₦airaland Forum

THE Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) says it will begin the sale of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms on March 20.

Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Head of Public Relations made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Bwari.

Benjamin said the date was fixed following an agreement that was reached on the harmonization of the examination timetable at a meeting with other exam bodies on Jan. 24. “We will begin the sale of the admission forms on March 20, while UTME is scheduled to hold in May.

“We are ready to commence the sales of the 2017/2018 admission forms for UTME and Direct Entry forms on the said date,’’ he said.
NAN reports that JAMB recently emphasized that it would organise an optional mock examination before the 2017 UTME.

Based on information published on its Twitter handle @JAMBHQ, the date of the Mock examination will soon be announced.

According to the board, the purpose of the mock examination is to allow candidates “FEEL’’ what the main examination will be like.

The board, however, said the mock examination would be “completely optional’’ as it would not be a pre-requirement for writing the actual UTME. It added that candidates can choose to either take the mock examination or not.

The board also disclosed that Interswitch Payment on the e-Facility portal has been temporarily disabled and that the list of its accredited centres soon be announced.

THE Senate has stated why it ordered Comptroller General of Customs, rtd Col Hameed Ali, to appear in the agency’s uniform.

The Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Lagos West) yesterday also explained that the Upper Legislative Chamber was also unhappy with Ali’s alleged refusal to respect the authority of the finance minister, who had the supervisory responsibility over the Customs Service.

Adeola said: “The All Progressives Congress APC-led government of President Muhammadu Buhari was elected on adherence to the rule of law and renunciation of impunity in any form. The story we hear daily is the arrogance and high-handedness of the CG and name-dropping of the president.”

The lawmaker further said that the Senate’s resolution for Ali to appear in the Nigeria Custom Service uniform and rank to explain his refusal to suspend the policy on duty on vehicles and other recent acts of the Customs was “to protect the organisational integrity and discipline.”

Adeola, who is also member of the Finance, Marine, Interior and Science and Technology committees of the Senate, said it is regrettable that as a retired army colonel, who should know the importance of uniforms, the Custom boss wants to demean and undermine the symbolic importance of uniforms, discipline as well as the authority it confers on the agency in its operation as a lawful body.

“We once had a Major General Haladu Hananiya as head of Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) wearing the agency’s uniform as well as a Major Danjuma Maigari wearing the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) agency uniform in Lagos State all in a bid to promote the agencies they lead,” he said.

Adeola maintained that military and paramilitary uniforms, inclusive of ranks are part of the symbol of legitimate authority conferred on the wearer to carry out certain duties on behalf of the government.

Former military President Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) says PDP can rule for 60 years “provided it can put its house in order”.

IBB said this on Saturday when he received leaders of the party at his Hilltop mansion in Minna, Niger state capital.

He claimed that PDP is the only political party, whose presence had been felt, known and accepted by the people.

“PDP’s presence is felt not only in Abuja or Lagos, but down to the lowest level,” he said.

“If you go to the grassroots, the ordinary man will talk about PDP; that is the asset the party has and should use to spring back to reckoning.

“Already, it is accepted and known. All you have to do is work harder and try to convince the people back to your fold.”

He also re-echoed his support for a two-party system, and declared that it was the best option toward deepening democracy.

“Gradually, my earlier suggestion about the practice of a two-party system is gradually coming to the fore in the country,” he said.

“In 1999, when I was advocating for a two-party system, some of my colleagues had their doubts, but I told them that it provides a choice, which is the first essence of democracy.”

Earlier, Jerry Gana, head of the delegation, had urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to allow opposition political parties to always voice their opinion on issues.

Gana also advised the APC to allow rival parties to develop so as to offer Nigerians other options “at all times”.

“The presence of opposition is key to democratic growth; we must allow Nigerians to listen to the other side,” he said.

