Business
Court Order: Abuja Customers May Boycott DSTV – GoTV
Some Abuja residents yesterday threatened to boycott subscription to Multichoice Nigeria services following the company’s disregard of a court order restraining it from increasing its tariff.
Multichoice is providing satellite television and broadcast services to Nigerians and some other African countries through DSTV and GoTV channels.
The Tide source recalls that the restraining order was issued by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
The order followed a class action suit filed by two Lagos-based lawyers, Messrs Osasuyi Adebayo and Oluyinka Oyeniji, against the company, challenging the increase in cost of subscription.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos had on April 2, restrained the company from implementing its new subscription tariff from April 1, pending the determination of the suit.
The judge had said that there should be no increase until the court meets to hear and determine the case.
In his remarks on the court order, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), Multichoice’s lawyer, said that applications to discharge the order and to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter had been filed.
Onigbanjo also explained that the order was made a day after Multichoice started the implementation of the new rates, and that the order was brought to the attention of his client on April 8.
According to Mr Adelaja Onipede, a client of Multichoice, the company has no reason whatsoever to increase its tariff because of the quantity of subscribers to its services in Nigeria.
Another Multichoice client, Miss Ngozi Anosike, said: “The company has not improved its services; rather, it is cheating innocent Nigerians who spend their hard earned money to subscribe to their services.’’
“We have not been able to get value for our money; this type of outright cheating needs to be curbed.
“The company should maintain the status-quo in line with the court’s order, period,’’ Anosike said.
Mr Danladi Dogo, a business man, on his part, urged the company to encourage Nigerians by investing more on the growth of the nation.
“It would be better for them to improve their services by showing the latest innovative programmes without frequent repetition rather than just siphoning our money away.
“In fact, they should reduce the tariff to enable people in the rural areas access the services easily and they should establish more offices across the country especially in the riverside areas.
“They should also focus on offering Nigerian students, at home and abroad, scholarships, creating jobs and carrying out other positive activities as part of their social responsibility,’’ Dogo said.
Mr Osuji Emenike, an activist, said he would encourage people to carry out a peaceful rally if, at the end of the month, Multichoice refused to address the issue.
“We have folded our hands enough for South Africans to take us for fools; look at what they are doing to our brothers in their country, we cannot do that to them here.
“No foreign company can disregard an order of the court in their country and it would be accepted calmly; Nigerians need to open their eyes.
“We parade ourselves as the ‘giant of Africa’ and allow people to cheat on us anyhow; this has to stop or else we would force it to stop,’’ Emenike said.
Multichoice Public Relations Manager, Ms Caroline Oghuma, had in a statement in March, said that there were some important factors that were considered before the company introduced the new tariff.
According to Oghuma, the factors included “the impact on the subscriber, current inflation, and efficiencies effected within the company that may offset the necessity for a price increase”.
The company also said that the increase in DSTV subscription tariff was not only in Nigeria but also in every country where Multichoice had its operations.
She explained that Multichoice implements annual subscription price increase in all its operating countries, however, a price increase was not implemented in Nigeria last year.
“We would like to reassure our subscribers of our best intentions and reaffirm our commitment to Nigeria which is clearly demonstrated through our continuous investment in the country,’’ Oghuma said.
Business
NASS Engages Agric Minister On Food Crisis
The National Assembly through its joint committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development has engaged the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari on an urgent solution to food inflation bedeviling the country.
The committee chaired by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC Kwara Central), at an interface with the Minister, interrogated him on plans being put in place to arrest high cost of food prices in the country and make it affordable and available to the poor masses.
In his response, the Minister said the Federal Government has commenced distribution of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains to some focal points of state capitals nationwide.
“We have received directive and approval from Mr. President to distribute for immediate impact 42,000 metric tons of assorted grains free of charge to the Nigerian population.
“This was received in mid-February, as we are speaking, we have a record of the distribution being carried out, but I will want to plead with the honorable house and distinguished senators that some of the movements can’t be made public but a lot of states have started receiving their grains.
“We are distributing to state capitals in the first instance as you all are aware of the risk involved in the vandalism of foodstuff so we are working with the office of the national security adviser and other national security agencies.
