Business

MTN Clears $273.6m Fee To Secure 5G Licence

Published

4 years ago

February 11, 2022

There are strong indications that telecommunications firm, MTN, has paid for the Fifth-Generation (5G) network license in Nigeria ahead of the February 24 deadline given to winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction.
MTN and Mafab Communications emerged winners of the two lots of 100MHz of the 3.5GHz spectrum to be deployed for 5G network in Nigeria at the auction process organised on December 13, 2021, by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in conjunction with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, in Abuja.
The two firms were expected to pay $273.6 million before the deadline. MTN as the highest bidder paid an additional $15,900,000 to pick the first lot in the 3500MHz-3600MHz to emerge as the first preferred bid winner.
Though NCC is yet to announce officially, an industry source close to the commission, who is monitoring the situation of things said Wednesday that MTN made the payment two weeks ago. This was later confirmed by an official of the telco.
Speaking anonymously, she said, “MTN has cleared the 5G bill, the regulator should announce when it deems it ready.”
Also on the NCC website, MTN was listed among those who had paid their licence fees in full and had collected licence documents for the respective telecommunications undertaking before the era of reclassification of Licences into Class and Individual licences.
As stated on the NCC website, the licence secured by MTN is in the individual category.
Though, nothing much has been heard about Mafab Communications, checks, however, showed that the company is sure of making payment before the deadline.
The checks revealed that Mafab is hoping to raise $350 million via equity to finance the spectrum license cost and other associated project costs.
Mafab Communications is an indigenous company incorporated in 2020 and licensed to provide and operate local interconnect and international carrier services.
The company is currently a subsidiary of Althani Group of Companies Limited, a company established 15 years ago with a yearly turnover of over $450 million. The company also holds an operational interest in the banking, insurance, hospitality and telecommunication spheres of the Nigerian economy.
According to the information gathered, Mafab Communications has set a five-year target, which would see it deploy into over 6,000 sites in the country. In the first year of deployment, Mafab is targeting 1.5 million subscriber growth from 1000 sites rollout; to increase to three million from 3000 sites by year two.
By the third year, the firm is looking at 4000 sites and five million customers; the fourth year would see 5000 site rollouts, six million users and by the fifth year, site roll out should have increased to 6000 and subscription base of 7.5 million.
MEANWHILE, MTN Nigeria has told its customers they will now be required to provide their Virtual NIN or the improved NIN slip for all SIM related services.
The company disclosed this in a vNIN update flier. According to the company SIM registration, replacement, mobile number portability, NIN linking, and 4G upgrade can only be done with vNIN or the improved NIN slip.
It said: “vNIN is a tokenised version of a person’s actual NIN, it is a 16-digit alphanumeric (ABCXYZ1249872DK…) NIN that customers will be required to generate either via NIMC mobile App, via the improved NIN slip with QR code for scanning using the NIMC mobile app or USSD channel for any SIM related services

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.