’s in-country Gateway Earth Station (GES), reports ITRealms.

MDXI, ITRealms gathered, is a subsidiary of MainOne, with this partnership delivers the commissioning of Avanti’s first GES in West Africa, hosted at MDXI’s satellite farm in Lagos.

The project, ITRealms also reports, has seen Avanti invest up to USD 20 million in the Nigerian Gateway, will ensure data from the HYLAS 4 Ka-band satellite is delivered efficiently in-country and interconnected with other networks.

The HYLAS 4 Ka-band satellite will deliver  High Throughput Satellite (HTS) connectivity to complement the country’s existing fibre-optic networks, ensuring access is available to enable high-speed internet everywhere, even to the most remote and rural locations.

Applications that will be supported by this Avanti’s 3rd Ka-band satellite include satellite broadband services for homes and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), rural schools, large enterprises and government agencies and cellular backhaul for 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks. Avanti already has an established track record deploying such services via existing satellites across East and Southern Africa as well across Europe and the Middle East.

Avanti’s efforts in Nigeria will also include the deployment of its Every Community Online (ECO) initiative, with built-in Wi-Fi hotpots in schools, communities and government agencies, especially in the underserved and remote parts of the country where power availability and connectivity services remain a challenge. In addition, the satellite operator will take advantage of MainOne’s extensive coverage to extend its market reach across nine countries in West Africa.

Avanti’s technology has been proven to deliver sustainable digital inclusion by delivering terrestrial-quality, affordable and superfast satellite broadband services. Given the satellite’s footprint across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, the services provided will greatly enhance eGovernment, eLearning, eCommerce, eHealth and eBanking services in rural areas among others. The new satellite will also offer support to oil and gas companies and enable coverage to remote Onshore, Offshore and Deep Offshore locations.

MDXI has been chosen to launch this project in West Africa based on its capability to deliver mission-critical data centre services and provide extensive interconnection with other operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the Nigerian Internet Exchange.

Speaking on the agreement, General Manager of MDXI, Gbenga Adegbiji said “As a carrier-neutral data centre enabling multiple local, regional and global networks in West Africa, Avanti’s choice of MDXI was inevitable. Working closely with Avanti, our engineers have already implemented a bespoke colocation solution to support the largest Gateway Earth Station in the region with uninterrupted power, connectivity and security to ensure 24/7/365 operations. While ineffective distribution of available bandwidth inland continues to hinder Nigeria’s broadband targets, our partnership with Avanti provides Nigeria the opportunity to make accelerated broadband expansion possible via satellite, to overcome last-mile gaps experienced in fibre infrastructure and enable the attainment of 30% broadband penetration target in the National Broadband Plan.”

Dave Bestwick, Chief Technology Officer at Avanti Communications, explained that the project would guarantee employment opportunities in ICT, engineering and communications to indigenes, as well as enable a huge leap towards economic growth in the ICT sector in Nigeria. “We are delighted to be partnering with MainOne and MDXI, to rollout satellite broadband services across Nigeria and West Africa. Avanti’s products will greatly complement MainOne’s existing network and provide reliable broadband connectivity to places within the region without terrestrial fibre connectivity. We look forward to expanding our collaboration in serving the people of Nigeria with market-leading products.”

Nenye Dom/GEE

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EFCC not after Etisalat, we repaid 42% of original loan - Management

ITRealms:

The management of Etisalat Nigeria has denied that they are being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following a petition to “the Federal Government asking that Etisalat be investigated” on how the funds from the syndicated loans were utilized, reports ITRealms.

The Vice President, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko told ITRealms that a simple interrogation of the rigorous process for securing a syndicated loan from a consortium of reputable banks would have exposed the truth to the original writer of this story and other media channels who have subsequently re-circulated the falsehood without interrogation or verification.

Concerned parties have access to Etisalat books and do not require an investigation into how the loan sum was utilized.

“All of the infrastructure investment and services for which the loan was secured, were paid through our banks and these are verifiable,” he said.

Dikko stressed the need for the media to correctly inform the general public by providing the needful macro-economic context around which the challenges encountered with meeting up with the loan obligation occurred.

“It would be recalled that the $1.2bn loan, a medium-term seven-year facility, was obtained by Etisalat Nigeria for the purpose of expanding its network and improving the quality of service on its network. The economic downturn of 2015 and sharp devaluations of the naira negatively impacted on the dollar-denominated loan by driving up the loan value, thus prompting Etisalat to request a loan restructuring from the consortium of banks,” he explained.

