The President, NATCOMS, Mr Deolu Ogunbanjo, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos said that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, did not carry it along in the arrangement.

Ogunbanjo said that NATCOMS understood the dilemma faced by the telecommunications industry and had suggested a five per cent to ten per cent marginal increase in tariff.

He said that the approval by the federal government for telecoms operators to hike tariffs but capped at 50 per cent maximal increment was unacceptable.

“This will affect everyone from the biggest industry to the smallest company, such as the Point of Service (POS) operators.

“It will increase operational costs,” he said.

According to Ogunbanjo, earlier, economic experts had x-rayed the telecoms sector and said that it was in intensive care, meaning that it needed to be attended to.

“We now depend on telecoms for our meetings, for the banks, everybody depends on it even the education sector, yes, a lot of things depend on it.

“So, that is why we painfully agreed that, look, a moderate or marginal five per cent to 10 per cent increase will be fine.

”You know, we do not mind an increase if it is to salvage the industry that is helping us, that means so much to us and that is also contributing double-digit to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

“So, we appreciate that. It’s painful, but we granted. We said, okay, we will not mind if it is just five per cent to 10 per cent increase,’’ he said.

READ ALSO: Trump considering 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico products

The NATCOMS boss stressed that if the operators really needed funds, they should explore the Nigerian Exchange for options to raise funds.

“The industry operators can opt for an Initial Public Offer (IPO) for Nigerians to buy shares in their companies as a way of raising funds.

“However, a situation where a whole 50 per cent is granted for tariff hike is not cheap and it is a no! no! from us subscribers.

“I mean, for what we are already going through, no for us, we will challenge this in court,’’ Ogunbanjo insisted.

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, the industry’s regulatory body on Monday released a statement saying it had acceded to the requests of operators to hike tariffs.

This is contained in a statement, signed by the Director, Public Affairs of the NCC, Dr Reuben Muoka.

The NCC said it had approved a maximal increment of 50 per cent tariff adjustments in response to prevailing operational costs.

It said that that was less than the 100 per cent demanded by some telecoms operators.

It said its decision was in pursuant to its power under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 (NCA) to regulate and approve tariff rates and charges by telecommunications operators.

The NCC said that while recognising the concerns of the public, the decision was made after extensive consultations with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors.

“The NCC has prioritised striking a balance between protecting telecoms consumers and ensuring the sustainability of the industry, including the thousands of indigenous vendors and suppliers who form a critical part of the telecommunications ecosystem.

“The NCC recognises the financial pressures faced by Nigerian households and businesses and remains deeply empathetic to the impact of tariff adjustments.

“To this end, the commission has mandated that operators implement these adjustments transparently and in a manner that is fair to consumers.”

It said that the adjustments would support the ability of operators to continue investing in infrastructure and innovation, ultimately benefiting consumers through improved services and connectivity.

The NCC added that consumers would benefit from better network quality, enhanced customer service, and greater coverage within the country.

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The announcement was made on Tuesday in Lagos by the company’s Secretary, Mr Sunday Ekwochi, in a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd., NGX.

The appointment, it was said, was in view of the death of the company’s former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Herbert Wigwe, on Friday.

It would be recalled that Wigwe, along with his wife, son and former chairman of NGX Group, Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo, died on Friday in a helicopter crash in Southern California, U.S.

The company’s secretary said that the appointment was subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Until her appointment, Agbede was the company’s most senior founding Executive Director in charge of Business Support.

She has nearly three decades of professional experience cutting across banking and business consultancy services, the company secretary said.

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She commenced her professional career in 1992 at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and served in various capacities within the Commercial Banking and Operations functions rising to the position of a manager in 2001.

The Acting Group CEO subsequenty served as the Chief Executive Officer of JKS Ltd., a business consulting outfit in 2003.

Agbede joined Access Bank Plc in 2003 as an Assistant General Manager and was responsible for managing the bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies.

She served as the bank’s Head Group Human Resources between 2010 and 2022 and was appointed the company’s founding Executive Director, Business Support in 2022.

Agbede has a track record in successful people integration in business combination and culture transformation.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Lagos in 1990 and a Masters of Business Administration Degree from Cranfield University, UK in 2002.

The Action Group CEO is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management, UK and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

Agbede has attended several renowned leadership and professional development programmes including the High Performance Leadership Programme organised by IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme organised by the London Business School.

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Wigwe, was the Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc.

President Tinubu, according to his media aide, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement issued on Sunday mourned “these exceptional Nigerian business leaders and describes their passing as ‘an overwhelming tragedy that is shocking beyond comprehension’.”

