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‘NCC Won’t Shift Grounds On Sanctions’

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13 years ago

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The Director, Public Af

fairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Tony Ojobo, last Wednesday said that the commission was not ready to shift ground on the sanctions made to service providers.

Ojobo said this at a news conference in Abuja after a meeting with Chief Executive Officers’ of the service providers.

He said that the deadline given to the service providers by the commission to pay fines for poor service delivery expired on May 25 and none of them had complied till date.

He insisted on the position of NCC that the sanctions and the penalties would have to be paid by the service providers.

“NCC is not ready to shift ground, we are re-emphasising that we are maintaining our stand on the payment of sanctions.

“We are not reconsidering our position, we have not indicated that the default period has been waived. So, nothing is waived, neither the regional sanction nor the default period penalty at the time of payment, all of that have to be paid.

“So, we have entered the default period from May 26, so counting from 26th of May to anytime payment is made, it is N2.5 million per day of default,’’ Ojobo said.

He said that the management of the commission agreed to meet with the CEOs of the service providers so as to find out if there would be any new issues that would be raised.

Ojobo said that at the meeting, the NCC sought to know reason for their coming and the service providers indicated that they wanted to see if NCC could review its position on the sanction.

He said that the service providers attributed the cause of poor quality service to inadequate power supply, cable cut, multi taxation, adding that these challenges were not new to the commission.

The NCC spokesperson said that the issue of quality of service had been on in the last six years until January this year when the quality of service guideline was gazetted.

Ojobo said that in the guideline of the key performance indicators, after the deadline for the payment of the sanction, there was going to be N2.5 million penalty for each day of the default.

“We are already in a default period and it is expected that the sanctions as well as the default penalties have to be paid,’’ he said.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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21 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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22 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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22 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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