The Federal Government has announced the removal of excise duty for telecom sub-sector of Nigeria's Digital Economy Industry in line with the recommendations of the Committee it constituted to review the applicability of the Duty to the telecom sector which is considered already overburdened with taxation and sundry levies. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this on Tuesday (today) at a press briefing organised to provide updates on the status of the 5 per cent excise duty, whose applicability to the telecom sector was objected by the Minister in August 2022, following which President Muhammadu Buhari suspended its application to the telecom sector and set up a Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in the Digital Economy Sector. Pantami, who is the Chairman of the Committee, specifically set up for the purpose of reviewing the proposed excise duty in the telecom sector, said the Committee had carried out its national assignment and accordingly submitted its report to the President, justifying why the sector should be exempted. The Minister said the Committee’s submissions can be summed up in three arguments put forward to justify why additional burden in form of taxes or any level should not be imposed on the telecom sector to prevent a reversal of the important contribution the sector is making to the growth of the Nigerian economy. “Our justifications are based on three premises: First, is the fact that operators in the telecoms sub-sector of the digital economy industry currently pay no fewer than 41 different categories of taxes, levies and charges; secondly, that telecoms has continued to be a major contributor to Nigerian economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product Contribution (GDP). “The third ground for contesting the Excise Duty in telecom sector is the fact that, despite increase in the cost of all factors
Business
Dangote Overtakes Four Foreigners On Billionaires’ List – Naijanewsdirect
Nigerian business tycoon, Aliko Dangote, overtook two Russians, one Chinese and an Indian on the billionaires’ list on Monday, after making N460bn in a day. The Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group made the profit following increased demand for Dangote Cement, beating his fellow billionaires by earning about $100 million. He maintains a majority share at his Cement company, following the company’s announcement of a significant share buyback two weeks ago. According to Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Dangote remains Africa’s richest man, a feat he has maintained for 12 years in a row.
GTCO Set To Delight Food Lovers With Annual Food & Drink Festival
The annual GTCO Food & Drink Festival is back again for its 6th Edition, and food lovers across Africa and the world are in for a feast like never before! The event is slated to hold from Saturday April 29th till Monday May 1st 2023, at GTCentre, Plot 1 Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, providing a 3-day weekend of food and endless celebration. The GTCO Food & Drink Festival brings together the greatest minds on the global culinary stage, the most industrious Nigerian small food business owners, a world class, state-of-the-art children’s play area, merging them all to give attendees the most memorable food and drink event. Commenting on the 2023 GTCO Food and Drink Festival, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Segun Agbaje, said; “Food and drink are intrinsically social things, and best enjoyed when shared. We understand the value of bringing together businesses and consumers who are passionate about food and have continued to inspire new ways to experience life through food and drink. The continuing success of our free-business platforms reflect our unchanging commitment to Promoting Enterprise and echoes our brand promise of creating Great Experiences.” Constantly innovating the space and on a quest to continue creating great experiences for all stakeholders, GTCO Food & Drink will be expanding its capacity by creating more opportunities for more businesses and increasing its highly coveted vendor stalls from 142 to 204, giving even more innovative and assiduous business owners the chance to not only showcase their businesses to the over 250,000 foodies in attendance, but also engage with their customer base and learn from a confluence of other great-minded food entrepreneurs. The event will also feature three premier DJs in Africa, setting the scene for a weekend of celebration, food, drink, and togetherness. Guaranty Trust Holding
NCC Launches Consumer TELCARE Centre At Abuja Airport – Naijanewsdirect
The public concourse at the Terminal C of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja is the first beneficiary of a Telecom Consumer Assistance, Resolution and Enquires (TELCARE) Centre unveiled by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was as one of the series of events to mark the 2023 International Consumers Rights Day celebrated by the Commission in Abuja last week Wednesday. The Chairman, Board of Commissioners of NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, who unveiled the initiative, said the launch of the TELCARE, is the beginning of the helpdesk project expected to adorn some airports and other similar public locations across the country. He said it is one of NCC's strategies for expanding the channels of engagement with telecom consumers. Akande said the project is a deliberate effort by the Commission to amplify its commitment to promoting the interest of consumers using various engagement strategies and initiatives to protect, inform, and educate telecom consumers. While expressing gratitude to the Management of the Federal Airport Authority Nigeria (FAAN) for its support in ensuring the successful establishment of a TELCARE Desk at the airport, Akande reiterated that the platform would serve as an additional channel for consumers to make enquiries on consumer issues, allowing the Commission to provide advocacy on consumer concerns as well as create awareness regarding Commission’s activities. The Commission, under the leadership of its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, has continued to re-engineer its strategies and structures to make them more effective to engage critical stakeholders to address unfair practices including but not limited to matters relating to tariffs. In his goodwill message, the Regional General Manager, FAAN, Kabir Mohammed, said that the Management of FAAN was delighted to partner with the NCC on the initiative, as the passengers and airport users will have the opportunity to resolve issues bothering them while in transit. Mohammed also noted that the
