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FG Announces Establishment Of 20 New Marriage Registries

FG Announces Establishment Of 20 New Marriage Registries

In a bid to bring Federal Marriage Registry closer to the grassroots, the Federal Government has announced the establishment of additional twenty (20) new Federal Marriage Registries across the country, adding that efforts were ongoing to have Federal Marriage Registries in all the State Capitals of the Federation.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this at a National Stakeholders’ Conference on the Administration and Conduct of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria, today, in Abuja.

The Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, stated that the Conference was necessitated by need for the Ministry to inform stakeholders and enlighten the general public about some new guidelines and important aspects about the administration and conduct of Statutory Marriage in the country, as well as the amended Legal Notices in the Marriage Act.

Accoding to him, the amended Legal Notices has changed the dynamics of the administration and conduct of statutory marriages in Nigeria and has put to rest the lingering disagreement between the Ministry and the Local Government Registrars of Marriage by designating the Local Government Areas and Area Development Councils of the Federal Capital Territory as Marriage Districts.

“The Beauty of this arrangement is that it brings the services of this Ministry, via the Marriage Registries, closer to the grassroots, thus reducing the need to travel relatively long distances to get married at a Federal Marriage Registry,” Aregbesola said.

“Some of these guidelines include: i. that the Ministry of Interior has the sole regulatory responsibility for the issuance of licenses to Public Places of Worship for the conduct of statutory marriages in Nigeria; ii. Local Government Councils that have recently been designated as Marriage Districts may now nominate officers as Local Government

Registrars of Marriage and must procure Marriage Certificate Booklets from the Ministry of Interior; iii. The nomination of Local Government Registrars of Marriage and the Deputies by the Local Government Authorities should be endorsed and registered by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior who is the Principal Registrar of Marriages in Nigeria; iv. The printing and issuance of Marriage Certificate Booklets to licensed Places of Worship and Marriage Registries is the sole responsibility of the Principal Registrar of Marriages; v. The Ministry of Interior has the sole authority to issue the only valid and legally recognised Certificate of Marriage known as “FORM E,” he disclosed.

“It is my utmost pleasure therefore, to inform you about one of the major achievements of the Ministry which is the successful review of the contents of the 2nd Schedule to the Marriage Act known as the Legal Notices. The review has brought the Legal Notices in conformity with the present administrative and political realities in Nigeria today while the amendment of other sections of the Marriage Act is ongoing,” he emphasised.

He added that the Ministry had its inaugural Stakeholders Conference on the conduct of Statutory Marriages in the third Quarter of 2019 in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt respectively and one of the recommendations of the Stakeholders was the need for more conferences to educate the public on issues pertaining to statutory marriages in Nigeria.

“This Conference is one of many more to come, aimed at continuously educating and informing the public on the importance of statutory marriages and the statutorily recognised Certificate of Marriage (FORM E), to inform stakeholders about various innovations in the administration of statutory marriages and to provide a platform for a robust exchange of ideas that will promote the institution of marriage,” the Minister stressed.

In his own words, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Principal Registrar of Marriages in Nigeria, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, noted that he was duty bound to ensuring the implementation of the provisions of the Marriage Act with regard to the administration and conduct of Statutory Marriages.

“The Marriage Act, which was originally enacted in 1914 by the British colonial masters, is the legislation that provides the procedures for the conduct of statutory marriages in Nigeria. It has been amended several times with the latest version being 2004,” he added.

The new regime, Belgore stressed, entails strict adherence to the administrative and statutory procedures in the conduct of statutory marriages. He noted further that to achieve this, the Ministry has created an Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation (EI&I) division whose function is to ensure that Places of Worship and Marriage Registries comply with the provisions of the Marriage Act, thus engendering a pleasant Marriage experience for couples.

The Permanent Secretary expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for their swift endorsement and approval of the amended Legal Notices as contained in the Marriage Act CAP M6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Earlier in her remarks, the Director Citizenship and Business Department in the Ministry, Mrs. Moremi Soyinka-Onijala said the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has been very concerned about the various challenges that had over time, militated against the effectiveness of the rules and regulations as well as the laws guiding the conduct of Statutory Marriage and had directed that solutions be fashioned out as quickly as possible, which culminated to this Conference.

Participants at the conference included the Representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSIA), National Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Permanent Secretaries, Federal Ministries of Justice, Information and Culture, Foreign Affairs, Wowen Affairs and Social Development among other critical stakeholders..

Towoju, Raphael B.