He described Babangida as “a visionary leader, who read the future and advocated a two-party system long ago”.

sarrki:
Apostle go and talk ooo

If they find any reason to delay you 

Heaven will not fall

You are not above the law 

Nigeria is greater than any individual

ddippset:
so did the MURIC speak before the DSS attempted to arrest him last week? stop swimming in mischief, you are too old for that. or maybe you just decide to throw sincerity and decorum to the wind in an attempt to attract LIKES on nairaland.

Freedom of speech is about to be nailed.

I am wondering why the herdsmen who carried out the killings will still be parambulating around freely and someone who has decided to defend himself will now be hunted around.

Buhari's-led Nigeria, Shame on thee!

THE Department of States Services, DSS, has invited a senior Pastor of Omega Fire Ministries, OFM, Apostle Johnson Suleiman.




This invitation is coming two day after the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), called for his arrest over his unguided rant over herdsmen.

MURIC said the clergy is out to make the “country unsafe for law abiding Muslims and Fulanis.”

Recall that Suleiman has been in the news lately after he asked his members to kill any Fulani herdsmen seen around him and his church.

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose had foiled an attempt by operatives of the Department of States Services, DSS, to arrest the clergy man in Ado-Ekiti recently.

Suleiman, Social Times gathered was directed to appear at the agency's headquarters in Abuja on Monday.

The clergy has threatened to sue the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly attempting to arrest him.


Speaking to newsmen, Thursday, the chamber of Olayiwola Afolabi & Co said it has the blessing of Suleiman to take legal action against the DSS claiming “exemplary damages for its politically motivated moves against our client.”


Lead counsel of the company, Olayiwola Afolabi in company with William Usman, described the action of the DSS as “a Luciferic attack on a harmless, innocent and trustworthy citizen.”


Afolabi said they were baffled that their client, who is a public figure, was not just simply invited to clarify his statement, but chose a commando style to harass their client.


The Director of Media, OFM, Dr. Sule Emmanuel and Coordinator, Legal team, Samuel Amune yesterday assured that Suleiman was safe.


The church explained: “Suleiman was forced to call on Christians to defend themselves against these killers since the spate of killings, rather than abate, had been on the rise. Interestingly, the call by the man of God now became the focus of the Nigerian government, despite the fact that it evidently had failed to protect her people. It is now determined to exploit the instruments of the state to go after the man of God."

A cross section of Nigerians have continued to comment on the pictures of President Muhammadu Buhari , who is currently on a 10 - day working leave in London, UK .

The new picture , which was posted on Friday night, showed the president in a relaxed mood with some of his visitors, including Gov . Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun .
Others in the picture are some members of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ).

Some of the comments on the emergence of the picture include : “Despite all attempts to debunk the rumours , the wicked mischief makers have continued to spread their falsehood about President Buhari .

“ Here he is , in fulfilment of their death wish under intensive care . ”

Mr Kingsley Nwaeze , a social commentator, condemned those spreading the rumour about the president ’s health conditions .

He said on his twitter post: “My dear don’ t mind the fools . They are the enemies of this country and we shall overcome them . I stand with my President .

“ Imagine the stupidity of some people to wish death for a president of their country . How callous?

“ There are two things that you don ’t mock anybody with .. Death and old age … Nobody can stop them from happening … you become old and eventually die! May God safeguard and protect PMB now and always . ’’

Mr Usman Mohammed Ismail in his post said : “ Have you heard about the guy that wrote R . I . P on Buhari ’ s Photo on twitter ?

“ The Guy was arrested and taken to court and the Judge asked him what he meant by R .I .P ? The Guys says he meant REMAIN IN POWER ’’ .

Buhari , who left Nigeria on Jan . 19 , is scheduled to return home on Feb. 6 .

[NAN]

lalasticlala

THE Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has described the non-extension of invitation to President Muhammadu Buhari to attend United States of America President-Elect, Donald Trump’s inauguration as a clear signal that Buhari does not enjoy international relevance any more.