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Ngelale said the president commiserated with the Wigwe and Ogunbanjo families, the business community, and all those impacted by the harrowing incident.

Tinubu prayed for the peaceful repose of the departed and asked God Almighty to comfort the multitude of Nigerians who were grieving and the families of the deceased at the deeply agonising moment.

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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, on Saturday confirmed the crash of a helicopter carrying six passengers in a Southern California desert near Las Vegas.

All the passengers on board are reported to have died.

Wigwe was reportedly on board with five others believed to be his wife, son and Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc.

According to FAA, the crash occurred on Friday around 10 p.m. local time near Nipton, California.

However, the FAA has not made available the list of the passengers involved in the accident as at the time of filing this report.

READ ALSO: Tinubu assents to Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill

The family members of some Nigerians suspected to have been involved in the crash did not respond to calls.

But Mr Tunde Moshood, the Specialist, Asset and Communications to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, described Wigwe as a leader with unwavering dedication to his nation and his indomitable spirit serve as inspiration to us all.

“Though he may have left this world prematurely, his vision and values will continue to guide us as we strive for a brighter future.

“Adieu, Herbert Wigwe. Your presence will be sorely missed, but your legacy will endure as a beacon of hope and progress,” he said.

Born on August 15, 1966 in Isiokpo, Port Harcourt, Herbert Wigwe has carved a niche for himself in the world of finance.

He obtained a degree in accountancy from the University of Nigeria and further education in Banking and Finance, Financial Economics, and an executive programme from Harvard Business School.

Wigwe’s impact was not limited to banking.

His passion for philanthropy led him to establish the Herbert Wigwe Foundation, fostering education and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

His dedication earned him the Order of the Niger, CON, and admiration from peers and the public.

Source: NAN

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This is even as skillful professionals drawn from National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA; National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, NATCOMS; Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria, EHORECON, and E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria, EPRON, to name a few, have queued up to analyse the theme of the dialogue, “You can recycle anything with a plug, battery and cables.”

Revealing these at the weekend, the editor-in-chief, ITREALMS Media group, Mr. Remmy Nweke, said that the ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, slated for Friday, December 15, 2023 at Welcome Centre Hotels, Lagos would have the Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, to deliver a keynote address to the occasion.

Maida’s keynote, he disclosed, would focus on ‘NCC: Recycling plug, battery & cable in telecoms sector”, while NATCOMS national president, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, would share insight on “The Place of Telecoms Consumers” on the main theme.

Nweke pointed out that the importance of tackling electronic waste in the country could not be over-emphasised, as with the introduction and deployment of 5G in the country, more devices and appliances were expected to bring out an influx of electronic devices and usage.

He recalled that the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) emanates from the likes of mobile phones, computers, TV-sets, and fridges among other electronic devices had become a set of fastest growing waste streams across the globe, just as small as the plugs, batteries and cables constitute e-waste.

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Nweke also noted that the newly appointed Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, was appointed by President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 and holds an MEng in Information Systems Engineering from Imperial College, London in 2002, and in 2006, he bagged a PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath, United Kingdom.

In between 2018 and 2019, Maida completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship (FinTech Pathway) programme at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

And until his latest appointment by the president, Dr. Maida was the Executive Director, Technology and operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), the country’s central switch company owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all licensed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria.

At NIBSS, Dr. Maida was responsible for holistically spearheading the technical and operational standardization of all devices deployed in the financial system in Nigeria for interoperability.

Maida led a dynamic team that ensured that all terminals used in the e-payment industry and all devices deployed in Nigeria would accept all cards issued by banks and other licensed card schemes without discrimination.

Prior to his appointment at NIBSS, Maida was the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at the Nigerian-based FinTech Arca Payments Network and Senior Manager at Cisco Systems, United Kingdom.

As a seasoned technical professional with over 15 years of multi-functional and international experience in FinTech; Telecoms; Enterprise Technology, Maida between 2010 and 2014, worked as a Network Design Consultant at EE, part of BT Group, and one of the largest mobile communications companies in the UK.

He was also at some point (2006-2010) a System Engineer at Ubiquisys, a leading company in intelligent 3G and LTE small cells, which is now part of Cisco. Dr. Maida, a professional par excellence with a broad range of experience, making him technically strong and commercially aware, is married with children.

ITREALMS Media, he recalled, in commemoration of the International E-waste Day (IeWD) 2022, has advanced plans to host a day discourse on e-Waste in Nigeria this Friday, December 15 in Lagos.

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