Olam Agri Partners Asian Research College To Improve Sustainability In Agric Sector
In a bid to strengthen Nigeria’s agriculture sector, Olam Agri, a leading agribusiness in food, feed and fibre, has partnered with Nanyang Technological University, a leading global research college in Singapore. The agribusiness sponsored the recently-concluded Singapore Business Case Competition X African Challenge 2023 organised by the institution to craft innovative, sustainable strategies targeted at raising the resilience level of the local food value chain. The Singapore Business Case Competition is an innovative competition that is centred on Africa. It featured 34 teams comprising 135 undergraduates from over 11 universities which made presentations on climate-smart strategies to Olam Agri with a focus on how to improve Nigeria’s agriculture sector, tackle climate threats, and address the topographic and systemic challenges impeding the achievement of food security. The contest was launched on February 25th, 2023, and concluded with team TPG Consulting emerging as the overall winner on March 11. The team TPG Consulting presented solutions that seek to optimise fish farming, meet rising local demands for aquatic foods, mitigate challenges in the poultry segment, reduce cattle herd migration, utilize tech to raise efficiency in handling seed-to-harvest circles in key crop areas, reduce agriculture waste, raise the employment potential of agriculture amongst others. The team won a $1,500 prize in addition to an all-expense paid trip to Nigeria to implement their solutions. Speaking on the contest, Ashish Pande, the Country Head for Olam Agri Nigeria, said, “We are glad to have allowed the smart, young minds to come up with idea case studies that are capable of improving the resilience of our food supply chain. Especially, the ideas represent a huge lever for unlocking the potential of the aqua and poultry segments, and raising protein consumption on the continent.” “The latest investment actions are parts of our signature value chain development drive through the Seeds for the
Sterling Bank Shines Spotlight On Creative Industries Potential
“Nigeria’s leading financial institution, Sterling Bank Plc, has reiterated its determination to empower and energise the creative industry because of its strategic importance to the economic growth of Nigeria.” Head of Media and Entertainment Financing at Sterling Bank, Mr. Olanrewaju Olalusi, disclosed the above at the weekend in Lagos while addressing participants at a seminar organised by the Legends of Nollywood with the theme: “Empowering the Nigerian Film Industry – Actualizing Your Resources.” He said the bank had begun exploring financing of the creative industries in addition to its HEART sectors programme because of its importance to the national economy. Sterling Bank has become renowned for its strategic focus and investments in the Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation sectors of the Nigerian economy. These sectors have been affectionately dubbed the HEART of Sterling, and our HEART has contributed immensely to the growth of the bank, the sectors and the Nigerian economy. Olalusi said it is important for artists to leverage funding from financial institutions to scale the level of their operations, remarking that the bank has set up a desk for the purpose of financing practitioners in the creative industry, information technology (IT) and animation, among others. “We are open to having conversations with partners in the creative industry on the way forward.” He said. He said that the industry was bustling with amazing talent and potential. But he highlighted a key challenge confronting the industry; a lack of viable business plans on the commercial perspective of creativity to show investors. He continued by saying that there is a growing need for artists to separate their businesses from themselves and focus on improving their access to infrastructure and a ready market for their creative expressions. Through collaborations with dedicated partners like Sterling, creatives can better their lot, both creatively and commercially, by leveraging financial advisory services,
NCC Approves Harmonized Short Codes For Mobile Networks, Directs Implementation
In line with its consumer-centric approach to telecoms regulation, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed mobile network operators (MNOs) to commence implementation of approved harmonised short codes (HSC) for providing certain services to telecom consumers in Nigeria. The Commission has already set a deadline of May 17, 2023, for all mobile networks to fully migrate from hitherto diverse short codes to the harmonised codes. The use of harmonised short codes is aimed at achieving uniformity in common short codes across networks. This means that the code for checking airtime balance is the same across all mobile networks for the same function, irrespective of the network a consumer uses. With the new codes, the telecom consumers using the over 226 million active mobile lines in the country, can now use the same codes to access services across the networks. Consequently, under the new harmonised short codes regime, 13 common short codes have been approved by the Commission. They include the following codes: 300 to be used as the harmonised code for Call Centre/Help