₦airaland Forum

Fibre cut in Ghana affects Nigeria’s Internet service

Chioma Onuh
March 14, 2024

A major fibre cut affecting MainOne in Ghana is affecting Internet services in Nigeria.

Sources in the digital infrastructure company confirmed this to BusinessDay. Banks and subscribers of some network operators in Nigeria have lamented Internet downtime on Thursday.

One source said the company is currently working on the problem and assessing the number of customers affected .

Major fibre cut takes banks in Nigeria and South Africa offline

By Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega
Mar 14, 2024

Multiple African internet connectivity providers have suffered outages following submarine cable cuts.

Seacom, a South African internet connectivity provider, told its customers that it is experiencing a service-affecting outage via the West African Cable System, a submarine network.

MainOne, a major internet provider for most Nigerian banks and internet providers, also suffered a major fibre cut in Ghana that has knocked many major Nigerian banks offline, according to internal communication sent to bank staff and seen by TechCabal. As a result, customers of major Nigerian banks cannot access their banking apps or use any USSD service.

Multiple sources have also confirmed that they have been unable to use their banking apps or access the internet smoothly since Thursday morning. Sterling Bank, a Nigerian bank, has issued a communication to customers informing them that some online banking activities have been “experiencing difficulties”. Lemfi, an African remittance startup, has also informed customers that it is experiencing a downtime.

“A technical team is actively working on a solution,” someone familiar with MainOne’s business told TechCabal.

A spokesperson for MainOne declined to comment on the situation.

“Traffic is currently being rerouted via alternate paths, with no current congestion. However, services towards Europe from Maputo and South Africa are at risk should the alternate paths fail,” a statement from Seacom said.

Thursday’s internet outage extends beyond Nigeria, with South African internet users also experiencing slow speeds and unresponsive internet. According to news24, Vodacom confirmed that multiple subsea cable failures between South Africa and Europe were impacting several network providers.

Several other submarine cables such as AAE1, EIG have also suffered outages across Africa.

*This is a developing story.

Tinubu replaces Kalu Eke with Ruby Onwudiwe as south-east nominee for CBN board

BY BUNMI ADULOJU
MARCH 13, 2024

President Bola Tinubu has asked the senate to confirm the appointment of Ruby Onwudiwe as a member of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpiabio, and read at plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.

In the letter, according to a NAN, the president said the request for confirmation was in compliance with provisions of Section 10 (1) of the CBN Establishment Act 2007.

“I am pleased to present for confirmation by the senate, the appointment of Dr Ruby Onwudiwe as a member of the CBN board of directors,” Tinubu said.

“The senate is invited to kindly note that Onwudiwe is a replacement for Mr Kalu Eke, due to the unavailability of Eke for the position.

“It is my hope, therefore, that the senate will consider and confirm in its usual expeditious manner, the appointment of Onwudiwe.

“Please accept the assurances of my highest regards.”

The new nomination comes one month after Tinubu asked the senate to confirm five people as directors of the board of the CBN.

The directors of the board are; Robert O. Agbide, Ado Yakubu Wanga, Murtala Sagaley, Urom Eke, and Olayinka Aliyu.

On February 29, the senate confirmed four people as members of the board of the CBN after a nominee from the south-eastern region rejected the offer, citing “conflict of interest”.