The governor, who said the 10 days vacation announced by the president could be to cover up the embarrassment, after all efforts to secure invitation to the inauguration failed, added that the development was a very clear signal that Buhari’s government will not enjoy tangible support from the new US government.

According to a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, Fayose said “there is no doubt that Buhari is not in the good books of the incoming US government,” arguing that Buhari’s frequent visit to US during Obama administration and the romance was due to the tacit support given to Buhari by Obama to win the 2015 election with deception.

He said; “with Obama’s role in the emergence of President Buhari, it can be said that he (Obama) is a member of the APC in the diaspora.”

Fayose continued; “There is more to it that in an important event like the inauguration of a new US President, our president will be missing in action.”



The governor wondered why the same Buhari, who was a regular visitor to the US under Obama, is today not part of the historic inauguration of a new administration.

“No doubt, something is fundamentally wrong because if there is hope of a future relationship between President Buhari and the new US President, they would have been celebrating his inauguration and would not have allowed Nigerians to hear any other news apart from Buhari going to America.

“Obviously, Buhari’s junketing to US that gulped $1 million per trip, has come to an inglorious end,” he said.

The governor, who congratulated Trump for winning against all odds, like he (Fayose) won his own election in Ekiti in 2014, appealed to the new American president to do everything humanly possible to save Nigeria from the wanton killings and horrid human rights abuses of the Buhari
administration.

He enjoined Trump to use his good offices to look into the daily killings in Nigeria particularly in Southern Kaduna where over 1,000 people were slaughtered like goats and buried in mass graves.

Fayose reiterated; “The Southern Kaduna killings is a clear case of genocide that must be thoroughly investigated and unraveled.

“To make matters worse was the bombing of the Internally Displaced Persons camp by the military in apparent desperation to cover up the corruption and mismanagement of affairs in the camp.

“We appeal to Trump to ensure that the voice of the opposition is not silenced in this country.”

Describing the emergence of Trump as the will of God despite human gang up, Fayose said that the opposition in Nigeria will work with the new American government.

Fayose also cited the reckless disobedience to court orders; the deliberate efforts to kill opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state; the intolerance of this administration which is second to none, victimization and hacking of opposition leaders’ telephone conversations under the guise of anti-corruption war; the bastardization of institutions of state such as the armed forces, INEC, Police, Department of State Security, compromising of a section of the Judiciary, and turning them all into jellies doing the bidding of the ruling party at the snapping of fingers are other possible reasons why Buhari was not invited to Trump’s inauguration.

He implored the new American president to put international pressure on the Buhari administration to restore true democracy to Nigeria.



“We however appreciate the non invitation of Buhari because that will give him the much needed opportunity to face the problems he inflicted on Nigeria, especially the IDP bombing, which left over 100 hapless Nigerians dead,” he said.

But responding to Fayose’s position, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said the president couldn’t have been subbed or embarrassed as the United States government ”does not invite sitting presidents or Heads of State to inauguration of their presidents”.

He said, ” Our President could, therefore, not have been snubbed.”

Shehu in a post on Twitter urged journalists and well meaning Nigerians to join in refuting what he tagged falsehood.

TROOPS from Senegal have entered The Gambia in furtherance of the mandate of the Economic Community of West African States to enthrone Adama Barrow as the president of the country.

Barrow was sworn in as the president of The Gambia at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal.

This followed the refusal of Yahya Jammeh to relinquish power after losing in a Den to Barrow.



Sequel to this, ECOWAS mandated its military to flush out Jammeh, with Nigeria contributing the air component of the attack.

A strong contingent of the Nigerian Air Force arrived in Senegal on Wednesday.

Senegalese Army spokesman, Colonel Abdou Ndiaye, confirmed the storming of The Gambia by the force.

In his inauguration speech, Barrow ordered all members of The Gambia’s armed forces to remain in their barracks.



“Those found illegally holding arms will be considered rebels,” he said.