This, he said was contrary to the widely reported misrepresentations about Etisalat Nigeria’s debt obligation to the consortium of 13 banks, thus, it has become pertinent to set the records straight.

Dikko also said that prior to this time, Etisalat had in fact consistently and conscientiously met up with its payment obligations.

“As at today, we can categorically state that the outstanding loan sum to the consortium stands at $227m and N113bn, a total of about $574m if the naira portion is converted to US Dollars,” he said.

Emphasising that this in essence meant almost half of the original loan of $1.2bn, has been repaid, insisting that Etisalat continued to service the loan up until February 2017, when discussions with the banks regarding the repayment restructuring commenced.

“We hereby appeal to our media partners to continue to uphold the ethics of the profession by exercising some restraint particularly in the publication of such misleading and damaging information. We have been accessible and remain available to the media to clarify or verify information when required,” Dikko assured.

Nonye Dom/GEE

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Nigeria, Ukraine to partner on space management

ITRealms:

 

The Federal Government (FG) has declared its readiness to collaborate with friendly countries that will assist Nigeria to bridge perceived technological gaps in the bid to improve the quality of life of Nigerians, using space technologies, reports ITRealms.

Top on these strategic friendly countries is Ukraine, according to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, who gave this indication while receiving the Ambassador of Ukraine to Nigeria, His Excellency Dr Valeri Aleksandruk in his office in Abuja.

The Chief press Secretary to Minister, Taye Akinyemi, quoted Dr Onu, as affirmed this in a press statement made available to ITRealms.

He also said that part of the Ministry’s mandate is to ensure that Nigeria, by shifting her focus from being a resource-based economy to a knowledge based and innovation driven economy will become a leading economy through value addition to our institutions in the area of Science and Technology.

The Minister further stated that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to diversify and improve the economy of Nigeria by bridging Technology gaps   through such co-operations and exchange of ideas.

He asserted that Nigeria is succeeding in sustainable diversification process through ensuring that we tap and harness the natural resources coupled with the abundant human resources that will make Nigeria a technology hub especially in the area of space management.

In his remarks, the Ambassador of Ukraine informed the Minister that part of his mission in Nigeria is to get best cooperation and exploration through sharing of ideas in various areas of Science and Technology in Nigeria especially in space management.

He also intimated the Honourable Minster that Ukraine has very big potentials in the area of Science and Technology as well as human resources which when explored can help boost Technology in Nigeria.  He reiterated the need for basic agreements and collaborations with the Nigerian government to achieve this goal.

 
Nonye Dom/GEE
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120 stakeholders storm Cameroon for CTO spectrum management

ITRealms:

Some 120 policymakers, regulators, private sector executives and representatives from interest groups stormed the Camerounian capital, Yaounde for the first-ever spectrum management meeting put together by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), reports ITRealms.

The three-day session was attended by representatives from the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA), International Telecommunication Union and African Telecommunications Union.

Also in attendance were international and regional organisations as well as private-sector participants including AINMT, ATDI, Avanti Communications, Inmarsat, Facebook and MTN.

Over the past three decades, the CTO has run numerous capacity development and training programmes for radio communications engineers and policymakers on spectrum. At one point, the organisation was known mainly for such technical programmes.

CTO’s Secretary-General Shola Taylor in his opening address underscored the importance of spectrum management.

"As mobile and wireless communication technologies continue to improve, and as many more of us access and increasingly also depend on these technologies, spectrum is becoming an evermore important resource," he said.

Taylor also said that at the very least, spectrum's economic value has increased dramatically from what it was only 20 years ago, and today it is no longer a mere natural resource or commodity for many of CTO member countries, it is increasingly also a life-critical and life-changing resource.

“5G data and machine-to-machine wireless networks alone will inevitably increase ICTs contribution to the economy of those countries, but the underlying technologies require more spectrum and international consensus on how it should be allocated, hence our decision to dedicate a whole event to this subject," Mr Taylor said.

During three days, participants discussed a range of issues, including: Planning for 5G: global and regional perspectives; WRC-15’s outcomes and implications for spectrum sharing, Maximising spectrum capacity for broadband development; Spectrum bands, technologies and solutions; Efficient spectrum utilisation for universal access Spectrum planning for the future of broadcasting and spectrum auctions

The event was officially opened by Honourable Minette Libom Li Likeng, Minister of Posts & Telecommunications of Cameroon who also called on regulators to maintain transparency and fairness when assigning spectrum.

Oya Midele/GEE

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Pix: Secretary-General Shola Taylor and the Honourable Minette Libom Li Likeng, Minister of Posts & Telecommunications of Cameroon