A tech mobility startup, Nairaxi, has emerged as the winner out of the selected startups that participated in the third Annual Nigerian Communications Commission’s Information and Communications Technology Innovation Competition and Exhibition in Nigeria. Nairaxi grabbed the cash prize of N2 million after demonstrating excellence in its capacity to bridge the digital divide by adopting innovative and creative tech solutions to drive economic development in Nigeria. The competition was organised by the Research and Development Department of the NCC and was held at the NCC Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos State. Described as quite competitive, the 3rd Annual NCC ICT…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
The Lagos State Government has announced a plan to deploy Cessna 406 aircraft for aerial mapping of the state in furtherance of efforts to provide enhanced infrastructure and determine the number of buildings in the state among other objectives. The State Government said that the exercise, which would commence very soon, would last for six to eight weeks, depending on the weather condition. Mr Babafemi Hamzat, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State who revealed this while speaking at the unveiling ceremony mid-week at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), said that the exercise was part of the state’s major component of…
The number of unused or abandoned lines across the networks of MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile declined by 13 per cent in 2022, showing that more Nigerians used their lines in the year. According to the latest subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), inactive lines on mobile networks stood at 94.4 million as of December 2022, down from 109 million recorded at the end of 2021. The NCC data revealed that the four mobile network operators had a total of N316.6 million connected lines as of December 2022. However, active lines across the networks at the…
President Muhammed Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the use of old N200 notes till April 10, 2023. The President gave the directive during a national broadcast on Thursday, February 16, 2023. During the broadcast, the president alluded to the fact that the naira scarcity being suffered by Nigerians is the fault of ‘unscrupulous officials’ in the banking industry, entrusted with the process of implementing the new monetary policy. According to him, “To stem this tide, I have directed the CBN to deploy all legitimate resources & legal means to ensure that…
The life expectancy of Nigerians, currently estimated at 53 years, maybe further impacted by the challenges occasioned by the naira redesign controversy, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has revealed. Professor Cyril Usifo, President, PSN, in a statement Wednesday said the current state of the economy caused by the scarcity of the new naira notes may also give rise to cases of morbidity and mortality. He noted that the Federal Government institutions now reject the old naira notes and insist on payment of services through confirmed transfer services or payments with bank tellers into their accounts. He berated the judiciary…
Nigeria’s inflation figure is approaching 21.82 per cent, a level not seen in about two decades, on the heels of the prolonged fuel crisis. The inflation rate is 6.22 percentage points higher compared to a year earlier when it was 15.6 per cent. According to the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday, the composite food index also rose to 24.32 per cent year-on-year (y/y), which is also the highest in decades. Core inflation, which is the segment stripped of volatile items such as food and energy, was 19.16 per cent. The figure is…
Press Statement The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a misleading report misquoting the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc. We wish to state categorically that at no time did the CBN Governor disclose this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023. For the records, what Mr. Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working…
Godwin Obaseki, Executive Governor of Edo State has announced that beginning March 1st, 2023, the state government would prohibit using cash in government offices. Governor Obaseki disclosed this Thursday during a Code of Ethics engagement with senior management staff of the Edo State civil/public service as part of the state government’s transformation enhancement programme (Edo STEP), held at the Government House in Benin City. According to the governor, “I have issued a circular that effective March 1st, government offices will be prohibited from using cash. The government is pushing toward a cashless economy. So, why must the service dodge transparency?…
The Federal Government, through the National Population Commission (NPC), has signed a landmark deal with Nigeria’s integrated technology brand, Zinox, for the supply of the tech components and other accessories for the 2023 national census project, further justifying President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s commitment on local content promotion. The contract, worth over N85 billion, was awarded to Zinox after ratification by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). In a statement from Zinox, the company said it has already commenced supply of the first batch of about 100,000 units of the Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) devices required for the nationwide enumeration, adding that…
The scarcity of the Nigerian Naira occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s redesign and cash withdrawal policy has pushed Point of Sales transactions to N807.16bn in January 2023. This is a 40.69 per cent year-on-year increase from the N573.72bn transactions that were done in January 2022. According to new data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, total cashless transactions in Nigeria rose by 45.41 per cent y-o-y to N39.58tn in January 2023. The NIBSS monitors cashless transactions through the Nigeria Instant Payment System and Point of Sales terminals. Total NIP transactions for the period rose by 45.52 per cent…