Business

Zain Wins Nigeria 2009 Best Customer Care Operator

Published

16 years ago

November 30, 2009

Zain Nigeria, at the weekend, won the prestigious Best Customer Care Operator of the Year in Nigeria, at the 2009 Nigeria Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards (NITTA) confirming its long and unbroken tradition of good Customer Service Excellence.

Last weekend’s award was the sixth of similar awards by the company in the industry in its 8th years of operations and the 3rd of such by NITTA.

The Awards Committee of the 8th edition of NITTA cited the company’s untiring commitment to delivering admirable customer care service, the launch of a new network monitoring centre, the expansion of its Call Centre facilities and the increase in number of Customer Service personnel in a move to respond faster and more efficiently to customers’ queries, among others, as reason for the award.

The award was received by the Chief Executive Officer of Zain Nigeria, Alain Sainte-Marie, who dedicated the award to the company’s customers for their loyalty to the brand and also to the Zain employees, who manage the company’s customer service operations at the Call Centres, Shops and other customer touch points.

He described the award as an endorsement of the public’s perception of Zain as the best in class operator when it comes to introducing customer centric products, technologies and other initiatives.

According to him, “Zain Nigeria and indeed Zain Group recognize the centrality of the customer to our existence and long-term business survival. Therefore, every investment and operational decision we make is ultimately focused on delighting our customers.

“We are in the business of providing telecommunications services, but we see our customers as more than just a mere connection. They are at the very heart and soul of our business. Though the name of this company has changed a few times over the years, our unwavering commitment to excellent customer service has never changed and will never change”.

Sainte-Marie added that Zain has invested massively in transmission capacity, network expansion, Call Centres and a fibre optic backbone just to ensure that our customers enjoy a wonderful telecommunications experience.

He specifically mentioned the establishment of an ultra-modern Call Centre in Abuja “which have significantly boosted the company’s capacity to respond to queries and ultimately delight our customers”.

“This Customer Care Award”, he stated, “means so much to us because it recognizes our unflinching commitment to our core values of Radiance, Heart and Belonging”.

Expressing delight and pride at the remarkable record of winning the award five times in eight years of the company’s operation, Sainte-Marie declared that “even as we celebrate another milestone in our history, I stand before you on behalf of my colleagues at Zain Nigeria to rededicate ourselves to commitment to continue to make our customers the focal point of our business in all our actions”.

Zain Nigeria has consistently topped the telecommunication industry’s customer service ranking since 2003, when the award was introduced.

Last year, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) placed its seal of approval on Zain’s outstanding rating by awarding it the Telecommunications Network with the Best Customer Service during the 5th Anniversary of the Consumer Parliament.

Zain Nigeria is the first Nigerian operator to offer toll-free 24-hour customer care line (111). It also parades extensive alternative channels through which its customers can lodge their queries and provide feedback including Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system equipped with features for five languages (Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo, Pidgin English, and the English Language) and self help attributes. Customer can also access support through Zain Nigeria’s chain of consumer contact points across the country including Zain Shops, email service, the super-interactive Zain website with a self-help customer care service link and an array of dealers outlets scattered across Nigeria’s six geo-political regions.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu