Telecom
Softcom Harps on the Use of Technology to Meet SDGs 2030
Softcom, an indigenous technology company and technical partners to the Federal Government of Nigeria on the N-Power project, hosted a conference with the theme: Combating Poverty: Role of Technology in driving social change in Africa.
The conference, which held at Softcom’s headquarters in Lagos, sought to advance technological solutions to Nigeria and Africa’s socio-economic development challenges in light of upcoming conversations at WEF on shaping inclusive growth, and creating high quality employment opportunities.
Speaking at the conference, Yomi Adedeji, CEO, Softcom said the 12 year old company is focused on addressing fundamental development issues tied to Identity, Payment, Data & Learning.
He said these four pillars formed the bedrock upon which any development initiative would rest.
“For any development initiative to be successful, we have to first solve the issue of identity.
“This is because a one-to-all approach at solving development issues will make little impact and limit sustainability.
“Individuals function within economic clusters or communities. It is important to take cognisance of these peculiarities in designing any intervention programme.”
Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, SSA to the Government on Job Creation, noted six pillars comprising identity, digital literacy, education, agriculture, financial services and health that would facilitate social inclusion and national development.
He added that strong government participation in policymaking, resource allocation and ecosystem development is required to fast track development in these areas.
Imoukhuede lauded Softcom and other partners on their technical expertise in implementing the N-Power project, describing Softcom’s intervention as the ‘eureka’ that brought government’s objectives to light.
“A traditional method of implementing the program would have limited enrolment and training delivery to fewer than 40,000 participants; however, with the aid of technology, the programme was able to enrol over 500,000 beneficiaries for the graduate and non-graduate programme across the 774 local governments in Nigeria”.
Expressing his delight at the successful implementation of the N-Power project, Imoukhuede stated, “Nigeria now has a transparent, replicable and scalable model that can be adopted across all tiers of government and for all types of development initiatives.
“N-Power will expand into other connected economic clusters that will ensure sustainability and inclusive growth.”
The critical role technology played in the implementation of the N-Power project from the application stage to selection, training and remuneration processes was emphasised.
Speaking further, Adedeji said “we designed a platform that guaranteed transparent recruitment, and beneficiary verification, which ensured that no ghost worker existed in the N-Power programme.
“In addition, the platform enabled effective and seamless multi-stakeholder collaboration.”
In his concluding remarks, Adedeji said “In order to lift whole communities out of poverty and ensure inclusive growth, our development must be led by data and planning, not just ideas.
“We must take advantage of technology to identify and enrol our people into the National identity system so everyone can be known and verified; we must democratize quality education, ensuring equal access for everyone, and aggressively drive financial inclusion to ensure that money and the services associated with it are universally accessible.”
The N-Power Impact Report was also launched at the event. A documented guide for institutions interested in replicating similar socio-economic development initiatives across Africa.
The SDG Agenda 2030 of ending poverty, ensuring equitable quality education, and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all was also referenced.
The event also featured a panel and open discussion session with outcomes that sought to drive an agenda for inclusion and social change for Africa’s accelerated development with technology as the driving force.
Dignitaries present at the event were: Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on job creation; Mr Kayode Pitan, Managing Director, Bank of Industry; Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, Executive Director Micro Enterprises, Bank of Industry; Mr Ernest Umakhihe, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning;
Others are Mr. Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS); Dr. Olatunde Adekola, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank Group; Mr Tobias Wolfgarten of German GIZ Operations; and Mrs Hilda Kragha, CEO, Jobberman.
Telecom
IHS Nigeria Hosts Telecom Industry Stakeholders to Discuss Protection of Critical National Infrastructure in Lagos State
IHS Nigeria, part of the IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) (“IHS Towers”) group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, recently hosted a high-level meeting of stakeholders in the telecommunications industry including regulators and law enforcement agencies, at its corporate headquarters in Lagos.
The meeting was organized to develop a multi-stakeholder action plan for the protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) assets in Lagos state.
Recognizing the importance of communications infrastructure as the backbone of national security, economic growth and social cohesion, the stakeholders at the meeting convened under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) agreed on the urgent need for collaborative solutions to ensure the protection of these vital assets.
The meeting was attended by senior representatives from the telecommunications stakeholder groups and regulatory bodies including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA).
Also in attendance were representatives from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and InfraCos as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security agency tasked with the protection of Critical National Infrastructure across the country.
Following extensive deliberations, the stakeholders resolved to establish a working group dedicated to addressing key industry challenges, including the vandalization and theft of telecommunications infrastructure, arbitrary shutdown of base stations, fiber cuts due to road construction and the denial of access by unauthorized individuals by leveraging technology for real-time monitoring and protection, strengthening security measures around telecommunication sites and collaborating more with the security and regulatory agencies to mitigate these challenges.
The stakeholders underscored the need to prioritize deterrence and prevention of these incidents and highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns to sensitize the host communities and public of the need to protect telecommunications infrastructure in their localities.
