Nigerians have expressed their dissatisfaction as Pay Tv service provider, MultiChoice Nigeria, announced an upward review of prices on its DStv and GOtv packages with effect from May 1.

The company had announced a hike in South Africa that saw monthly fees go up by between 3.2 per cent and 7.5 per cent from April 1, 2023.

The subscribers, acting under the aegis of Association of Telephone, Cable Tv and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS-Nigeria), had said they will reject any hike at this time.

ATCIS-Nigeria President, Sina Bilesanmi had said he will not be surprised if the hike is extended to the Nigerian market, adding that the body will resist it.”Yes, we are aware of the South African hike and know that it is a sign of what will happen in Nigeria. They will hide under the guise of spiraling inflation and others to hike tariffs. But we have always pushed for pay-per-view.

And if they say they do not have the technology or precedent globally to implement that template, they should think about a technology that allows us to retain our subscription when we don’t use it. I mean for instance, if I subscribe and I am unable to use my subscription either because I am not around or I do not have cash to fuel my generator, I should be able to use it or roll it over when I subscribe again,” Bilesanmi had said.

Multichoice said the price adjustment was due to the rising costs of business operations.

“Please note that from May 1, your monthly subscription (premium) will be N24,500. To retain your old price of N21,000 for up to 12 months, ensure you are active by April 30,” the company explained in a text message to its customers’’.

With the fresh rates hike, the price on the Compact+ bouquet would move to N16,600 from N14, 250 monthly.

Subscribers on the Compact bouquet will pay N10,500 as against N9,000; while those on the Confam package are set to pay N6,200 compared to the previous N5,300.

Under the new price regime, viewers on DStv Yanga and Padi bouquets will pay N3,500 and N2,500 respectively, as against N2,950 and N2,150.

Meanwhile, subscribers on the GOtv Supa package will now pay N6,400 as against N5,500; with those on GOtv Max expected to pay N4,850 as against N4,150.


The GOtv Jolli package price will increase to N3,300 from N2,800; while that of the GOtv Jinja and GOtv Lite will rise from N1,900 to N2,250; and from N900 to N1,100, respectively.

But despite the rate increases, MultiChoice Nigeria also made a price lock offer to subscribers who may renew their subscriptions before their due dates.

The offer, which is meant to cushion the effect of the price review, allows customers to pay the old rates for 12 months, if they pay monthly before the expiration of their subscriptions.

Similarly, it granted subscribers (who pay for one year at a go, before the new prices kick in) the opportunity to pay the old tariffs.

However, this new development has not gone down well with some of MultiChoice dealers and agents, who believe the company is taking advantage of Nigerians.

Some have asked how MultiChoice can justify its claim of delivering value and accessible services to its Nigerian customers? ”Is it by making life unbearable and contributing to the hardship that is already killing the people.”

”How can MultiChoice say it acknowledges that the people of Nigeria are living under increased economic pressure and yet hit them harder with price hike? ”

Morene Ajike, an Abuja-based businesswoman said it was unfounded that a company like MultiChoice “Nigeria is a country of over 200 million people. How come its citizens depend solely on a foreign company to view soccer stations, African Magic and other entertainment channels? All these things still points to corruption. Companies like MultiChoice closes the mouth of our political leaders with bribe and extorts citizens.”

A social media user said; “Just yesterday, I was still talking about a Netflix livestream as an alternative to Cable TV, today DSTV increased their subscription packages again. Like say na only them the pandemic affect. Shey it’s to watch football, no worry, we go dey livestream henceforth.”

@UnmeritedFav, “Ever wonder why DStv increase subscription plans and the government don’t say sh*t?”

Meanwhile, MultiChoice Nigeria’s price adjustment comes two weeks after a similar move was made by its competitor – StartTimes.

Last week, StarTimes, a Chinese-operated television company, announced an upward price review which took effect on April 14, 2023.