Desk on all mobile networks; 301 for voice Mail Deposit; 302 for Voice Mail Retrieval; 303 for Borrow Services; 305 for STOP Service; 310 for Check Balance, and 311 for Credit Recharge. Also, the common code for Data Plan across networks is now 312. In line with the new direction, 321 is for Share Services, while 323 is for Data Plan Balance. The code, 996, is now for Verification of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration/NIN-SIM Linkage. The code, 2442, is retained for Do-Not-Disturb (DND) unsolicited messaging complaint management, while the common code, 3232, is also retained for Porting Services, otherwise called Mobile Number Portability. The old and new harmonised short codes will run concurrently up until the May 17, 2023, when all networks are expected to have fully migrated to full implementation of the new codes. The period between now and May 17, 2023 is provided by the NCC to enable telecom consumers to familiarise
IWD: Speakers At Polaris Bank Webinar Advocate for Empowerment of Women in The Workplace, Society
A call has gone to organizations operating across all sectors in the country to create opportunities that empower women to fulfill their full potential for the good of society. The call was made by CEO of Digital Jewels, Adedoyin Odunfa while speaking as a Guest Speaker at the Webinar organized by Polaris Bank Limited themed: Advancing Women Empowerment through the Adoption of Technological Innovation and Digital Education to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day which held in Lagos last week. Focusing on the IWD 2023 theme: #EmbraceEquity, Odunfa while addressing gender imbalance in the workplace, cited statistics that show that women make up only 46 percent of the workplace and less than 25 percent of them end up in leadership positions. She pointed out the need to address gender imbalance and prevailing conscious and unconscious biases against women. She also emphasized the need to intentionally empower women with technological innovation rather than just pay lip service to it. According to Odunfa, one of the ways to create these opportunities is to have more women in the workplace to develop products and services that empower women. She also highlighted the need to intentionally target women for instance, in the design of financial services and products to make them more accessible, affordable, and relevant. To achieve this, Odunfa called for improved financial literacy and investment in education, as well as training for gender parity in the workplace and marketplace. This sentiment was echoed by two other Panelists at the webinar: Chinyelu Chikwendu, a Director with Vatebra TechHub and Ededayo Durosinmi-Etti, CEO of Herconomy. Also contributing at the session as a Panelist, Dr. (Mrs.) Amina Sambo-Magaji, an AI specialist, Researcher and Tech policy maker, emphasized the need for collaboration and a system approach to promote gender equality in the digital space. Dr. Sambo-Magaji, a distinguished Humphrey Fellow, who doubles as
“Buhari Never Asked Emefiele, Malami To Disobey Supreme Court Order”
President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement on Monday said he never told the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to disobey any court orders involving the government and other parties. This was made known in a statement released by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday. According to the statement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has no reason not to comply with the Supreme Court order on naira redesign on the excuse of waiting for directives from President Muhammadu Buhari. Recall that the CBN had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from 31 January to 10 February following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court, after a suit filed by the States, held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the 10 February deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue. However, the President, in a national broadcast on February 16, directed the apex bank to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes for 60 days — by April 10, 2023. He also said old N500 and N1,000 banknotes cease to be legal tender in Nigeria. There has been a flurry of reactions and stark criticisms against the President’s directive including from governors of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Umar Ganduje (Kano); Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo; and many stalwarts of the ruling APC had openly censured and faulted the President’s directive, arguing that it has no grounds because the case is before the apex court. Leading Senior Advocates of Nigeria like
Emefiele Directs Commercial Banks To Receive Old Naira Notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered commercial banks across Nigeria to start receiving old N200, N500 and N1000 notes. This was disclosed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Anambra State Governor, via a post on his Facebook page on Monday. He noted that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, confirmed to him that commercial banks could dispense and accept old notes from customers. “Commercial banks have been directed by the Central Bank to dispense old currency notes and to also receive the same as deposits from customers. Tellers at the commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits. “The Governor of the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, 12th March, 2023. The Governor, Dr Godwin Emefiele, personally confirmed the above to me during a phone conversation on Sunday night. “Residents of Anambra are therefore advised to freely accept and transact their businesses with the old currency notes (N200; N500; and N1,000) as well as the new notes. “Residents should report any bank that refuses to accept deposits of the old notes. The Anambra State Government will not only report such a bank to the CBN, but will also immediately shut down the defaulting branch,” he stated.