Following the evolution of Payment Service Banks, which has seen mobile telecom operators in Nigeria delve into financial services, MTN has kicked off its MTN MoMo.

The MTN MoMo, a commercial payment service bank that the telecom giant started a few years back, finally commenced operation on Thursday after series of trials and approvals from the central bank.

The Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) granted approval to MTN’s fintech in 2021. The company carried out a successful pilot service starting on the 16th of May, 2020, aligning it with the launch of MTN’s GSM operations on the 16th of May 2001 and the listing by introduction on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on the 16th of May 2019. The pilot phase took place across cities in Nigeria.

The PSB already boasts of an expansive agent network of over 166,000 active agents and a digitized partnership infrastructure, poised to provide a wide range of financial service products to millions of unbanked and underserved Nigerians.

MTN CEO, Karl Toriola, said the launch of MTN MoMo will boost financial inclusion in Nigeria.

“We are grateful to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their support and guidance through the process.

“This is an important milestone for MTN Nigeria in our mission to support the government’s drive towards financial inclusion in Nigeria. Not just for those in urban centres and markets, but also people in the rural and remote areas of the country who remain excluded from the financial system,” he said.

MTN has entered into a partnership with Africa’s largest fintech company, Flutterwave, to broaden payment penetration in Africa. This means, MTN MoMo, having established operations in other African countries, stands a chance to compete in Africa’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem.

MoMo PSB CEO, Usoro Usoro said they will be working with other players in the payment industry to expand MoMo services nationwide.

“Providing easy to use, accessible and affordable financial services to all Nigerians is essential to executing the CBN’s financial inclusion strategy and the digital inclusion agenda of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. We look forward to playing our part and are excited about the opportunities to partner with relevant institutions across various sectors to co-create and expand access nationwide,” he said.

This has been a long time coming for the largest mobile telecoms company in Africa. Three banks – Hope PSB, Money Master PSB and 9PSB – got their final approvals in August 2020 and have since commenced operations

The PSB initiative was introduced by CBN in 2019 as a measure to increase financial inclusion in the country particularly in rural areas. According to the CBN, a major objective for the establishment of PSBs is to leverage mobile and digital platforms to enhance financial inclusion in rural areas, especially the underserved parts. This is expected to be achieved by increasing access to deposit products, payments and remittance services to small/micro businesses and low income households.

“Please, help me, help me; he dey carry me go place wey I no know…”

That was the cry of a policewoman that was abducted by a motorist the other day which has been trending on social media. 

According to the motorist, the policewoman entered his vehicle for no reason and wanted to extort him for no just cause as some police officers at motor parks or checkpoints are fond of doing, so the motorist decided to teach the policewoman a lesson. He shut the car doors and zoomed off with the officer. The policewoman had to cry for help and begged for her life before she was let go. 

Netizens have been reacting to this video saying that the policewoman deserves what she got, some even threatened to replicate that with any officer that dares to enter their vehicle for any reason whatsoever to teach the law enforcement agent some lesson.

This is not the first time we are seeing videos of this nature where a law enforcement agent has been assaulted or bullied by motorists. 

While we all can attest to the fact that some law enforcement agents can be nasty, rude, and power-drunk; always looking for the slightest opportunity to bully, extort, or harass individuals but it should never be the justification for people retaliating assaults on officers of the law. People should note that when you attack or assault a law enforcement agent you have committed a serious offense known as a felony punishable with at least three years jail term in Nigeria. 

The act of the motorist locking up the policewoman inside his vehicle can be said to be an abduction. Abducting a law enforcement agent is a felony. Any kind of assault against a police officer is considered a violent felony.

Offenses of this nature are provided for in S.356 of the criminal code act and it is captioned “serious assaults” and it read thus: 

Any person who?.

1) assaults another with intent to commit a felony, or with intent to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of himself or of any other person; or

(2) assaults, resists or wilfully obstructs a police officer while acting in the execution of his duty, or any person acting in aid of a police officer while so acting; or

(3) unlawfully assaults, resists, or obstructs, any person engaged in the lawful execution of any process against any property, or in making lawful distress, while so engaged; or

(4) assaults, resists, or obstructs any person engaged in such lawful execution of process, or in making lawful distress, with intent to rescue any property lawfully taken under such process or distress; or

(5) assaults any person on account of any act done by him in the execution of any duty imposed on him by law; or

(6) assaults any person in pursuance of any unlawful conspiracy respecting any manufacture, trade, business, or occupation, or respecting any person or persons concerned or employed in any manufacture, trade, business, or occupation, or the wages of any such person or person,

is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years. 