StarTimes’ new prices will see its Basic bouquet customers on DTT (antenna) pay N2,100 monthly, as against the previous sum of N1,850; while customers on its Classic bouquet will pay N3,100 monthly as against the previous N2,750 tariff.

The price of the Nova bouquet also went up from N900 to N1,200.

Also, the company’s subscribers using DTH (dish) are affected, with the tariff on the Smart bouquet rising to N2,800 per month from N2,600.

Due to the rates review, the Super bouquet will now attract a monthly tariff of N5,300 relative to the previous N4,900 price. The Nova bouquet had its tariff raised to N1,200 from N900.

StarTimes said the price review had to be done due to the current harsh economic realities in the country.

“We are not immune to the economic realities affecting businesses in the country. While businesses have been adjusting prices upwards to remain afloat, we have been absorbing the recurring increases in costs. However, it isn’t easy to maintain the same price if we must keep serving our customers,” the company said.

A Kwara State Police officer, Taiye Atobiloye, has died in a cell at the D Division of the Kogi State Police Command, following his detention for being absent from duty for two days at the Zone 8 Command, Lokoja.

According to The Punch, Atobiloye, attached to the Oke Onigbin Division in Kwara State, was deployed to Kogi for special duty called Quick Intervention for a month.

However, a month after resumption, the policeman with service number 232980 went absent without leave for two days but was later found.

It was gathered that as punishment for his absence without permission, Atobiloye was detained in a cell.

A source said the policeman languished in the cell for eight days, and consequently died in detention.

The source said; “What happened was that every month, the Zone 8 Command usually picks policemen from every division and posts them for special duty for a month in Zone 8 Command, Lokoja, and after one month, the policemen will return home.

“So, Atobiloye, who was attached to the Oke Onigbin Division, was part of the policemen posted to the Zone 8 Command, Lokoja, but when he resumed, he didn’t come for work for two days and was punished by being detained in a cell for about eight days.

“It was when policemen checked on him in the cell that they realised he had slumped and died in the cell. At the cell he was detained, only offending policemen are usually detained there, so it is likely he was alone in the cell.”

Spokesperson for the Zone 8 Command, Ruth Awi, told The Punch that Atobiloye, after reporting for special duty at the command, absconded from duty and was nowhere to be found for two days until policemen found him drunk.

She said;“He was not detained at the Zonal Headquarters, he was detained at the D Division in Lokoja. He reported at the Zonal Headquarters and then disappeared into thin air; there are punishments for people who abscond from duty without any excuse. But in his case, he did not only stay away from work, he was drunk when he was found.

''For the effect of the drink to be cleared, the boss said he should stay in the cell for two days until he is fit for interrogation to explain where he went to and where he was coming from. So, he was detained at the D Division for about two or three days after which the news came to us that he gave up.''

obyikye:
My daughter couldn't write hers yesterday because of technical issues, the officials asked us to reprint the slip from 8:00 am today being 26/04/2023. Uptill now the jamb slip reprint is still showing the old print out..

The examination body urged the affected candidates to re-print their examination slips on Wednesday, 26 April to know their new scheduled venue, date and time.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has rescheduled the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for candidates who couldn’t take their tests on Tuesday due to technical hitches.

The tests, to be administered to about 1.6 million candidates between 25 April and 2 May, commenced nationwide on Tuesday.

Due to technical hitches recorded in some of the accredited computer-based test centres, JAMB announced a rescheduling of tests for affected candidates.

The examination body urged the affected candidates to re-print their examination slips on Wednesday, 26 April to know their new scheduled venue, date and time.

JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, gave the directive in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The decision, Mr Benjamin said, followed a meeting of the management of the board at the end of Tuesday’s sessions,

“It is to be noted that about 100 centres out of the 708 participating in the 2023 UTME exercise across the country experienced technical challenges that prevented their allotted candidates from successfully taking their examination,” he said.

He said the technical hitches experienced were a result of some innovations deployed by the examination body to “safeguard the sanctity of the examination by checkmating all incidences of examination misconduct being perpetrated and perpetuated by vested interests.”

