Author: switchni

…as ICT quarterly revenue grows to N418bn The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, said the auctioning of the 5G spectrum alone generated $547m. He also lauded the contributions of the digital economy in driving growth, creating employment and generating 594 per cent of its revenue target for 2019, saying it has opened more avenues for development funding. “Our independent analysts adjudged the digital economy sector to have generated 594 per cent of its revenue target from the 2019 baseline. This is very commendable. As part of these unprecedented achievements, the sector generated over $547m from the auctioning…

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has transmitted a supplementary 2023 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, read out the content of the cover letter on the bill to members on Wednesday. Buhari, in the cover letter, said the additional demand for N819,536,937,813 for next year was due to the devastation caused by floods on farmlands and road infrastructure. According to the President, Nigeria witnessed the “worst flood incidents in recent history, which has caused massive destruction of farmlands,” adding that the country now risks food insecurity. He stressed that the…

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday, launched the National Monitoring and Evaluation platform, EYEMARK. Buhari launched the project monitoring website (www.eyemark.ng) with its accompanying mobile app shortly before the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the council chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The President noted that the federal government could no longer depend on its handful of Monitoring and Evaluation teams to oversee the vast number of infrastructure projects spread nationwide. He said that given that his regime has invested in infrastructure projects more than any other before, it is only fitting to create adequate avenues…

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has declared his administration’s readiness to provide an enabling environment for the creative industry to thrive. Adeleke made this declaration at the Afrotrad Festival held at Osogbo, highlighting plans by his government to leverage the creative sector to improve Osun’s economy. This was contained in a statement by Adeleke’s spokesman, Olawale Rasheed.

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has berated the deployment of money in elections, stressing that election is not a business venture but rather an application to serve the people. This was as the electoral umpire listed the negative role that money plays in elections and electioneering. Yakubu stated this at a ‘Stakeholders’ summit on addressing the influence of money in the 2023 general election’ held in Abuja on Monday. He said money politics made the emergence of the right candidates for elective positions “extremely difficult”. He added that it undermines fair electoral adjudication and…

The Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, says the emergence of All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, will benefit the people of the state. The governor, who made this disclosure on Monday while speaking at the venues of the APC campaign rallies held at Kulishin, Boh, Lapan, and Lalaipido wards of Shongom Local Government Area, assured the electorate that Gombe would benefit a lot from Tinubu’s presidency. He said Tinubu was committed to implementing the Kolmani Integrated Development Project, which was recently inaugurated by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). Yahaya said, “A vote for him and the APC…

The House of Representatives has resolved to constitute an ad hoc committee to investigate a whistle-blower’s allegation of illegal sale of 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude in China in 2015 and the insurance status of the cargo. The committee is also to investigate all crude oil exports and sales by Nigeria from 2014 to date, with regards to quantity, insurance, revenue generated, remittances into the Federation Account or other accounts as well as utilisation of the revenue for the period under review. In addition, the panel will investigate all proceeds recovered through the Whistle-Blowers Policy of the…

The Nigeria Police’s National Cybercrime Centre has arrested a group of fraudsters who stole over N16 million using Point of Sales machines. The police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, announced this in a statement issued on Tuesday evening. He said the police unit, which was set up to tackle cybercrime offences, had recorded salient achievements in less than one month. According to the police publicist, one of those achievements is the arrest of a POS fraud network. “It is a case of unlawful access to a computer network and manipulation of a point of sale network to defraud the unsuspecting owner of…

Dangote Cement Plc, Ibese Plant has launched multi-million naira corporate social responsibility projects for its host communities. The company disclosed that during an event tagged “2022 Host Community Day”, it unveiled various empowerment programmes including skill acquisition, scholarship, farming techniques training as well as empowerment of vulnerable women in its 17 host communities. It claimed over 120 students from primary school to higher institutions received scholarship cheques, while 50 vulnerable women among them widows went home with grinding machines to support their household income. In a statement, it noted that the Dangote Cement, Ibese Plant equally launched its maiden issue…

A civil society group, the World Institute for Peace, has decried the increasing hoodlum clashes in Osun State. The group said between July and December many residents had been injured while no fewer than 10 lives had been lost as a result of such clashes, saying that no suspect had been apprehended by security agencies. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday, the group’s Executive Chairman, Lamina Omotoyosi, said the increased activities of hoodlums could affect the successful conduct of the 2023 general election in the state if not urgently tamed. Omotoyosi said, “It is clear that the most crucial purpose…