News
Starcomms to Ring in Calabar, Warri
Starcomms leading "triple-play" (mobile, fixed wireless voice, wireless broadband) provider is getting ready to connect Calabar and the oil rich State of Warri, Delta State to its network.
This in furtherance of the promise it made last year to connect more towns and cities to its ever expanding network.
The roll out is coming on the heels of the network’s earlier promise of ensuring that subscribers on its ever expanding network get the very best and latest in seamless communication.
The company recently added Abeokuta, Shagamu, and Ijebu-ode, onto its network coverage, and the addition of these two towns indicate the fastest growing network’s expansion project designed to cover the entire length of Africa’s most populous country.
Starcomms, which has already stamped its feet in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, is currently operating in key cities- as Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Shagamu, Ijebu Ode, Port Harcourt, Aba, Onitsha, Asaba, Benin, Abuja, Kano, Rano, Maiduguri , Kaduna, Zaria. With these two soon to be rolled out cities, Starcomms would be covering the 18 key cities of Nigeria. Plans are at an advanced stage to link other cities and towns this year, taking its footprint into 31 cities.
Outlining the company’s plans, Mr. Maher Qubain, chief executive officer, Starcomms, said the network launch in Calabar and Warri is part of an aggressive marketing drive aimed at making world class products and services available to all parts of the country, adding that the range of the company’s voice & CDMA 1x data products and services would be available.
He further stated that Starcomms presence in Calabar and Warri is part of the plan to cover the key cities of the country within the FY2008. We are driven by the feedback, which indicate a high demand for our services in the areas. Now is the time for subscribers to realize their yearnings. According to Mr. Qubain, the company’s roll out in Calabar and Warri is based on the fact that the art of communication should not be the preserve of a few, but the preserve of all. We promised our subscribers when we launched our 0702-8 range of mobile numbers that we will soon cover the length and breadth of Nigeria, Calabar and Warri roll out is another step in that direction.
The CEO said the company had long realized that to remain a leading player in the telecommunications industry, it must spread out to as many people and locations as possible, and this informed recent efforts to shore up the capital base through private placement and listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
"Starcomms would be showcasing and launching its entire product category ‘Mobile, Talkie’ desktop phone service, Data, Smart Center, Value Added Services, for customers to experience and enjoy our unique services and value propositions. The customers can approach the various authorized dealer outlets and Showroom to purchase the product of their need. The Mobile service would enable customers stay connected within and outside the two cities, thus, creating a high mobility on the 0702-8, and the recently launched 0702-9 number range," he said.
The company’s rapid surge is evident in the release of new number series in the 0702-9 block in less than a year and half, again becoming the first CDMA service provider to be doing so.
In 2002, the company re-tooled its systems and procedures to improve the capacity, quality and performance of its network to the CDMA 2000 1X RTT technology. On December 1, 2003, the company commenced operation in Kano followed by Maiduguri on the 15th of the same month, while the Port Harcourt office was commissioned in 2005. On August 1 2006, Starcomms became one of the first batches of operators to be licensed as a unified operator by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
On Monday July 14, 2008 Starcomms made history by becoming the first telecommunications operator in Nigeria to be quoted on The Nigerian Stock Exchange, a move that presented an excellent opportunity for every Nigerian to participate in one of the fastest growing and profitable sectors of the Nigerian economy. The N64.35 billion Private Placement was handled by Chapel Hill Advisory Partners Limited and Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, together with Morgan Stanley acting as international financial adviser and coordinator.
News
NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.
The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.
In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.
“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.
“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”
Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.
“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.
17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.
News
Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).
Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.
“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.
She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,
Learning through experience
Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.
Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.
Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.
Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.
World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.
The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.
The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.
News
CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.
Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.
The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.
It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.
Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.
He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.
According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.
“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.
“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”
The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.
He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.
Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.
“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.
“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.
“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.
The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.
All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.
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