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Nigeria’s Air Peace Granted Direct Flight Approval to UAE (Dubai)

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Nigeria’s Air Peace Airlines has been approved by the UAE government to operate direct flights to and from Dubai, signifying a potential mending of relations between the two countries.

Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, shared this news after attending the 2023 Dubai Airshow, where he explored opportunities for Nigeria’s aviation industry.

Additionally, Emirates Airlines, which halted its operations in Nigeria due to challenges in repatriating earnings, expressed its intention to resume direct flights to Nigeria. This announcement came after Keyamo’s discussions with the airline officials during the Dubai Airshow.

The Head of Press and Public Affairs in Nigeria’s Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Odutayo Oluseyi, conveyed Keyamo’s interactions with Emirates and Dana Hatcic, the CEO of Airline Executive. Hatcic’s company expressed interest in establishing an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facility in Nigeria.

“Using the opportunity of the Airshow, the Honourable Minister on the sidelines met with officials of Emirates Airline to further discuss the resumption of flights by the Airline to Nigeria which has yielded positive results as the management has given assurance that the resumption of the flight would commence very soon,” Oluseyi partly said.

The statement highlighted the minister’s aspirations for a potential inaugural Nigeria Air Show in November 2024, aiming for Nigeria to host the first such event in Africa.

Keyamo utilized his visit to the Dubai Airshow to explore modern technologies in the aviation and aerospace industries. His focus is said to be on aligning these innovations with Nigeria’s aviation goals, including infrastructure enhancement and fostering innovation and creativity.

The Dubai Airshow, which ran from November 13 to November 17, drew participants from global aviation and aerospace sectors, showcasing cutting-edge developments and hosting industry specialists from various countries.

This positive shift in relations and business developments at the airshow could pave the way for improved connectivity and collaborations between Nigeria and the UAE in the aviation sector.

Nigeria’s relationship with the UAE has soured in recent times, with airlines from both countries being restricted, while some withdrew aviation services in response to issues ranging from the inability to repatriate earnings to diplomatic falloffs. The Emirates suspended its operation in Nigeria in 2022.

In 2021, Air Peace Airlines, the only Nigerian airline that operates passenger flights to UAE, requested 3 weekly passenger flight frequencies and was granted only one weekly passenger flight frequency.

This is after the Minister of Aviation graciously approved the Winter schedule of Emirates, consisting of 21 weekly passenger flight frequencies to Nigeria, without any hindrances in the spirit and intent of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and UAE.

The Minister then decided to apply the principle of reciprocity and withdraw the approval given to Emirates Airlines and instead approve one weekly flight frequency.

In September 2022, it was revealed that the UAE had placed Nigerians under the age of 40 under a visa ban, a situation which later escalated to the restriction of work visas to Nigerians.

President Tinubu’s administration said it is working with the UAE authorities to resolve the disputes. But talks by both governments to amend their relationship and restore bilateral activities to normal have not yielded fruitful results. In September, the Nigerian government announced that the UAE has lifted visa restrictions imposed on Nigerians. The UAE government denied it did.

We Spent N223.3m on Food, Not N927m – Abia State Government Denies Extravagant Spending

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

The Abia State government has issued a clarification statement in response to a report by Sahara Reporters that the Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, spent N927 million on food for the government house in three months.

Nedu Ekeke, the deputy chief of staff to the governor, issued the statement to address the backlash and provide context to the spending figures.

According to the statement, the government clarified that the reported spending was not limited to food expenses but included various aspects such as personnel costs, renovations, and the operation of multiple agencies directly under the government house.

“The costs of running these agencies, including personnel, overhead & capital were charged to Govt House. I am not sure that Ebonyi State bought 20 Toyota Hilux trucks for any special military operation. But Abia did for “Operation Crush”. That cost is part of the report,” the statement said.

The government emphasized the need to consider the peculiarities of each government house, and in the case of Abia State, it inherited a facility with over 700 staff, which was later reduced to over 500.

