Business
37,692 Number Porting Recorded In August – NCC
The Nigerian Communi
cations Commission (NCC) says 37, 692 mobile number porting have been recorded in August by the telecommunications network operators.
A statement released by the NCC noted that “Incoming and Outgoing Porting Activities of Mobile Network Operators’’ on Monday showed appreciable increase.
The report showed that there was an increase of 493 in the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) activities in August as against the 37,199 in July.
It said that of the 37,692 porting in August, 20,119 were incoming porting, while 17,573 were outgoing activities.
The report also showed that on the outgoing table, MTN Nigeria lost 6,370 subscribers to other networks and that the loss by MTN showed a decline of 1,800 as against the 8,170 subscribers that left the network in July.
According to the report, MTN is the worst hit during the period under review. It is followed by Airtel Nigeria with a loss of 5,203 customers.
It adds that the loss by Airtel, increased by 263 as against the 4,940 customers who left the network in July.
The report said that Globacom lost 4,660 subscribers during the period, representing an increase of 247 from the July record of 4,413.
It also said that 1,340 customers of Etisalat Nigeria ported to other networks in August, as there was a reduction of 673 subscribers, who left the network when compared to 2,013 users in July.
According to the report, Etisalat gained most from the activities as it recorded additional 14,792 customers on its network in August, with an increase of 1,182 subscribers, compared to 13,610 in July.
Airtel was placed second on the gainers’ list, as it added 2,423 subscribers to its customer strength, showing an increase of 707 customers from the July record of 1,716.
Globacom gained 1,155 subscribers, with an increase of 23 users from the 1,132 that ported to its network in July.
MTN Nigeria also gained 1,749 customers in August, showing an increase of 544, when compared to 1,205 in July.
Our source reports that the exercise was flagged off on April 22, 2013 by the NCC, with the aim at deepening competition in the industry.
The regulatory body has reduced the 90 day porting period to 45 days.
According to the telecommunications regulator, consumers have to remain on the new networks for at least 90 days, before they can move to any other network.
“But consumers have kicked against this, especially when they discover that the new network is worse. So the initial period before a consumer can port again has been reduced by half, from 90 to 45 days.
“The commission has also worked with operators to make porting faster.
“While it generally takes a few hours before the average time base for porting to be effected, efforts are on by the commission over the last one year, to make it get down to between five to 20 minutes,” NCC said.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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