Telecom
NDSF2021: Citizens Participation Enhances Digital Cooperation in Digital Economy says Uzor
Citizens’ participation in digital cooperation for enhanced multi-stakeholder governance in a digital economy, would engender public policy designs and inclusion of citizenry, according to chief executive officer, Wisdom Computer Technologies, Mr. Francis Uzor, at the 2021 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D), which held weekend at the Golden Tulip Essential Hotel, International Airport Road, Lagos.
Uzor who led discussion on “Citizens Participation in Digital Cooperation for Enhanced Multi-stakeholder Governance for Digital Economy” noted that it would help immensely when citizens participate in the designing of public policies, in addition to facilitating their participation and inclusion, even from the regions, which enables systematization and integration of citizen demands, just as it would help in generating new communication channels between the government and citizens in a fast changing digital world.
Citizens, he said should participate in digital cooperation so as to reduce cost of consultancies thereby availing communities challenges to be brought to the fore for leadership actions, and afford the government and its agencies to identify recurring issues so as to deal with such accordingly for a better society.
As said by him, enhancing Multistakeholder governance for digital economy, Uzor said comes in the Government to Citizens (G2C) channel of engagement which makes electronic governance (e-governance) to blossom, stressing that it provides citizens with variety of online information and e-services in an efficient and cost-effective manner, thereby strengthening the relationship between government and citizens using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).
“G2C services allow citizens to access government documents, for instance legislations and regulations; make transactions like taxes and utility bills and application for facilities and grants,” he said at the event hosted by ITREALMS Media group, outlining some samples of citizens participation applications (apps) such as “FixMyStreet “in the United Kingdom; “Better Reykjavik” in Iceland and “Ushahidi” in Kenya.
FixMyStreet app, he said, is a youth platform that allows reporting of problems for change in Boston’s budgetary process and led by young minds between the ages of 12 and 25 with the ability to decide where city budget worth $1,000,000 could be spent.
The Better Reykjavik of Iceland, he said, is an online consultation forum where citizens are given the chance to present their ideas on issues regarding services and operations of the City of Reykjavík. While Kenyan’s Ushahidi was developed to map violence areas in the country after the post-election violence in 2008.
Further, he cited the #EndSARS protest of 2020, saying that most government nationwide listened to the demands of the youth which led to the setting up of judicial panel of inquiries across board.
“#EndSARS movement moved from Twitter to Nigerian streets and even Nigerians in diaspora,” insisting that the world is shifting from analog to digital faster than ever before and has brought to the society many incredible benefits as well as growing digital divides, cyber-attacks and human rights violations online.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians especially the youth to leverage technologies toward contributing to policies and governance in their environs even if the political class thinks they are not making a digital sense.
The 2021 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on IG4D, organized by ITREALMS Media was chaired by the President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Adesina Sodiya, who was represented by Dr. Olusoji Okunoye, with the theme: Digital Cooperation: Enhancing Multistakeholder Governance for Digital Economy.
Nigeria’s technology company, Globacom, has extended warm felicitations to Nigerians on the occasion of the 2024 Christmas celebrations.
In a goodwill message released in Lagos, Globacom urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of love and kindness during the festive season, especially in the face of prevailing economic challenges.
The company emphasized the importance of practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the virtues of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor as well.
“Christ taught many virtues including obedience to God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself”, the company said, adding, “Now is the apt time to practise these teachings by sharing with the needy”.
Globacom also encouraged Nigerians to extend the conviviality of Christmas beyond the festive season by fostering love, peace, and harmony, as demonstrated by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Assuring its customers of uninterrupted services throughout the Yuletide period and beyond, Globacom urged them to take advantage of its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the memories of the season with loved ones.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute before January 2, 2025.
The CBN and NCC also directed banks to pay the pre-Application Programming Interfaces (API) debt before July 2, 2025.
They also ordered that post-API debts be settled before December 31, 2024.
The directive was issued in a joint cirular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular dated December 20, 2024, was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, acting director of the Payments System Management Department, CBN, and Chizua Whyte, head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC.
The regulators said, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement.
“Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.
“DMBs must pay 85 per cent of all outstanding invoices issued after the implementation of APIs (i.e., February 2022) by December 31, 2024.
“Similarly, 85 per cent of future invoices must be liquidated within one month of service.”
According to the regulators, the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment conditions cobtained in the circular.
CBN and the NCC said they would provide further guidance on public enlightenment initiatives related to the transition.
The regulators also directed MNOs to implement the “10-seconds rule” for USSD invoicing.
This implies that any session lasting less than ten seconds will not be billable.
The regulators added, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled a draft regulatory framework aimed at addressing fraud, spam, and other challenges in the Application-to-Person messaging sector.
The telecom regulator made this announcement in a statement.
The proposed framework, which was introduced during a virtual Stakeholders’ Forum, is said to be a key step towards enhancing the sector’s integrity and ensuring a fair, transparent environment for all parties involved.
The draft framework, presented by Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, NCC, who was represented by Chizua Whyte, NCC’s acting head of legal and regulatory services, seeks to regulate the A2P messaging space.
The A2P messaging, used for notifications such as bank alerts, promotional campaigns, and government updates, has become a vital communication tool in Nigeria.
However, the sector faces significant challenges, including consumer protection concerns, fraud, and data privacy issues, as well as an unequal distribution of value within the ecosystem.
“The international A2P messaging space in Nigeria faces gaps that have led to issues such as fraud, spam, and data privacy concerns. These challenges threaten the sustainable growth of this communication tool,” the NCC said.
The proposed framework aims to address these challenges by protecting consumers, promoting fair competition, and holding service providers accountable.
“This forum marks a pivotal step towards addressing these challenges. We are here to engage with all stakeholders—operators, aggregators, businesses, service providers, and consumers—to refine the framework and ensure it meets the needs of the entire ecosystem.”
The NCC stressed the importance of inclusivity and collaboration in creating an effective regulatory environment.
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