THE Senate on Wednesday passed the Medium Term Expenditure Framework‎/Fiscal Strategy Paper three months after submission to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari had in September submitted MTEF/FSP for consideration to the National Assembly.

However, the consideration was delayed due what lawmakers described as “empty” MTEF.



At the consideration of the report‎ on Wednesday, the Senate carried all the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Finance, Appropriation and National Planning.

In the report, the Joint Committee recommended the adoption of $44.5 per barrel as the benchmark price for oil for the the 2017 budget.

The Senate adopted N305 to a dollar as exchange rate, but advised the Central Bank of Nigeria to initiate measures that would close the gap between the parallel market and the official exchange rate.

The Senate also adopted the projected N5.1 trillion for non-oil revenue in 2017 and N807.57 billion for Federal Government’s independent revenue for 2017.



The Senate adopted the Federal Government’s borrowing plans in 2017 but insisted that the borrowing should be on project-tied basis.

In his remarks after the passage of the MTEF, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, applauded the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma,‎ for his cooperation with the committees and urged him to continue to cooperate with them during budget defence.

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday moved to separate the office of Attorney-General of the Federal, AGF, from that of Minister of Justice.








The move followed the second reading of a Bill for an Act to alter the 1999 constitution to introduce the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation separate from the Minister of Justice.


Presenting the Bill, Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno), said that if passed, it would emphasise the independence of the AGF’s office and ensure it was not subjected to political consideration.


Mr. Monguno said that separation of the AGF’s office would allow for effective separation of power, adding that the two offices would be given the necessary environment to function optimally.


Mr. Monguno said, “The Attorney-General of the Federation, being the Chief Law Officer is empowered in Section 150 and 195 respectively of the 1999 Constitution to enter nolle prosequi.”


Nolle prosequi is an entry on the record of a legal action that denotes that the prosecutor or plaintiff will proceed no further in an action of suit either as a whole or as to some count or as to one or more of several defendants.


The lawmaker added that, “The power can only be exercised if office is free from any political interference.


“The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is such an office that should be seen to be Independent and not be subjected to some political consideration,


“His appointment should be seen to meet some standard in legal profession.


“The fact (is) that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) performs some quasi judicial functions hence, the need for the office to be separated from the Minister of or Commissioner for Justice.”


According to him, the AGF is the chief law officer of the federation and advises the government whether at the federal or state levels on matters relating to law generally.


“Whereas, the office of the minister of or commissioner for justice is political in nature, if read alongside other ministers or commissioners.


Mr. Monguno further advised that the office of the AGF should be based on merit and competence and the National Judicial Council be involved.


“It should be shielded from the vicissitudes of political influence”.


The Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, referred the bill to the special adhoc committee on constitutional review for further legislative action.


[NAN]

THE police on Tuesday released the picture of three of those who killed a senior employee of Dangote Industries Limited, Istafinus Bello.



According to the police, the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team arrested three of the kidnappers that murdered one and kidnapped five expatriate members of staff of DIL.


The IRT, said to be armed with credible intelligence, between November 27, 2016 and December 3, 2016 arrested three of the kidnappers: Abubakar Gide, 24; Abdullahi Salihu, 22; and Babuga Adamu, 25, in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State; Epe Forest, Lagos State; and Ajase Ipo Forest, Kwara State respectively.


The suspects confessed to kidnapping and releasing all five initial victims after receiving N5.6 million ransom.


They also confessed to kidnapping and murdering the ransom transporter, Bello.


A statement by the spokesman of the police, Don Awunah, added: “However, it is imperative relations of kidnap victim(s) should exercise considerable restraint in negotiating and paying ransom. It is absolutely important the negotiators of ransom should have confidence in the police.”


The suspects were said to have since led the police to their hideout in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State where three AK47 rifles, six AK47 magazines and 160 rounds of ammunition were recovered.


The suspects further led IRT operatives to Apoje River where the body of Bello was recovered.