He added that the technical teams are working to ensure that such challenges were not experienced during the remaining days of the examinations.

Mr Benjamin also assured that no candidate would be denied the right of taking their examination due to any hitches experienced.

It was earlier reported how a supervisor at Dantata Universal Services CBT centre at Government Secondary School, Zone 3, said the assessment body was responsible for the delay experienced during the second session of the examination on Tuesday.

The supervisor, Victoria Ebute, said the first session went on smoothly until a technical challenge was experienced during the second session which also led to a delay in the commencement time of the third session.

Other centres visited by our reporters in Lagos and Abuja, however, revealed that there were minimal challenges.

A young Nigerian man, Oba West got butterflies in his stomach as a result of meeting a lady he now shares an intimate bond with at Davido’s Timeless concert.

Oba and the lady were drawn to each other instantly it what many may term love at first sight and decided to get into a relationship.

He took to his Twitter page to share loved-up photos of two of them rocking matching outfits and bucket hats.

According to him, though they just met 24 hours ago, they are already bonding like they’ve been in love for long.

Oba West also thanked Davido as it was his concert that made it possible for him to meet his missing rib.

He captioned; “Barely 24hrs after we met at the Timeless Concert we bonding already. Thank you Davido ❤️”

https://twitter.com/Oba_West_/status/1650587968229502976?s=20

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has revealed that there were 222.6 million telephone subscribers in Nigeria as at end of 2022.

This was contained in its Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State, Porting and Tariff Information report for the last quarter of 2022, released in Abuja on Monday.

According to NBS, there was an increase of 27.1 million subscribers over the 195.5 million subscribers recorded at the end of 2021.

The report showed that the figure for the last quarter of 2022 represented a 13.87 per cent rise in voice subscriptions on a year-on-year basis.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the report showed growth stood at 4.89 per cent.

The NBS also recorded a total of 154.9 million active internet subscribers at the end of 2022 compared to 142 million recorded at the end of 2021.

“This represents a 9.07 per cent increase in active internet subscriptions year-on-year, while on a quarter-on-quarter basis, internet subscription grew by 1.35 per cent,” it ststate.

On state-by-state analysis, the report showed that Lagos State had the highest number of active telephone users in 2022 at 26.5 million, followed by Ogun with 13 million users.

Kano State came third with 12.4 million telephone users.

The report showed that Bayelsa had the least number of telephone users at 1.6 million subscribers, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.9 million users and two million users, respectively.

It also showed that Lagos State had the highest number of internet users at 18.7 million subscribers, followed by Ogun with 9.2 million subscribers and Kano State with 8.5 million subscribers.

“On the other hand, Bayelsa recorded the least number of 1.1 million internet users, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.3 million and 1.5 million subscribers, respectively,” it stated.

The NBS report showed that the majority of telephone users in Nigeria in 2022 were MTN Subscribers.

Seven persons including two children were burnt to death when a bus crashed and went up in flames on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The incident which occurred d at the OPIC area of the highway on Sunday, April 23, 2023, left 14 other passengers sustained varying degrees of injury.

The spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, confirmed the incident in Abeokuta.



Okpe said the lone crash which involved a Mazda bus marked BDG993YG occurred at 10:45 am on Sunday.

The spokesperson said a total number of 22 persons, who comprised seven male and eight female adults, four male children and three female children, were involved in the crash, out of which seven died while 14 others were injured


She blamed the crash on “excessive speed and brake failure which led to loss of control.”

Okpe explained that the vehicle went up in flames after it crashed and burnt some of the occupants to death.

She said, “The injured victims have been taken to Lagos State Accident Emergency Center, Ojota while the corpses were deposited at Olabisi Onabajo University Teaching Hospital morgue Sagamu.”

Okpe said the Sector Commander, Ahmed Umar, commiserates with the family of the victims and advised motorists “to shun speeding and always conduct a routine vehicle check for good maintenance and replacement of any defect.”

Nigerian Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke aka Davido has revealed that he prays before every performance on stage.