The statement highlighted the renovations undertaken in government offices, including the political block, protocol building, banquet hall, and official residences like the SSG’s, Chief judge’s, and Chief of Staff’s, which were in poor conditions. The government also mentioned the need for new furniture due to the removal of furniture by the previous administration.

Additionally, the statement explained that several agencies operate directly under the government house, contributing to the overall operational costs.

The clarification also addressed the issue of salaries, highlighting that the immediate past government stopped paying salaries in February, and the new administration under Governor Otti insisted on paying twice every month to clear the backlog from March to May.

Regarding the reported spending on information and propaganda, the government stated that the Ministry of Information is a full-fledged ministry, responsible for managing entities like the Abia Broadcasting Corporation (BCA), Abia Newspaper, and the State Tourism Board. The costs associated with running these entities were included in the reported figures.

The statement emphasized the commitment of the government to improving the lives of the people and the transparency in providing a comprehensive financial statement after auditing a full year.

Read the full statement below:

Imagen

This image has continued to move from timeline to timeline. But the comparison is not particularly fair. The Alex Otti government has since addressed it on the radio. But it appears many on Twitter did not follow the explanations. I will go ahead and speak to it now.

No two Govt Houses are the same. Each has their peculiarities. What we inherited in Abia was a Govt House with over 700 staff. We reduced them to over 500 (through reposting). But the overhead and personnel costs of the 700+ personnel are part of the figures you’re seeing.

You’ve seen images of really decayed roads all over Abia State, but that decay permeated every structure of the state, including govt offices. We have been able to renovate some offices, e.g. the political block that houses many appointees, the protocol building, and the banquet hall.

The SSG’s official residence, the Chief Judge’s, and the Chief of Staff’s were all in terrible shapes and had to be renovated. In fact, the Chief Judge’s was unlivable. And the renovation is still ongoing. She is putting up in another apartment until hers is completed.

The renovations also came with furniture, as the last administration carted away most of the furniture in their offices when they were leaving. Shortly upon assumption of office, Gov Alex Otti set up a judicial panel of inquiry to recover all stolen Govt assets.

The Commissioners’ Quarters were totally abandoned. It was overgrown with weeds. It was built with govt funds and the Alex Otti administration insisted that commissioners would live there. Govt was not going to give them money to go rent apartments. But it also had to be renovated.

Further, a lot of agencies are directly under the Govt House, instead of ministries. Examples are: a. Fire Service, b. Homeland Security (used to be a full-fledged ministry but now an agency, c. State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), d. Umuahia Capital Development Authority, e. ASOPADEC, f. ASEPA, g. Abia State Orientation Agency (ABSOA), h. Infrastructural Promotion Agency, i. Public Procurement Bureau, j. Marketing & Quality Control Agency, k. Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSAA), l. ABSEDA and others.

The costs of running these agencies, including personnel, overhead & capital were charged to Govt House. I am not sure that Ebonyi State bought 20 Toyota Hilux trucks for any special military operation. But Abia did for “Operation Crush”. That cost is part of the report.

The agencies above were what we inherited. Gov. Alex Otti earlier constituted a civil service reform committee to look at these issues and advise govt on how to rationalize them. They are done with the work and will be submitting their report any moment from now.

Worthy of note is that the immediate past govt stopped paying salaries in February. From June, our first month in office, Gov Otti insisted on paying twice every month to clear the March-May backlog. Those payments – some of which were to the Govt House staff – are in this report.

On the one reported as “propaganda”, the Ministry of Information is a full-fledged ministry. In fact, the current Information Ministry used to be 3 ministries under the past administration. Gov Otti merged them. Under the ministry are the Abia Broadcasting Corporation (BCA), Abia Newspaper, and the State Tourism Board. Each has its staff. The cost of running these is in the report you’re seeing. It was not for propaganda. The Alex Otti administration is fortunate to be loved by the people and does not spend money pushing narratives.

Abians themselves, who appreciate the hardworking government, help us tell our story. In summary, what you’re seeing is like a movie trailer. It does not show the entire picture. The entire picture will show after an audited full-year financial statement.

