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FG Pledges to Provide Free Internet Access for Citizens
Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communications, says the federal government will ensure free access to the internet in public places across Nigeria.
Mr Shittu said this on Tuesday in Abuja at a one-day stakeholders workshop on the role of the Public Internet Access for Economic Development.
“We are trying to ensure the vision of free Wi-Fi all over, particularly in public spaces, at the airport, schools and all that,” Mr Shittu said on Tuesday.
Mr. Shittu said the government had been trying to ensure that internet accessibility is made available not just for privileged Nigerians but everyone.
“The Federal Ministry of Communication will ensure the privacy of beneficiaries of the free internet services is protected,” he said.
He said for this to be a reality, more investments are needed because the government alone cannot handle the financial responsibilities involved.
Mr. Shittu listed some of the challenges faced by the government in providing free internet services to include high cost of access, low broadband penetration, poor internet infrastructure, and poor enabling environment.
“The solutions to these challenges are beyond government’s intervention,” he said.
“In order to bridge the existing digital divide and encourage more Nigerians to participate in the global digital economy, private organisations and international partners are encouraged to support the government in different strategic ways.
“One of the models being adopted recently is the provision of free internet access by Public Internet Access Providers (PIAPs) in strategic locations to help more Nigerians connect to the internet in pursuit of social and developmental objectives for a return on investment (ROI) through advertisement or other means.
“This is expected to fuel some changes especially in creating jobs and help local SMEs compete with global brands.”
Last year, The Punch newspaper reported that Google Nigeria announced its plans to reach more than 10 million Nigerians with free Internet access in five cities.
According to the global content provider, the Wi-Fi will be available in 200 Google stations in Lagos, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Abuja by 2019.
The communications minister noted that the security of users is very important to the government even though it is an unregulated medium.
“However, it is an unregulated medium, and users should be aware of this. The security of the user both personally and in the transmission of information is of paramount importance to the government,” he said.
According to him, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as the National IT regulator, came up with the Framework and Guidelines on the provision and use of Public Internet Access in Nigeria.
NITDA issued the framework and guidelines for Public Internet Access (PIA) in 2018.
Also speaking at the workshop, the Managing Director of Backbone Community Network (BCN), Ibrahim Dikko, said the resolution of providing free internet is to transform the economy in Nigeria.
He said the organisation was partnering with Google to ensure that high-quality access is given to people in Nigeria.
“The key thing is to provide high-quality access to people in public places,” he said
“We have five sites in Abuja, we plan to have 64 sites in Abuja, Kaduna, Zaria and Kano, and we are looking forward to spreading it across the North,” he said.
On her part, the Public Policy and Government Relations Officer for Google, Titi Akinsanmi, said it is a possibility that Nigerians enjoy free internet access across the country.
She said Google is committed to providing free access to the country but not working with the local system.
“We will bring our expertise that can translate to success when we work with existing record partners, we are getting closer to getting it done,” she said.
She emphasised the safety of online users as a pronouncement was made last year.
“We had a partnership with Nigerian Educational Research Council, there will be an online safety curriculum to all secondary schools in Nigeria,” she said.
“We have signed an agreement with the board for online curriculum, it will be implemented on 30th September 2019,” Ms Akinsanmi said.
She also said the platform will be compliant with the existing local laws.
“We are working with existing local laws and constitution,” she said.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday said that banks in the country lost over N8 billion to internet fraud, otherwise known as Yahoo-Yahoo Boys, in 2022.
Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the commission, also disclosed how Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi state allegedly moved a staggering $720,000 from the state account to pay his child’s school fees.
Olukoyede, who made the disclosure during an interactive session with media executives in Abuja, narrated how cyber crime has hurt the companies and its negative effects in attracting direct foreign investment for the country. He lamented that no fewer than 71 percent of companies operating in Nigeria were victims of cybercrime in 2022 even as he argued that the Commission’s war against internet fraud is about safeguarding the country’s future.
“In 2022 alone, I’m waiting for the report of 2023, we discovered that more than 71 percent of Nigerian industries, companies and firms fell victim to cyber crime. Now, which country or company would thrive with this kind of thing? “You want to attract foreign direct investment; the moment you come in, Yahoo boys will attack your platform. You start losing money and you think they would stay?