The DMW boss opened up in a Forbes article wherein he covered the latest issue of Forbes’ Afrobeats All-Star; Pioneering The New Global Sound.

According to the ”FEM” crooner, his team knows that he does not miss committing his show into the hands of God.


Davido said he learned a lot from his father, Mr Adedeji Adeleke, particularly with regards to his embrace of Christianity and living a humble life.

The music excutive said; “I learned so much from being around my dad, watching him in the office, hearing him on the phone, seeing how he handled life. He’s very humble, principled and a strong Christian. Before I step on any stage, my team knows not to mess with my prayers.”

He further said he initially hid his music career from his family because the norm was to go to school, graduate and then work for his dad.

In other news, Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh has continued to trade blames with her ex-husband, Olakunle Churchill over their failed marriage and the raising of their child.

The fomer couple have been exchanging words over the past 24 hours and it started with Churchill celebrating his son, King Andre, on his birthday. Tonto bashed him for pretending to care once in a while and being a deadbeat father.

He replied that she was bitter he moved on and accused her of trying to make people believes he was not a good man.

In reaction, the Nollywood star reiterated that he was a deadbeat father who fails to his kids school fees and child support.

Tonto advised the businessman to learn a thing or two about fatherhood from music star, David Adeleke aka Davido.

According to her, Churchill is a big fan of the singer and it would make sense for him to adopt his fatherly nature.

She further challenged the father of her child to prove his claims of being supportive by sharing receipt of any school fees he’s paid.

Taking to her Instagram page, Tonto wrote; “Thinking I have not moved on is the worst mistake you can make. i came out to make a point that you are a liar and a dead beat father who neither pays fees nor child support to any of your children!!

This should sink, learn to be a man from David. you have always been a big fan of his, adopt his fatherly nature at least to your daughter cause like i said my child will never need nothing from you not even your so called god forsaken name.

I ain’t gonna be stuck on a man I dumped that climbed the seven mountains to try to get me back. nahhhh bruv!! before you check out abeg post receipt of school fee and that card account balance.

The Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed worry over its inability to evacuate Nigerians in Sudan as a deadly crisis continues to plague the North African nation.

The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed Friday evening on Twitter that efforts had been put in place by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Mission in Sudan.

She however noted that the authorities were experiencing challenges, particularly with regard to airlifting Nigerian nationals out of the troubled country.

“While @nemanigeria and the Nigerian Mission in Sudan have put in place necessary arrangements, any flight now is gravely risky,” Dabiri-Erewa tweeted.

“Airlines on ground at the airport were all burnt today , there is a curfew in place and no flights can operate.”

The NIDCOM boss added that humanitarian groups were making efforts to distribute food, water, and medicals, while all efforts were being put in place to hopefully get the warring parties to ceasefire.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our citizens there, and the whole country,” she said.

The country is experiencing hostilities owing to two warring generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Amid the crisis, Nigerian students in Sudan cried out to be evacuated from the in-crisis country.

In response, NIDCOM on Thursday revealed that plans were already underway to see to the evacuation of Nigerians in Sudan, saying meetings were being held as to how best to handle the evacuation process.

Meanwhile, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has called on the Federal Government to ensure stranded Nigerians in Sudan are evacuated without further delay.

National President of AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima in a statement on Saturday expressed dismay over the excuse by the Nigerian embassy that it will be difficult to evacuate the citizens due to one challenge or the other.

According to Shettima, the excuses from evacuating the over 4000 citizens trapped in Sudan is totally unacceptable, adding that majority of Nigerians in the situation are Northerners.

He stressed that AYCF will hold the Nigerian Embassy in Sudan accountable if nothing happens to their Northern brothers and sisters, especially their young ones schooling in Sudan.

Yerima said: “As concerned Nigerians who are very uncomfortable with the fate of Nigerians trapped in Sudan due to ongoing war and killings, we feel duty bound to unequivocally state our final stand on this bloodshed and arson.