Awunah said efforts are in progress to arrest other gang members who are currently at large in other states.


He added in the statement on Tuesday: “The IGP admonishes police officers not to get carried away by recent successes but instead redouble their efforts in the fight against crime; and has assured Nigerians that the police will remain undaunted in the collective fight against crime. As members of the public begin the yuletide celebrations, the police will ensure the celebrations are crime free.”

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday in Abuja passed a bill to set up the Ecclesiastical Court of Appeal in the country, through a second reading.



The bill is sponsored by Gyang Dung (PDP-Plateau) and eight others.


Presenting the bill during plenary, Mr. Dung said the Ecclesiastical courts, when established, would complement the regular courts in adjudicating in matters relating to the tenets of the Christian faith.


According to him, this shall be between individuals and groups that yield and submit to its jurisdiction.


Mr. Dung explained that the Ecclesiastical court shall exercise such appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in civil proceedings involving questions of Ecclesiastical law and Christian personal law.


The lawmaker said the amendment bill was seeking 14 alterations in sections 6, 84, 185, 240, 246, 247, 288, 289, 292 and 318 of the principal Act.


“It alters the second, third, sixth, and seventh schedule of the principal act.


“It has four insertions in Part 1G, section 270A-E, Part 2D, Section 285A-E and a citation,’’ Mr. Dung said.


According to him, the amendments will no doubt widen the scope of jurisprudence, adjudication and legal practice in our nation.


“It will bring to reality the administration of Ecclesiastical Christian tenets and law in adjudicating matters of personal Christian law and civil matters.


“These shall be prescribed in the rule of practice and procedure of the Ecclesiastical courts.’’


Mr. Dung emphasised that the amendment would activate section 37 (1) of the 1999 constitution which guarantees the right of every citizen to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.


“It will also entails freedom to propagate one’s religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance,’’ Dung said.


He said that Cardinals who will serve as judges of the Ecclesiastical court shall be drawn from those learned in law.


They shall be required to administer justice in accordance with the Christian faith and the law of the nation.


Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, referred the bill to the Special ad hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 constitution.


[NAN]

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is to present the 2017 Budget to the National Assembly on December 14, 2016.








The date was announced at the Senate plenary on Tuesday.


This was sequel to a letter sent by President Buhari to the National Assembly.


There has been altercation between the Executive and the Legislature over the presentation of the Budget.


Both arms have been blaming each other over the delay in the presentation of the Budget.


The Budget is usually presented to the Joint Session of the National Assembly.

CRUDE rose above $55 a barrel as rising prospects of a tightening market after last week’s OPEC landmark deal to cut production has given speculators impetus to increase bets on higher prices.








Monday’s gains took the rally since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ agreement was struck on Wednesday to 19 per cent for Brent and 16 percent for U.S. crude.


Last week’s 12.2 per cent increase was the largest one-week rise since February 2011.


“OPEC sentiment continues to support oil markets,” said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam.


“Speculative short positions are still at elevated levels and as more traders unwind these positions they could trigger more support for oil prices.”


Brent crude rose to hit 55.33 dollars, its highest since July 2015.


U.S. crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at a peak point for the day of 52.42 dollars, also the highest since July 2015.


About 380,483 lots of the front-month contract were traded some 57 per cent of the previous session’s volume.


Weekly data from the InterContinental Exchange on Monday showed investors had raised net long positions on Brent to the highest level in four weeks.



After OPEC agreed to curb production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January, eyes have now turned to a meeting this weekend between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to expand the deal.


Non-OPEC producers are expected to agree to add an output cut of 600,000 bpd in Vienna on Dec. 10.


Iran, which was granted an output rise as part of the OPEC deal as it recovers production curbed by sanctions, will also attend the meeting, media said.


[Reuters/NAN]

THE acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu has called for inter-agency collaboration to make the fight against corruption in the country succeed.








He made the call on Friday when he paid a visit to the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur
Buratai, in Abuja.


