General News
Mafab Telecommunication Launches 5G Network
Mafab Telecommunication Company on Tuesday inaugurated the Fifth Generation (5G) network and unveiled its logo in Abuja.
Dr Mushabu Bashir, Chairman of Mafab, said the launch had added another chapter in its journey towards a brighter and stronger future filled with hope and prospects.
Bashir said with the 5G, business outfits would expand their frontiers with operational ease and speed, especially in the fields of education.
Other fields are medical sciences, engineering, security, businesses like the banking sector, SMEs and smart cities, among others.
He said 5G would not just benefit the urban areas but also meet long-term goals of ensuring that rural areas and villages enjoyed benefits of this amazing technology.
“The rollout of Mafab 5G network is the beginning of immense opportunities for the country as it represents Nigeria’s capabilities and infinite possibilities.
“The prospect of increased job opportunities as a consequence of the value-chain benefits the technology will generate and offer is the dream we have all gathered here to launch today,” he said.
Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said that on Jan. 25, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the National 5G Policy for Nigeria’s digital economy.
Pantami said as the Chairman of the National Frequency Management Council, he handed over the frequency spectrum to NCC and it conducted a transparent auctioning where two operators emerged as the winners, MAFAB and MTN.
“MTN commenced the roll out and now MAFAB has joined the queue, I congratulate the Chairman of MAFAB for his commitment to the success of MAFAB.
“It is absolutely difficult to have a new player who joined the sector within a small period of time and also to be competing with some of the active players in the sector”, he said.
Pantamis said 5G had enormous benefits for security institutions, “because there are technologies in security that leverage on it which allows security institutions to properly manage security situations.
“5G allows real time communications, and this has so many benefits to our security institutions to manage challenges effectively, like robots.
“There are so many technologies and artificial intelligence to help our security institutions.
“All of them leverage effectively on 5G, so this is in addition to economic benefits”, he said.
The minister said there were many benefits of 5G, most importantly towards economic development.
According to him, a research conducted by Boston Consulting limited in the USA in February 2021 had indicated that the rollout of 5G in the US would increase their gross domestic product.
Pantami said: “This will increase within 10 years by a minimum of 1.4 trillion USD to 1.9 trillion USD.
“So, the benefits of 5G deployment is beyond just quality of service.”
The minister said there were so many benefits because new technologies come along with new benefits like low latency, very high quality broadband and faster network.
Pantami added: “It allows real time communication or almost near real time communication.
“Today using 5G virtual surgery is being conducted globally. They did in the US and also in China.
“The recently conducted a virtual surgery where the distance between the surgeon and the patient is over 3000 kilometers but the surgery was conducted successfully treatment of Parkinson’s in China, they did it also recently.”
In his presentation, Mafab’s Communications spokesperson, Mr Adebayo Onigbanjo, while unveiling the company’s new logo, said, “as an operator born in the data age, Mafab will aim to serve customers.”
Onigbanjo said that it would also serve the country by maximising the value of the digital technology.
“While 5G brings a lot of excitement about fast downloads, low latency and high speeds, our promise is ubiquitous data for Nigerians.
“Broadband is now an essential requirement and our data native network aims to deliver this to Nigerians,” Onigbanjo said.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that MTN Nigeria and MAFAB Communications won the 5G licenses of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction conducted on December 13, 2021.
They paid $547.2 million licence fee each to the Federal Government by Feb. 24, 2022.
The company also used the opportunity of the launch of its 5G services to unveil a brand-new logo, which it said heralded the dawn of a new era of infinite possibilities which the technology offered. (NAN)
Nigeria’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is on a fast-growing trajectory and is predicted to be valued $2.61 billion by 2030, up 83% from $1.42 billion in 2024, owing primarily to the rapid emergence of fintechs in the country.
This observation was stated in EnterpriseNGR’s State of Enterprise 2025 report, which focuses on how fintechs are reshaping Nigeria’s business landscape through digital innovations, accessible credit systems, and mobile-first financial tools.
As a credit system, BNPL allows users to stagger payments for products and services, making it a key development driver in Nigeria’s developing digital economy.