“It is totally unacceptable that while several countries were evacuating their citizens from Sudan, ours is the only African nation giving excuses.

“With thousands of Nigerians in Sudan, especially male and female Northern students being the majority, we reject the lame excuse given in a letter by the Nigeria Embassy about the difficulty of evacuating our sons and daughters. No Northerner in this country is at peace since the killings and arson started in Sudan.

“We are aware that the Sudanese government had already warned that the situation would escalate, and gave 72 hours ultimatum for countries whose citizens are either doing business or schooling in that country to be evacuated.

“We cannot fathom why all we get at the moment is the excuse by our Embassy that doing so would be difficult. What held us from taking advantage of the 72 hours ultimatum in the first place?

“It is abundantly clear that lives are now at stake, especially for our Northern brothers and sisters schooling in Sudan, considering the escalation of this war, that involves the use of heavy-duty incendiary.

“As a group, we wish to make it categorically clear that if our innocent Northern brothers and sisters schooling in Sudan get killed in this war, we shall hold the Nigerian Embassy in Sudan accountable.

“We wish to emphasize that on no account should these young and innocent Nigerians be left to their own devices, because they have a fatherland that has the constitutional and legal responsibility to protect the lives of citizens anywhere they are on this planet.”

Nigerian singer and songwriter, Ahmed Ololade, also known as Asake has explained why Yoruba language is an integral part of his music.

He said he loves singing in Yoruba because it is very important to him and there are lots of people who understand the language.

Asake who was speaking in an interview on NewsLive Prime, said he understands music to be a feeling and at times one does not need to understand it to like its usage on a sng.

“Yoruba is so important to me. To me the way I understand music is that it is a feeling”, he said.

A Nigerian lady simply known as Mary, has revealed that a man sponsored her through the university with the intention of taking her as his wife, but she is not interested in marrying him.

She conveyed the message to the guy, Darlington, in a video making the rounds online, saying that the fact he trained her through school is not a good enough reason for her to be with him forever.

She noted that she was grateful for his gesture towards her but it won’t influence her decisin in his favour.

The young woman blames Darlington’s family for making their relationship difficult hence why she made the tough decision to not settle down with him.

According to Mary, the boyfriend once introduced her as his fiancee to his mother but she plainly told him in her presence that he cannot marry her.

She said the man’s mother barred him from marrying her because they were not comfortable with the idea that she does not have parents.

She also said Darlington’s sister accused her of squandering his money and the sum of all these are the issues she has with his family.

Mary stressed that she went through hell so he cannot try to guilt trip her by saying she refused to marry him despite sponsoring her education.

Watch her speak below

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrUS3KlImcL/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

A 37-year-old man, Nwafor Onyebuchi, has been arraigned at the Magistrates’ Court in Lagos state for allegedly stealing N21 million from a Catholic church.

The Lagos state police which arrested the suspect, charged him to court on Tuesday on three counts of conspiracy, stealing, and breaching of public peace.

Police prosecutor, Insp Ayodele Adeosun, narrating the incident in court said the defendant committed the offence on December 21, 2022, at Saint Patrick Catholic Church, Alaba in the Ojo area of the state.

He claimed that Onyebuchi took money meant for the development of the church and converted it to his personal use.

The prosecutor said the offence committed contravened Sections 287, 168 and 307 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty.

In her ruling, Magistrate,T. A Popoola, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.

Popoola ordered that one of the sureties must be related to the defendant, while both sureties should show evidence of three years of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

The Magistrate adjourned the case till June 5,

Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti has said his team performed well despite knowing they would “suffer” in the second leg of their quarter-final against Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge.

The LaLiga champions won the first leg 2-0 at the Bernabeu and were favourites to reach the semi-final.

Ancelotti believes Real Madrid faced a very strong opponent in Chelsea and this was evident in the Blues putting up a fight with N’golo Kante posing a big threat.

Chelsea’s deafeat on Saturday meant that they lost the quarter-final tie 4-0 on aggregate over two legs.