Mr. Magu said “there is corruption in every institution, including the EFCC.


“The reasons why we are here is that we need everybody’s support. We do not have the monopoly of knowledge to do what we are doing.


“There is corruption everywhere, every institution, including the EFCC. We are battling with internal corruption. So, everybody has a stake in this fight.’’


The acting EFCC chairman then used the occasion to inform the army chief that
the commission had concluded arrangements to mobilise women, including women in uniform on December 7 to join the fight against corruption.


He solicited the cooperation of the army in that regard.


He added that “we also want to appeal to you to join us in fighting corruption. Let’s have a change. If you can discipline yourself, you do not need another person to discipline you. Self discipline is key.’’


The army boss observed that a number of Nigerians had for a long time forgotten the basic principle of being accountable to themselves and the society at large.


He said “the erosion of this attribute has affected the general well-being of Nigerians.”


[NAN]

CATHOLIC Priest and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Father Ejike Mbaka has distanced himself from recent media reports which quoted him as recommending the arrest of more judges in furtherance of the recent clampdown and investigation of some judges over alleged corruption.



Mbaka who said he was shocked by the report said in Enugu that in his sermon during the special Church Service to mark this years’ legal year organized by the Enugu State Judiciary he prayed for all the judges showering them with blessings and at the same time admonishing them to be upright in the discharge of their duties as the last hope of the common man.

“For me, Judges should be beyond corruption because they are like ‘God’; if they make mistake in sentencing an innocent man the person will die in jail. They can save life, they can destroy life. The judiciary should not be merchandized; nobody should think he can purchase justice.

“I raised the question about the arrest; are we sure that the judges arrested are guilty of what they are accused of? For me, if judges could be arrested let them be well examined; if found culpable, punishment could be meted out. I suggested strongly that the arrest of judges should not be selective; that the arrest should be 360 degrees coverage. So if the judges were arrested, what about those who gave the money; were they exonerated?

“While arresting the judges, I suggested that those who gave them the money, if actually they were given money for fraudulent purposes, should equally be arrested. So the arrest should even go to the senators who were found culpable; it should go to the House of Reps, it should even be extended to the executives. People working for Buhari who are corrupt should equally be arrested and that is when the arrest should represent justice, equity and fair play; it should not be only for judges.

“So I never asked them to arrest more judges because I have no problem with judges and I don’t even know why the judges were arrested because I don’t speak with the federal government. I don’t even have Buhari’s number; I don’t talk with Buhari so how can I urge people who I don’t speak with to carry out an assignment I don’t know about its origin and intention.

“I couldn’t have said that because many judges are good, many are innocent of what they are being accused of, many are godly; so we lift our caps for those who are good. If there are some who are corrupt, they should repent; and if judges are good it will bring better hope for the common man.

“The revolution that is going on in Nigeria is an attempt to sweep off corruption in all aspects of our lives; in the entire government structure so we don’t make corruption our culture. Revolutions that will exterminate corruption from the tap root because corruption is becoming part and part of our political culture and almost accepted; the war against corruption is a welcome development but should be prosecuted without bias.

“Those arresting the judges I pray they should look well and not cause unnecessary earthquake in the Judiciary; the executive is safe; the legislature is safe and the judiciary is under attack. People will raise questions, so let there be justice in whatever arrest they are doing; so I don’t ask them to arrest more judges.

“I equally spoke about the economic recession and I strongly believe that President Buhari should employ more people who can help him implement his political agenda. So why we are praising the president for warring against corruption and insurgency, we still pray that he uses whatever he has to war against hunger.”

THE Association of Licenced Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria on Thursday informed consumers to expect poor data services, without the review of the Data Tariff Floor.








The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, said in a statement in Lagos that there was the need for an upward review so as to offer better data services to subscribers.


Adebayo said that the operators fully understood the public sentiments that greeted the announcement of a minimum data tariff being introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission.