This thread was posted before I saw a sensational tweet by Sahara Reporters, claiming the govt spent N927m on food.

That post is false. Even the document SR published captured meals at N223.3m. But I will urge everyone to await the government’s official response on that.

Thanks to all of you who called/texted to seek clarification. Ours is a govt that is fully committed to making life better for the people. His Excellency Dr. Otti is actually his own critic. He’ll never do anything to shortchange the people who entrusted him with their mandate.

Dojah, a Tekedia Capital Portfolio company, Provides Digital Verification Infrastructure

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

Dojah (YC-W22) is a critical infrastructure for the digital future, making it easier for companies, individuals and governments, to know the people and the organizations they are doing transactions with. All companies and governments over time will converge online because the web is the operating system for modern commerce and industry.

Dojah, a Tekedia Capital portfolio company, is here to serve you: “its advanced AI-powered technology makes it easy for businesses and governments to onboard users and citizens at scale, ensuring a smooth and secure verification.”

To learn more about Dojah, go here https://dojah.io/. To know what Tekedia Capital does, visit https://capital.tekedia.com/ .

Microsoft Hires OpenAI’s ex-CEO Sam Altman

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Microsoft has hired former OpenAi CEO Sam Altman – underscoring its commitment to the Copilot project. Microsoft’s Satya Nedella announced the development on Monday via X, explaining that the company remains committed to its partnership with OpenAI.

“… And we’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” Nadella said. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.”

Microsoft is revamping its Bing Chat interface, integrated across Bing search results, Microsoft Edge, and Windows 11, under the name “Copilot.” This name, previously used for its chatbot within Windows 11, is now being expanded to encompass various interfaces. Microsoft appears to be aiming to establish Copilot as a prominent choice in the competitive AI assistant market for both consumers and businesses.

Under this rebranding effort, Copilot is positioned as the free version of Microsoft’s AI chatbot, while Copilot for Microsoft 365 (previously Microsoft 365 Copilot) is labeled as the paid option. The free Copilot service will remain accessible in Bing and Windows, now with its dedicated domain at copilot.microsoft.com, adopting a structure akin to ChatGPT.

Nadella said [we] have confidence in our product roadmap, our ability to continue to innovate with everything we announced at Microsoft Ignite, and in continuing to support our customers and partners.

This development underpins how heated the AI race is becoming, with new companies emerging – seeking to grab shares from the emerging market. X, formerly Twitter owner, Elon Musk, under Nadella’s announcement: “Now they will have to use Teams!”

Earlier this month, Musk announced the launch of Grok, the latest development from his new AI company, xAI.

The company said that “Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak,” adding that a unique and fundamental advantage of Grok is that it has real-time knowledge of the world via the ? platform. “It will also answer spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems,” xAI said.

However, it is not clear for now what effect Altman’s exit will have on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has exerted leadership over the AI market with 100 million weekly users, according to the company.

Under Altman’s leadership, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer internet app of all time after its launch nearly a year ago, notching an estimated 100 million monthly users in just two months. The AI company also moved its value from zero to $80 billion, with Microsoft being one of its biggest investors.

While Microsoft has bet billions of dollars on OpenAI, its recent push for a Microsoft-owned AI company and the hiring of Altman signals the determination of the tech giant to become a power player in the emerging market.

Impact of Rising Telecom Tariff and Data Plans on Consumers and Nigerian Digital Economy

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

The rising cost of telco tariff and data plans in Nigeria has been a source of concern for many consumers and businesses. The high cost of operating and maintaining telecom infrastructure in Nigeria, especially in rural and remote areas where there is poor power supply, security challenges and multiple taxation. The depreciation of the naira against major foreign currencies, which increases the cost of importing telecom equipment and paying for international bandwidth.