From 2021 to 2024, the BNPL experienced a compounded annual growth rate of 23.1%. Fintechs have contributed to the rapid growth by providing a range of flexible loan alternatives for e-commerce, retail, and services, bridging financial gaps for millions of disadvantaged Nigerians.
The report highlights how fintechs have contributed to Nigeria’s flexibility and resiliency by simplifying digital payments, automating invoicing and payroll systems, and democratising credit through platforms such as Renmoney and FairMoney.
The report also shows a significant rise in remittance inflows into Nigeria following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2024 policy adjustments.
According to the report, by 2024, Nigeria boasted over 400 licensed digital lenders who extend collateral-free credit to those commonly excluded by banks.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) strengthened bilateral relations with the Netherlands’ government through an agreement targeted at improving migration governance and border security.
This partnership was confirmed during a meeting at the NIS headquarters in Abuja, which was attended by a Dutch team led by Jurgen Bartelink, Chargé D’Affaires of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nigeria.
The meeting focused on increasing bilateral migration cooperation and came after the comptroller general of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, paid a working visit to the Netherlands.
Under the agreement, the Dutch government pledged to continue supporting technology-driven solutions targeted at boosting Nigeria’s border control systems and improving migration management.
During the Netherlands Embassy diplomats handed over essential operational tools, such as Edison Software licence keys and the Passport Examination Programme Manual App.
According to NIS spokeswoman ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, “The partnership focuses on enhancing bilateral collaboration on migration management and reviewing ongoing capacity-building efforts.”
Bartelink, Chargé d’Affaires of the Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria, underlined the Netherlands’ commitment to helping Nigeria’s continuing border security and migration reforms.
Also speaking, Rob Bokhoven, head of international affairs, repatriation, and deportation services at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, emphasised the country’s strong bilateral relations and announced plans to share a mobile border software solution with the NIS.
Receiving the equipment, Nandap said the delivery of the gadgets would boost West African country’s border security, significantly improve the service’s document verification border management capabilities and support the implementation of Nigeria’s National Migration Policy.
“The engagement will further reinforce the strategic partnership between Nigeria and the Netherlands advancing shared goals in migration governance, border security and international cooperation,” she added.
Peter Enogb, principal country economist, African Development Bank (AfDB), says the rise in global uncertainty, emanating from increases in global trade tariffs, has slowed Nigeria’s projected growth to 3.2% in 2025.
“Without this level of heightened uncertainty, our projections would probably have been somewhat higher. We’ve reduced our projections for Nigeria. We initially were projecting 3.5% – 3.6% growth in 2025.
“But given the current situation, our models are showing that we’re taking a more cautious approach. So that’s why we produced this and, of course, the main driver is uncertainty in the global economy,” Enogb said.
He said this at the launch of the 2025 Nigeria Country Focus Report (CFR) on Thursday.
AFDB projected that real GDP growth would hit 3.1% in 2026. Following the 2024 consumer price index (CPI) rebasing, with lower weights for food items, the inflation rate is expected to reduce over the medium term to 24.7% in 2025 and 17.3% in 2026.
As imports start to rise over the medium term, the current account is projected to decline to 3.9% of GDP in 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation slowed for the second consecutive month to 22.97% in May. This is down from 24.48% at the start of the year
This is contrary to the World Bank projection that Nigeria’s economy would record steady growth of 3.6% despite the shift in the global trade dynamics.
Joseph Ogebe, head of research and development at Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), also said that global uncertainty had been very high in recent times, resulting from the Trump 2.0 effect.
“And also with the recent war between Israel and the international community, we’ve seen what’s happening to oil prices. Even with the call-off of the war, we’ve seen the effect on oil prices too, which has implications on the fiscal side. So it has implications for the general economy,” he said.
The head of research at NESG said that rather than focusing on just growth, what should be looked at is a strategy called growth with depth.
“Growth with depth means that your growth must be diversified, export-led, productive, and technologically driven,” he said.
Ogebe said that if the Government works towards adopting a strategy of growth with depth, there is a tendency for the government to move towards its goal of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The report revealed that the country’s recent policy moves, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and tax reforms, reflect a commitment to long-term transformation.
However, it also pointed out that at about 13%, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is among the lowest in West Africa, noting that fiscal reforms are urgent.
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