Citizens should never be found taking laws into their hands. If you are maltreated by a law enforcement agent, report the incident to the appropriate authority, assaulting a law enforcement agent is not the right way to go about it and it can never be justified for whatever reason. If you are caught assaulting an officer of the law you have committed a felony and you can be jailed for up to three years for the offense. 

The Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), in Nigeria, penultimate week, graciously appointed Professor Mrs Adenike Temidayo Oladiji of the Department of Biochemistry in the University of Ilorin, as the Eighth Substantive Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the FUTA.

According to a statement signed by the Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Richard Arifalo, the Council ratified the appointment at its special meeting held on Thursday 12th May 2022, presided over by the University Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Ambassador Dr. Godknows Igali.

According to the report, twenty candidates had been shortlisted for interview at the commencement of the process, out of the 27 male and two female candidates (29 candidates) that earlier applied for the position.

Nineteen candidates were interviewed, as one of the shortlisted candidates failed to show up. At the end of the interview, the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board recommended three candidates for appointment in line with the extant regulations governing the process.

Because of the closeness of the score of the three recommended candidates, a difference of 0.1%, the Council decided to put it to vote and Professor Oladiji came out top, hence her appointment.

Under extant laws, the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of universities is the prerogative of the Governing Council of the said institutions, which on the advice of an internal selection committee has the power to choose from any of the three best candidates submitted to it.

According to a Letter of Appointment personally signed by Dr. Igali, Professor Oladiji’s appointment, which takes effect from Tuesday 24th May 2022, is for a single term of five years.

However, barely one week after the pronouncement, precisely on 19th May 2022, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), FUTA Chapter frankly rejected the appointment of Prof. Adenike Oladiji as the new Vice-chancellor of the institution.

The rejection of Prof. Oladiji was contained in a statement by concerned members of Senate and signed by Prof. P. A. Aborisade and Prof. M. B. Oyun.

They alleged the selection process of Prof. Oladiji was fraught with fraud and lacked transparency.

The Concerned ASUU members opined that the appointment contravened the law of the University, (Act No 11 of 1993) as amended (2003), concerning the processes of Selection of a Vice-Chancellor. They disclosed the resort to voting during the process was alien to the law guiding the selection of a VC of the University.

The statement reads, “The election of a predetermined preferred candidate whose overall score in the process is lower than that of the candidate who came first, throws merit overboard. Unfortunately that cannot and will not be acceptable to us and shall not stand.

“We reject in its totality the appointment of a candidate (Prof Adenike Oladiji) who came second in the process without any acceptable cogent reason of why the candidate who came first was dropped.

“The resort to voting to select a Vice-Chancellor is alien to the law (Statute) guiding the selection process. The process is called selection intentionally by the drafters of the law rather than Election. The Election is a subversion of our law for specific and pre-determined ends.

“We, ‘Concerned members of FUTA Senate’, hereby call on the Governing Council to rescind its announcement of the candidate, go back and announce the appointment of the candidate who came first in the selection process. We will not accept anything less than this.

“We, ‘Concerned members of FUTA Senate’, call on our respected colleague Professor Adenike Temidayo Oladiji of the University of llorin to remain steadfast at her duty post at UNILORIN and not attempt to come to FUTA as Vice-Chancellor.

One would wonder why the Council, in the first place, resorted to voting contrary to the stipulated regulations guiding the Selection of a VC, as alleged by the ‘concerned Senate members’ of the University.

To ensure the situation doesn’t degenerate into a chaotic and bloody scene in the nearest future, the Council is enjoined to revisit its judgment towards making amends where need be. This is to avert any possible crisis that might befall the operations of the University.

The ongoing ASUU strike in Nigeria has already greatly affected the academic calendar, hence no public university across the country would want or tolerate any other issue that would further truncate the activities of the institution, if the Union eventually calls off the industrial action. This is the reason the needful must be done in earnest without much ado.