The inflationary pressure on the economy, which erodes the purchasing power of consumers and reduces their demand for telecom services. The need to ensure a fair return on investment for the telecom operators, who have invested billions of naira in building and upgrading their networks. The need to create a level playing field for all telecom operators, especially the smaller ones who are struggling to compete with the dominant players.

What is the impact of rising Telco’s tariff and data plans on consumers and the economy?

Reduced access to affordable and quality telecom services, especially for low-income earners, students, entrepreneurs and rural dwellers who rely on mobile phones and internet for communication, education, business and social activities.

Reduced adoption and usage of digital services and platforms, such as e-commerce, e-government, e-learning, e-health, fintech and social media, which are essential for enhancing productivity, innovation and inclusion in the digital economy. Reduced competitiveness and growth of the telecom sector, which is one of the key drivers of economic diversification, job creation and revenue generation in Nigeria. Reduced contribution of the telecom sector to the national GDP, which stood at 12.45% as of Q2 2023 according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

What are the possible solutions to address the issue of rising telco tariff and data plans in Nigeria?

The issue of rising telco tariff and data plans in Nigeria is a complex one that requires a holistic and collaborative approach from all stakeholders. Some of the possible solutions include: – Reviewing and revising the price floor for data services by the NCC, taking into consideration the interests of both consumers and operators.

Improving the regulatory environment for telecom operators by reducing multiple taxation, streamlining licensing processes, ensuring security of telecom infrastructure and enforcing compliance with quality-of-service standards.

Enhancing the availability and affordability of spectrum for telecom operators by conducting transparent auctions, allocating spectrum efficiently and promoting spectrum sharing among operators. Encouraging infrastructure sharing among telecom operators by providing incentives, guidelines and oversight for co-location, interconnection and roaming agreements.

Promoting competition and innovation in the telecom sector by creating an enabling environment for new entrants, fostering partnerships among operators and supporting local content development. Educating and empowering consumers on their rights and responsibilities as telecom users by providing adequate information, feedback mechanisms and redress options.

Nigerian Telecom Operators Plan Increase in Tariffs, Say Current Rates No Longer Sustainable

The Nigerian telecom industry is facing a major challenge as operators plan to increase their tariffs in the coming months. The operators say that the current rates are no longer sustainable under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, who took office in May 2023.

According to the operators, the cost of providing telecom services has increased significantly due to inflation, foreign exchange volatility, regulatory fees, security threats, and infrastructure vandalism. They also claim that the government has not fulfilled its promises of improving the power supply, reducing multiple taxation, and granting them access to public infrastructure.

The operators say that they have been operating at a loss for several years, and that they need to adjust their tariffs to reflect the current economic realities. They warn that if they do not increase their tariffs, they may be forced to reduce their quality of service, lay off workers, or exit the market altogether.

However, the planned tariff hike has been met with resistance from consumers, civil society groups, and some lawmakers. They argue that the operators are already charging exorbitant prices for poor services, and that increasing the tariffs will further impoverish Nigerians who depend on telecom services for communication, education, health, banking, and entertainment.

They also accuse the operators of being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians who are suffering from high unemployment, poverty, insecurity, and corruption. They urge the government to intervene and stop the operators from exploiting Nigerians.

The government has not yet issued an official statement on the matter, but sources say that it is in talks with the operators to find a mutually acceptable solution. The sources say that the government is aware of the challenges facing the telecom industry, but also mindful of the impact of tariff increase on Nigerians.

The telecom industry is one of the most vibrant and competitive sectors in Nigeria, contributing about 10% to the country’s GDP. It has over 200 million subscribers and employs thousands of Nigerians directly and indirectly. It is also a key enabler of other sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, agriculture, and education.

The rising cost of telco tariff and data plans in Nigeria is a challenge that needs urgent attention from all stakeholders. While it is understandable that telecom operators need to recover their costs and make profits, it is also important that consumers are not overburdened with exorbitant prices that limit their access to essential telecom services. The NCC, as the regulator of the telecom sector, has a critical role to play in balancing the interests of both parties and ensuring that Nigeria achieves its vision of becoming a leading digital economy.

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