Dapo Otunla, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria, commented, “The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders.
“We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact on the quality of service delivered to subscribers. Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations.”
Over 1ooo athletes are already set to participate in the upcoming MTN Champs Continental Relays, taking place between April 9 and April 12 at the UNILAG and Yabatech Sports complexes. Organisers anticipate even more registrations before the April 2 deadline.
MTN Champs is Nigeria’s largest grassroots sports competition, a collaboration between MTN Nigeria and Making of Champs (MoC), providing a platform for young athletes to showcase their talents and potentially represent Nigeria on the global stage.
Osaze Ebueku, Senior Manager, Go-to-Market at MTN Nigeria at the opening ceremony of the MTN Champs Classics events in Benin had emphasised the long-term vision behind MTN Champs: “We’re building future Olympians for Nigeria. MTN Champs is about more than competition. It’s about changing lives.”
The continental relays mark the second leg of the MTN Champs Season 3, following the Classics competition in Benin, which saw 4,371 event entries from 2,056 athletes.
As of March 24, the Lagos leg had already recorded 2,821 event entries across different age categories, highlighting the growing enthusiasm around the competition.
The registered athletes are spread across four categories, with 174 in the Cadet (U-14) category, 388 in Youth (U-17), 270 in Junior (U-20), and 279 in the Senior category.
To ensure smooth participation, organisers have outlined important guidelines. Athletes in the Cadet, Youth, and Junior categories must submit a signed Parental Consent Form, while all registered schools and athletes must collect their competition bibs by April 8 at the competition venue to confirm their participation and secure their place on the start list.
Sports enthusiasts can look forward to an electrifying showcase of emerging talent, as young athletes seize the opportunity to prove their skills on a professional stage.
Telecom
Again, Labour Fumes, Threatens Shutdown of Telcos over Non-Implementation of 15 Percent Tariff Reduction
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is threatening to shut down operations of telecommunications companies over their refusal to comment on the 15 percent reduction in telecom tariffs.
Recall that that organised labour, through the NLC, forced the federal government and NCC to reduce the telecommunications tariff hike from 50% to 35% after threatening to shut down telecom operations and the NCC in response to what it saw as exploitative economic policies amidst excruciating suffering, hardship, and deepening poverty.
The government had previously formed a 10-member committee, consisting of five government and NLC representatives, to deliberate on the thorny topic of tariff hikes within two weeks and report back before making a final decision on the new telecom tariff structure.
Consequently, on Friday, February 21, 2025, the committee, at a meeting conducted in the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) that lasted nearly three hours, decided on a 15 per cent tariff cut.
According to reports, in accordance with the conditions of the agreement, an official communiqué announcing the tariff reduction was scheduled to be released on Saturday, February 22.
According to Chronicle,iIt was said that the meeting began at 4:00 p.m. and concluded around 7:00 p.m., during which NLC representatives insisted that the tariff hike be withdrawn.
According to sources, after significant pressure from NLC representatives in the 10-man committee, the government and NCC gave up and agreed on the 15% decrease, which the government or NCC should have announced the next day.
However, at the time of this report, no such announcement has been made.
Leaders of the labour union are not taking the government’s failure to announce or implement the 15% tariff decrease lightly, suspecting that they have been duped.
The Labour leaders have therefore resolved to directly confront the NCC and telecommunications operators next week.
Though it has been reported that the date for the start of the industrial action against the NCC and telecom providers has been set and mobilisation is underway, the information is being closely guarded.
One of the leaders of the NLC stated that “We have received directives to commence mobilisation since last week. In fact, the date for the commencement of industrial action against the NCC and telecommunication operators’ offices across the country has been fixed. We have been warned not to disclose the date because the plan is to take all concerned by surprise. We are not giving any notice because we thought we had resolved this matter over a month ago. It is as if we have been scammed. Therefore, we have decided to confront the matter head-on.”
On February 12, the NLC expressed outrage over telecommunications companies’ tariff hikes, despite an earlier agreement with the Federal Government and the NCC.
According to the Labour union, “If the telecommunications companies fail to revert to the old tariff by the end of February 2025, a total shutdown of their operations nationwide will commence on March 1, 2025.”
To demonstrate its seriousness, the NLC declared that, as a first step in resisting the arbitrary tariff hike, it directed that workers and other willing citizens boycott the services of MTN, AIRTEL, and GLO daily between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. until the end.
On Tuesday, February 11, NLC leaders issued a communiqué at the conclusion of their Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State, urging workers and citizens to suspend data purchases from telecommunications companies, which have also become one of their most effective tools for exploiting Nigerian citizens.
The communiqué, signed by Joe Ajaero and Emma Ugboaja, Congress’ President and General Secretary, respectively, instructed NLC State Councils and industrial union affiliates to quickly sensitise and mobilise their members and the general public in their jurisdictions.
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