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WhatsApp Tallies 700m Monthly Active Users

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WhatsApp, one of the world’s most popular messaging services, is still rising in popularity. The company, whose app is used by people around the world to send texts without paying carrier fees, said 700 million people now use its app each month, up from 600 million in August. Users are sending 30 billion messages per day, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum wrote in a Facebook post.

That makes it one of the world’s largest social networks — bigger than Twitter’s 284 million or even its corporate cousin, the photo-sharing service Instagram, which tallied 300 million users last month. Facebook itself, however, is still bigger, topping 1.3 billion users signing in each month.

“We’re grateful that so many of you are using WhatsApp to stay in touch with your friends and family, business colleagues and classmates,” Koum wrote.

The latest data could help Facebook tamp down investors’ fears about its acquisition strategy, despite the $19 billion purchase price, one of the largest deals in Silicon Valley history.

A WhatsApp spokesman declined to say how many users are paying customers, or whether its growth has met Facebook’s expectations.

Facebook has begun to feel pressure from investors struggling to accept Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s view that his growing list of acquired businesses and services won’t become meaningful until they hit 1 billion users. “Over a five-year time frame,” Zuckerberg said last year, “we have a number of services which we think are well on their way to reaching 1 billion people: WhatsApp, Instagram and search are a number of them. And once we get to that scale, then we think that they will start to become meaningful businesses in their own right.”

Facebook told WhatsApp to keep costs in line and to run as close to break-even as possible while it closes in on the 1 billion user milestone. That line was similar to what it told some of its other acquired companies.

In his post, WhatsApp’s Koum vowed to continue improving the app. Late last year, WhatsApp added encryption for messages sent between its millions of Android users. That feature scrambles data to prevent messages from being hacked or monitored.


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TCN Reveals N8.8 Billion Expenditure on Restoring Destroyed Transmission Towers

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Federal Government has revealed that N8.8 billion has been spent to repair and restore power transmission towers across Nigeria that were destroyed by vandals and bandits.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engr. Suleiman Ahmed Abdulaziz, during the Quarterly Power Sector Working Group meeting in Abuja.

Engr. Abdulaziz, represented by the Executive Director of Transmission Service Provider (TSO), Engr. Olugbenga Emmanuel Ajiboye, disclosed that 128 transmission towers have been destroyed since January 13, 2024. He lamented the recurrence of vandalism despite the arrests of perpetrators, citing ineffective prosecution as a significant challenge.

“Till date, we have spent about N8.8 billion, by our estimation, to put them back to full and functional use,” Abdulaziz said. “It is so sad that each time the vandals were caught and taken to police for prosecution, police would incident them for theft instead of vandalism, and they will be bailed. If they are charged for vandalism, they cannot be bailed, but this is where we are.”

Highlighting the severity of the situation, Abdulaziz noted the challenges faced during the restoration of the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna transmission towers. “We had to get full military escorts for our contractors to restore the transmission lines and towers.

“In some cases, they would only allow us to work for two hours a day, and at times, they declared the area unsafe for operations.

“How can we deliver electricity to Nigerians under these terrible circumstances?”

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, represented by his Chief Technical Adviser, Mr. Adedayo Olowoniyi, outlined the government’s plans to collaborate with international partners to improve electricity access.

He revealed ongoing efforts with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide electricity to 50 million Nigerians by 2030 as part of the larger “Mission 300” initiative, which aims to bring electricity to 300 million Africans.

“Nigeria has a large population that is without electricity, and this is a great opportunity for us to be part of this process,” Adelabu said.

He added that the government’s strategy involves public and private sector partnerships focusing on solar systems, mini and micro grids, and grid extensions.

The Minister also announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to sign the Compact document for the Mission 300 project in Tanzania in January 2025. “The most important thing is that we have to drive the process by ourselves,” he emphasized.

The Nigerian power sector continues to grapple with numerous challenges, including vandalism, banditry, and insufficient infrastructure. The Federal Government has also faced criticism for inadequate security measures around critical power assets.


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Asein, DG NCC Seeks IP Policy for Every University

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Dr. John O. Asein, the Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has again stressed the need for every University to have an Intellectual Property (IP) Policy so as to maximize their innovative and creative potentials.

Dr. Asein made this point while formally presenting the revised Model Intellectual Property (IP) Policy to the General Assembly of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) in Abuja on 30th October 2024.

According to him, the Model Policy, which was developed by the Commission in collaboration with the CVCNU in 2021 was reissued as part of the Commission’s renewed effort to promote its adoption and implementation.

The Director-General thanked the immediate past Secretary General of CVCNU Prof. Yakubu Ochefu for supporting the initiative and working with the Commission to promote the sustainable use and effective management of IP in Nigerian universities.

Dr. Asein also called on tertiary institutions, as centres of learning and research, to introduce their faculties and students to the subject of intellectual property in line with global trends and to make Nigerian universities globally competitive.

To this end he assured Vice-Chancellors of the Commission’s readiness to help in the development and implementation of their policy.

“The Commission will work with other agencies, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to begin the intellectual property ranking of universities and celebrate those that excel in the respect, generation, use and commercilaisation of IP”, the Director-General assured.

Speaking on the WIPO Distance Learning (DL) courses on IP, the Director-General urged universities to infuse the WIPO DL 101 course, which is available online for free, into the General Studies course to give students basic knowledge of IP and equip them in their respective courses of study.

Receiving the copies on behalf of Nigerian Vice-Chcnellors, the Chairman CVCNU, Prof. Lilian Salami (Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin) commended the collaborative efforts of the Commission and AVCNU in developing the Model IP Policy and assured the Director-General of CVCNU’s continued commitment to working with the Commission, particularly in promoting better IP culture in universities.

The Model IP Policy was developed with the help of a team of Nigerian experts and with the support of the Nigerian University Commission (NUC), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).


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Court Orders Arrest of Echefu, Businessman over Alleged $651,280 Fraud

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A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Bwari area council, Abuja has ordered the arrest of Dr Bright Echefu, chief executive of Briech Intelligence Fusion Limited, a security company, over an allegation of $651, 280 fraud.

Court Orders Arrest of Echefu, Businessman over Alleged $651,280 Fraud

Echefu is said to have allegedly defrauded BCG NEEDS Company of the said amount under the pretence of supplying drones and accessories.

The court ordered Disu Olatunji, commissioner of Police, federal capital territory (FCT) to arrest Echefu and his company.

Echefu is also the managing director and chief executive officer of Telecom Satellite Television, according to Leadership Newspaper.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier arraigned the businessman at the federal high court over allegations of tax evasion, money laundering, and advanced fee fraud.

Okechikwu John Akweke, presiding judge, ordered Echefu’s arrest after the motion was moved by John Paul Eze Esq. of O. J. Law Consult.

Akweke said the order is to compel Echefu and his company appearances before the court in line with Section 113 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.


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