Addressing the press after the match ended, Ancelloti, however, admitted Real Madrid struggled to deal with N’Golo Kante.

“I think that we suffered the position of Kante, that wasn’t right,’ Ancelotti said after the game. Camavinga was used to put pressure on Reece James on the left and we had difficulty controlling the position of Kante.”

He added; “Difficult game and difficult qualification because Chelsea is still a really good team. They tried everything. They played well, in my opinion. We suffered in the first-half. The second-half was much better

“They gave everything in the first half, they caused us problems, especially on the left, we fixed that in the second half.

“We knew we were going to suffer in this type of game. They created chances against us in the first half down our left side, but we fixed it later. It was a complete game. We played at a good level, we were solid at the back. It was a deserved win in the tie, and we are very happy.

The family of two young men have been thrown into mourning following their untimely death as a result of poisoning by unidentified persons in Ogba–Egbema–Ndoni Local government, Rivers State.

It was gathered that they were poisoned on Monday morning, April 17, and it was as a result of envy after one of them bought a car.

The friends simply identified as Shola and OG Carly were said to have died at an undisclosed hospital in Omoku after their food was poisoned.

According to sources, Shola bought a car two weeks ago and was celebrating with Carly, but they were unaware that the food had been poisoned.

The meal was originally meant for the car owner but Carly became a casualty when he joined his friend to eat.

The duo were immediately rushed to the hospital the moment they started groaning in pain and passed out after consuming the food.

According to a source; “Shola got a car barely two weeks ago, and the poison was supposed to be for him, but unfortunately OG Carly joined him to eat the food.

They were rushed to the hospital but lost their lives at the early hours of today (Monday).”

In the video obtained, the lifeless bodies of the deceased were captured in their death beds as their friends mourn

A Point of Sale (POS) operator, identified as Alfa Rafiu, has been arrested in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, for allegedly squandering the sum of N280 million mistakenly sent to his bank account.

According to Tribune, the suspect, a resident of the Akuji compound, Abayawo area in the Ilorin West local government area of the state, received the money in batches of several millions of Naira some weeks ago.

It was said that residents of the area, especially those close to the suspects, had expressed surprise at how Rafiu had suddenly become a big spender.

Sources in the area blamed the suspect for the trouble he had put himself into, saying, “Instead of him to have drawn the attention of the bank that mistakenly transferred the huge fund to his account, he went on a speeding spree.

“Rafiu bought houses and cars and sponsored people to the lesser Hajj. Although he was generous to several people in the community, some residents were surprised about his sudden wealth as a POS operator”.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Kwara state command, Ajayi Okasanmi (SP), confirmed the incident and said that “his arrest was effected by the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) from Alagbon-Close, Ikoyi, Lagos which makes it out of our jurisdiction.”

In a related development, the Lagos State Government has dragged one Uzuokwu Solomon, 18 years of age to court over offences relating to making false calls for emergency responder.

The offence is punishable under the Lagos State Fire service law and Command and control Centre law 2013.

Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, who disclosed this said the suspect had been arrested and scheduled to be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction at Ogba Magistrate on Wednesday at about 9.00 am.

Adeseye explained that “the suspect called the emergency line of the Fire Service on Friday, April 14, 2023 at 17:35 hours from Harmony Estate, Langbasa, Ajah, Lagos and reported a fire emergency within the estate leading to the activation of emergency processes and eventual dispatch of the fire trucks from Lekki Phase II Fire service station.

“On arrival it was discovered that there was no fire incident in the estate and because of the frequency of such calls in the past, the estate security helped in the investigation which led to the arrest of the notorious false caller.”

Adeseye, expressed her delight in the arrest of the suspect while reiterating the stand of the state government on malicious false calls which is punishable under the Lagos State laws.

“The arrest and consequent arraignment will serve as deterrent for other misguided citizens who are in the habit of making false calls and misleading emergency responders,.

“It is instructive to inform the general public that false calls have astronomically increased in the last six months,”Adeseye stated.