Category Nigeria News

In Nigeria and Uganda, MTN Group and Airtel Africa have come to a mutual agreement to share mobile network infrastructure. &nbsp,

The agreement, according to the duo’s statements on Wednesday, aims to reduce investments while maintaining service coverage.

Although there is still a lot of demand for digital and financial services in Africa, network construction and maintenance is expensive, especially for fast 5G connections.

Additionally, the businesses stated that they would look into potential business opportunities in other nations, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, and Zambia.

The majority of the costs in network deployment and operation are covered by radio access network sharing, they continued, along with commercial and technical agreements for sharing of fibre infrastructure and, if necessary, fiber network construction.

The companies stated that “this engagement does not prevent the parties from collaborating with other operators in any particular market.”

According to MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita, “We are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress,” in a statement.

“Across our markets, there is still a strong structural demand for digital and financial services. To provide our customers with high-quality connectivity, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to meet this demand.

However, there are opportunities for sharing resources within regulatory frameworks to increase efficiency and increase returns.

Read more about African National Oil Companies’ Innovative Financing Strategies for Project Development.

Sunil Taldar, the CEO of Airtel Africa, claimed the agreement would prevent costly infrastructure from being duplicated.

Oby Ezekwesili, the former minister of education, says she was pleased to meet Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi at a Senate Committee panel on Tuesday because it demonstrated the challenges women face in a patriarchal society.

Ezekwesili narrated her side of the drama on Wednesday on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program, describing the allegations against suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who had been a subject of sexual harassment allegations before the panel convened.

Relating to Senator’s Recall, Natasha’s lawyer claims Kogi government sponsored it.

The former minister said, “In this society, there is a historic attitude to voice, not just the voice of women, but also those who like me are persistent in demanding public accountability from those who lead an institution that belongs to the society.”

It is a more or less historical function. And so is the behavior of our lawmakers influenced by this attitude. Because of the fact that the rest of society may not be aware of what women endure in many cases but hasn’t given it much thought, I was actually very pleased with what transpired yesterday.

When Ezekwesili and Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, the Akpoti-Uduaghan attorney, contested the Kogi lawmaker before the Senate committee on Tuesday, tempers started to flare at the panel’s Abuja session.

The male lawmaker from Ebonyi North Senatorial District and Ezekwesili engaged in verbal altercation just as the sitting began. Unprintable name-calling and gender-shaming were used in the shouting match.

What Caused A Shouting Match At The Senate Committee – Nwebonyi [READ ALSO]

Ezekwesili described what transpired during the Senate session on Wednesday, describing what the committee prevented her from saying.

Senator Nedamwem Imasuen, the committee’s leader, should step down, the rights activist claimed, in order to promote justice and fairness, and that he should not do so.

Ezekwesili argued that no matter how strong they may be, no matter how powerful they may be, they should not allow any group or individual to silence the voices of accountability. She also urged the society to demand that the public be accountable for that historical event.

She claimed that Akpoti-Uduaghan, who also alleges sexual harassment against Akpabio, has abandoned the Senate. The Kogi lawmaker must receive justice, according to Ezekwesili.

Senator Natasha’s Request to Recall Does Not Meet Requirements — INEC

“Irresponsible Attitude”

The panel’s attorney, Akiyode-Afolabi, who was sitting alongside the ex-minister on Tuesday, also claimed that the panel’s attitude was inappropriate.

The Senate committee was accused of being hostile by Akiyode-Afolabi, who was also a guest on Wednesday’s Sunrise Daily program on Channels Television. The Senators already had a plan, and they wanted her team to join it, she claimed.

She continued, “The panel’s attitude was not what you would expect from any trustworthy chamber in the world.”

They lacked friendship. They already had a plan, and all they wanted us to do was abide by it. They had a strategy to forbid us from speaking at all.

They spoke to us as though they were speaking to some slaves they had brought with them, which was quite disrespectful.

Some northerners are upset with President Bola Tinubu over the “unprecedented poverty” the ex-Lagos governor has experienced in the region in the last 22 months as the country’s leader, according to Yabagi Sani, the national leader of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

Sani, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm program on Tuesday, claimed Seyi, the president’s son, is receiving the president’s criticism for his charitable act.

Watch the video

You call yourself Ezekwesili, a hooligan.

Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recent petition against the president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, abruptly ended on Tuesday when Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, the senator representing Ebonyi North, and former minister of education Oby Ezekwesili engaged in a heated exchange.

Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who had recently been suspended for six months on the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, was the subject of the heated exchange that persisted as Ezekwesili defended the senator.

At the hearing held by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Ezekwesili, along with Mr. Abiola Akiode, the petitioner’s attorney, and Mr. Abiola Akiode.

According to Persecondnews, Yakubu attempted to speak while Senate Committee Chairman Neda Imaseun was already in the audience.

Sen. Nwaebonyi cut off Yakubu’s microphone, but the situation escalated when Ezekwesili attempted to intervene.

Ezekwesili reacted by directing the senator to “compose himself and stop making noise,” which sparked a fiery outburst.

You’re a fool, Nwaebonyi retorted at Ezekwesili in a furious retort. By that, exactly? Why do you speak in that manner to me? I’m not going to accept it. You insult the dignity of a woman. You and other people cannot be here.

Nwaebonyi was later referred to as a “hooligan” by Ezekwesili, which further heightened the heated exchange between them.

Order was eventually restored despite the brief derailment caused by the intense verbal exchange.

Sen. Imaseun intervened shortly after to say that the matter was already being heard by the court, which quickly brought the session to a close.

Persecondnews is aware that the Senate President was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint filed by the suspended senator on March 6 after the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions disregarded her earlier petition on March 5.

She charged Akpabio with sexual harassment in her petition.

She added that she has been subjected to victimization in the Senate because she turned down his advances.

About 125, 000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), valued at about 125 million, have been seized in Kebbi State by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) agents in a significant blow to fuel smugglers.

According to Persecondnews, this massive seizure, which was carried out as part of “Operation Whirlwind,” is the largest fuel bust since the initiative’s inception.

Fuel smuggling poses a significant economic threat, according to ACG Hissaini Ejibunu, the national coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, on Tuesday, contributing to revenue losses, artificial scarcity, and security risks.

According to Ejibunu, “We are committed to dismantling these smuggling networks,” “Fuel smuggling is a major economic threat.”

4 375 jerrycans, each 25 litre, and 54 200 litre drums, each contained the confiscated fuel.

Prior to being intercepted in Tsamiya, officers had been watching the trucks being loaded with the fuel. They were registered in the Republic of Benin.

The collaboration between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was credited with the operation’s success.

The officers’ vigilance was commended by Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, who also thanked Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, the country’s top economic crime advisor, for his leadership.

Adeniyi urged Nigerians to report suspicious activity in support of Customs’ anti-smuggling efforts.

“This operation demonstrates the effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration. We are still holding economic saboteurs accountable and destroying smuggling networks, Adeniyi said.

With the resignation of Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the legal dispute between suspended senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Nigerian Senate has taken a dramatic turn.

The judge announced that he would be stepping aside as a result of a petition that the judge filed against the judge, which alleged the judge was impartial, when the case was scheduled for hearing on Tuesday.

Egwuatu made a statement stating that he would turn over the case file to the Chief Judge, who would then designate a new judge.

The judge effectively halted the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from pursuing disciplinary actions against Akpoti-Uduaghan on March 4 according to Persecondnews’ previous reporting.

The senator is accused of breaking the Senate’s code of conduct and rules.

Egwuatu also provided the defendants with 72 hours to explain why the court shouldn’t launch an investigation into the Senator without violating the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, Senate Standing Order 2023, and Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.

He gave the defendants’ attorneys permission to use substituted means to serve legal documents on them.

The court ordered that the legal documents be delivered either by posting them on the National Assembly’s premises or by handing them over to the clerk of the assembly.

Additionally, the court mandated that the documents be made available for public viewing through at least two national newspapers.

Following Akpoti-Uduaghan’s urgent application, the interim order was issued.

The Senate Committee convened in spite of the court’s ruling, which led to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.

Justice Egwuatu revised and revised his initial order after receiving the defendants’ requests.

He lifted the bar that the Senate could not pursue the senator’s legal challenge while the case was pending.

The court’s authority to interfere with Senate affairs was challenged by the legal team representing Akpabio, led by Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN).

Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s heated argument sparked serious allegations of sexual harassment and defamation, which escalated to serious allegations of defamation and harassment against Akpabio.