“Is that not what we are seeing? We are rescuing the future of Nigeria by going into this cyber crime investigation and prosecution.
“Now, within that period, the Nigerian economy lost $706 million (via) these companies through cyber crime, to the activities of these Yahoo Yahoo boys because we don’t take them seriously now, not knowing that we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
“The alarming statistics continued with Nigerian banks losing over N8 billion to electronic transfer fraud in the first nine months of 2022.
“A system lost over N8 billion to a particular scheme of fraud and you are asking EFCC to close its eyes to that kind of situation. Are we even fair to ourselves?”
He said the agency is prosecuting two of its operatives for violating the agency’s code of conduct.
He said the commission has made some reforms to enhance its fight against corruption, including the creation of the directorate of fraud risk assessment/control and ethics/integrity.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said that students in tertiary institutions and approved vocational centres would start repayment of the loan two years after graduation.
However, NELFUND management specifically stated that the repayment of the loan would commence if the students secured a job or went into business.
Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director, NELFUND, said the Act specify a moratorium of two years after graduation for the students to begin repayment of the loan.
Sawyerr said if the students start work, his employer would be expected to remit 10 percent into NELFUND dedicated account.
He added: “The loan does not have a specified repayment tenure. It makes it easy for students to apply for the loan. NELFUND would pay according to the documents provided by the institutions. We cannot put tenure on the loan; some will die, drop out, ‘Japa’ or refuse to pay. While those who went into business would pay into same account.
“It is a revolving a loan. We will not put students under pressure to get the loan and we are not going to state a tenure because it is not a commercial loan.’’
According to him, the loan is meant for students in public universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and vocational institutes, who apply via NELFUND portal and are expected to present their JAMB admission letter, NIN and BVN.
He explained that non-students would not have access to the loan and that NELFUND has put the necessary machinery in place to ensure that beneficiaries can be reached when the need arises.
His words: “We are using technology to run the new system. The process of application is online through our dedicated portal and we are limiting human contact as much as possible. Once you have a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN), which are parts of the requirements, we will have access to your data and all your accounts. This will also help us to know if you are qualified or not,” Sawyerr stated.
The MD disclosed that students already in institution are eligible to apply for the loan at any level of their study and must be at the beginning of each academic session.
He noted that such students would have to provide their admission and matriculation details in addition to BVN and NIN.
Sawyerr added that about 1.2 million Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and government-recognized vocational centres would be among the first batch of beneficiaries and that the figure would increase as time goes on.
The NELFUND boss disclosed that the scheme would be funded from one per cent of the total annual revenue by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which would amount to N194 billion if the agency meets its projection.
Sawyerr observed that the loan would be paid in two segments, the first, being the school fees, which would be paid directly to the institutions while stipend would be paid into students’ account for their day-to-day upkeep.
He added that the amount individual students would access varies because of the course of study, school fees and geographical location of the institutions.
“You don’t start paying back the loan until two years after your National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and you have secured a job or business. A beneficiary can defer repayment if he has not secured a job, but if after due diligence, he/she defaulted, then the student becomes a criminal and we will work with government agency that can help us get the money back, for example, EFCC, ICPC,” Sawyerr stated.
Global Prolife Alliance (GPA), global health organization, has told the National Assembly that the intended malaria vaccine currently proposed by Bill Gates, American billionaire, for Nigeria can trigger meningitis in the populace.
Dr. Philip Njemanze, chairman of GPA, gave the warning in a statement released to newsmen in Owerri, the Imo state capital.
Njemanze, known for being pro-health in the Catholic church, charged the national assembly not to be in a hurry to succumb to the pressure of the bill currently before the house.
He said the vaccine may trigger the deaths of millions of Nigerian children prone to cerebral meningitis, especially in the northern part of the country.
Part of the letter read “Among the side effects is a tenfold increase in cerebral meningitis. Nigeria is endemic for cerebral meningitis. A tenfold increase could cause the deaths of millions of children, especially in northern Nigeria.
“Please intervene and call for a public hearing, for an open public discussion on the pros and cons with expert opinions from both sides. This will help the Nigerian people to be better informed about granting or withholding consent for the vaccination.
“Your intervention could save millions of lives, especially in northern Nigeria, where meningitis is most endemic, particularly at this time of serious insecurity,” Njemanze warned.
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