He said that the NCC intervened to set the data tariff floor in view of its statutory responsibility to promote healthy competition, by periodically reviewing voice and data tariffs in the industry.


According to him, the commission’s intervention is to ensure the sustainability of the Nigerian telecommunications industry. He also said that the regulatory body had extensive consultation with the industry prior to the finalisation of the data tariff floor.


The statement said: “Further, the commission has since Wednesday suspended the implementation of its determination on the data tariff floor.


“ALTON notes that it is within the statutory remit of the NCC for it to make decisive interventions to address the data price concerns which had led to data prices falling to unreasonably low levels.


“This is with the effect that telecommunications operators were unable to recover the cost of providing data services and reinvest in capacity expansion to accommodate the increased usage arising from lower tariffs.


“The situation has been compounded by the recent economic challenges characterised by the steep depreciation of the naira.


“It is characterised by the need to resort to the parallel market and foreign exchange scarcity, which have considerably increased the capital and operational cost of providing telecommunications services.


“This has made current data tariffs unsustainable.


“This situation, if left unaddressed, could result in a sustained deterioration in the quality of data services across all networks and the attendant poor quality of experience for users.


“In this regard, our members await the conclusion of NCC’s market study, when the commission will be in a position to determine its requisite intervention.”


Adebayo said that the NCC introduced the minimum price for data services to help ensure cost recovery and drive the continued investment in the telecommunications sector.


The ALTON chairman said it was necessary for the provision of world-class data services for the overall benefit of the Nigerian subscriber and the Nigerian economy.


He said: “It is our belief that interventions such as these are in keeping with the NCC’s tradition of implementing customer-centric regulatory initiatives such as the Do-Not-Disturb Service and the Mobile Number Portability Scheme.


“These were introduced to enhance customer satisfaction with telecommunications services.


“ALTON also notes that price changes for data services across all networks following any intervention by the NCC are not expected to have a detrimental effect on broadband penetration contrary to some sentiments being expressed in the media.


“ALTON wishes to emphasise that while it is imperative that telecommunications operators continue to explore opportunities to provide their subscribers with more value for their money, it is important that prices be set at realistic levels.


“This will ensure that subscribers are not only able to afford services, but that operators are also in a position to provide first-rate Quality of Service to their subscribers.”


The NCC on Wednesday suspended any further action on the directive to introduce price floor for data segment of the telecommunications sector beginning from December 1, 2016.

THE leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has attributed the recent defections of politicians from the south-east to the ruling party to the commitment shown by President Muhammadu Buhari to execute vital projects in the zone.



The National Vice Chairman (South East) of the APC, Emma Enuekwu, stated this while speaking to journalists at the party secretariat in Abuja after a meeting of south-east stakeholders.

The meeting was to plan for fresh membership registration in the zone.
Mr. Enuekwu said Igbos are beginning to have confidence in the new administration and are wiser after the 16-year rule of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

“The problem with the south easterners before the election was that they felt that PDP was the proper party for the Igbo man which they came to realize lately was not true because they were disappointed. PDP was in power for 16 years and the Enugu-Onitsha road was not done, the Enugu-Port Harcourt road was not done, the second Niger Bridge was not done,” the APC chieftain said.

“When they realized this, they are now seeing that Buhari who has been in power for a little over one year has paid contractors and started doing something about the Enugu-Onitsha road, the Enugu-Port Harcourt road and has started doing something on the second Niger Bridge within one year.”

“Because of the high level of integrity displayed by President Buhari, many people are anxious to join the party. Therefore, a lot of people that have moved from other parties and entered APC have not had the opportunity of being registered and therefore the leadership felt it necessary that these people be registered so that they can be part of the party ahead of the next general election.”

The official said the party will adopt manual registration which will also capture the biometrics of every member.

Some top Igbo politicians who recently decamped to the APC include Jim Nwobodo and Orji Kalu former governors of Anambra and Abia state respectively.