“Furthermore, 58,500 metric tonnes of milled rice from mega rice millers will also be released into the market for stabilisation”, he said.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the interactive session, Senator Mustapha expressed satisfaction with the steps being taken by the federal government.
He said: “From our interactive session, we are on the other side of the parliament; we are fully in the picture of what is happening, we are convinced that the steps being taken by the federal government are in the right direction.
“All we did again is to further emphasise on the need for certain things to be done on time, I think from this collaborative approach by the grace of God, Nigerians will have a better feel of the government policy on food security”.
Business
Obj Harps On Cheap Credit, Policy Consistency For Food Production
Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called on the government to provide cheap credit and ensure policy consistency to enable farmers increase food production in the country.
The former President made the call as food inflation and nutrition security concerns grow in Africa’s most populous country.
Obasanjo’s made the call at the 9th Agrofood & Plastprintpack conference in Lagos recently, where he said farmers in the country were yearning for consistency in policy and single-digit interest loans to drive growth in the sector and attain food security.
“Policy sustainability and predictability is what farmers want. It helps them to plan. Availability of finance is also what farmers want. They cannot survive on the double digital interest rate”, Obasanjo, who is also a farmer, said at the conference.
According to him, food and nutrition security start with availability, then affordability by ensuring that everyone who needs food can get it.
He noted that food was one of the major imperatives in life, adding that “there cannot be food without agriculture and agribusiness”.
Obasanjo further stressed the importance of agriculture in changing the fortunes of the economy, with attendant exponential gains by way of earnings, employment, food security and other spin-offs.
He noted that agriculture must be made attractive to the country’s teeming youth population, saying this would address the rising unemployment, worsening insecurity and youth migration through the Mediterranean.
“We have to make agriculture attractive to the youths. We have to think within and outside the box to make it attractive to the youths so they are willing to get their hands dirty and feet wet”, he advised.
He continued that “Part of the security issue is owing to our inability to get them engaged. The need for agro-food and agribusiness is for food security, employment, wealth creation and income generation, particularly foreign exchange”.
Speaking also, Wouter Plom, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said his country had faced challenges similar to those Nigeria confronts – feeding a growing population with limited resources.
He said as partners with a joint vision, the Netherlands and Nigeria recognise that the agricultural sector was one of the prominent drivers for economic growth.
He noted that the Netherlands has further strengthened its partnership with Nigeria to boost the agriculture sector in three main areas- economic growth, improved diets and youth employment.
The ambassador noted that all the challenges in driving growth through the sector, improving diets and tackling unemployment can be addressed when food production is efficient.
Paul Maerz, Managing Director of Fairtrade Messe, said with more investment in agro-food & plastprintpack solutions, products and technologies, brighter days were ahead for Nigeria’s agriculture.
Business
Abuja Farmers, Others Lose N12bn To Ginger Disease
The Federal Government, has confirmed the outbreak of ginger blight epidemic in four States in Nigeria, saying ginger farmers have lost over N12 billion due to the disease.
The government disclosed this at the inauguration of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce in Abuja, revealing that the fungal disease had inflicted significant damage on ginger farms in Kaduna, Nassarawa Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the blight had caused billions of naira in losses, impacting not only the livelihoods of farmers, but also Nigeria’s position as the world’s second-largest ginger producer.
“Our preliminary estimates suggested that affected farmers in southern Kaduna lost over N12bn.
“Furthermore, considering that over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s ginger cultivation occurs in this region, we can safely assume a substantial loss of cultivated land, potentially exceeding 70 per cent of total land”, he stated.
Abdullahi, however, stated that the Federal Government through the National Agricultural Development Fund would launch a N1.6bn recovery package for affected farmers in ginger-producing areas.
He said the ginger blight epidemic served as a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness in safeguarding agricultural resources, adding that by investing in research, extension services and farmer support systems, “we can build a more sustainable future for our agricultural sector”.
On his part, the Chairman of the task force committee, Abubakar Abdullahi, said there was no doubt that the blight on ginger had negatively affected the Gross Domestic Product earnings from this subsector.
“It is of necessity and great urgency that various subcommittees are put in place to forestall these negative effects”, he stated.
Abdullahi assured the minister of the commitment of the team to salvage the situation, as he pleaded with the minister to give the committee the power to co-opt members that would add value to the task force to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively.
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