Marilyn Moodley appointed to lead SoftwareONE South Africa

Marilyn Moodley appointed to lead SoftwareONE South Africa

Marilyn Moodley has been appointed as South African Country Leader for SoftwareONE, an end-to-end cloud technology and software solutions company operating in over 90 countries. An eight-year veteran with the company, Moodley takes over the reins from Grant Bryce who is now leading SoftwareONE Ireland.

Her new role comes at an exciting time for SoftwareONE as it rapidly expands its capabilities into areas like SAP migration services, application modernisation and hyperscale cloud services and solutions. In the last six months alone, the organisation has acquired five companies and formed two strategic partnerships – including a global SAP and app modernisation focused alliance with Microsoft – to rapidly increase its breadth and depth of services, with a primary focus on helping organisations to digitally transform by moving to the cloud.

“At SoftwareONE we believe that digital transformation is underpinned by commercial and technology transformation,” explains Moodley. “In the technology space, we help our customers create future workplaces, enabling employees to work productively from anywhere. We do this with our advisory, migration, and managed services for Microsoft 365, as well as Adoption & Change Management, security, back up and unified communications.

“Similarly at the data centre level, we work with customers to move on-premise and legacy systems to the hyperscale cloud providers – particularly Microsoft and AWS, but also Google Cloud. We take them from initial advisories, which are often fully funded due to our global relationship with the cloud providers, through to migration and fully managed services including managed security and application modernisation,” she continues.

Commercial transformation is another core area of focus for SoftwareONE. Using its licensing legacy, the company provides extensive advisory services on how to get maximum value from tech spend, including SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and IBM license and compliance advisories, as well as providing Software Lifecycle Management and FinOps.  All of this is underpinned by its own proprietary PyraCloud platform, which allows customers to digitise their software supply chain, manage contracts and track, control and predict cloud spend across multiple providers.

“In the eight years that I’ve been at SoftwareONE, the company has grown massively both geographically and in our breadth of services and solutions. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be taking control as we are genuinely able to act as a trusted partner to our customers ensuring they get the most value out of their IT spend while helping them transform in the process. The opportunity in South Africa and Africa to use technology to grow is phenomenal and I personally look forward to being part of this success story,” says Moodley.

www.softwareone.com

NCC to Balance Competition with Disruptive Technologies for Sustainable Telecoms Growth

NCC to Balance Competition with Disruptive Technologies for Sustainable Telecoms Growth

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has emphasised that in light of disruption in the technology world, it is keen on balancing healthy competition with entry of disruptive technologies to ensure sustainable telecoms industry growth and development in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, stated this during a presentation to the Commission by a delegation from SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportations services company, in Abuja on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

SpaceX is in the process of launching a low-earth orbiting (LOE) constellation of satellites to provide low latency, high bandwidths Internet to all corners of the globe and has identified Nigeria as a critical market.

SpaceX has been in discussion with NCC virtually over the past several months to begin the process of pursuing all necessary licenses to bring Starlink, its satellite-based broadband services to Nigeria.

Having made substantial progress in the discussion, the Commission granted SpaceX’s request for a face-to-face discussion to gain better insights on the prospects of their proposal.

Led by SpaceX’s Starlink Market Access Director for Africa, Ryan Goodnight and supported by the company’s consultant, Levin Born, the company provided an overview of its plans, expectations, licensing requests and deployment phases during the meeting.
After the presentation by SpaceX team, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Ubale Maska, who stood in for the EVC, said NCC will work on necessary modalities to ensure that it balances the need for healthy competition vis-a-vis the entry of new technologies, in order to protect all industry stakeholders.

“As the regulator of a highly dynamic sector in Nigeria, the Commission is conscious of the need to ensure that our regulatory actions are anchored on national interest. We have listened to your presentation and we will review it vis-à-vis our regulatory direction of ensuring effective and a sustainable telecoms ecosystem where a licensee’s operational model does not dampen healthy competition among other licensees,” Maska told the SpaceX delegation.

Maska further stated that the Commission is interested in making necessary regulatory efforts to drive the coverage of rural, unserved and underserved areas of the country through the accomplishments of the lofty targets contained in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025. He noted that the plan’s target of 70 per cent broadband penetration target, covering 90 per cent of the population by 2025 is also in line with government expectations in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2010-2030.

Other Senior Management staff of the Commission, at the briefing include the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Adeleke Adewolu; Director, Licensing and Authorisation, Mohammed Babajika; Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Bako Wakil; Director, New Media and Information Security, Dr. Haru Alhassan and Director, Spectrum Administration, Oluwatoyin Asaju, among others.

Section 70 (2) of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, empowers the Commission to regulate the provision and use of all satellite communications services and networks, in whole or in part within Nigeria or on a ship or aircraft registered in Nigeria.


This is for the purpose of ensuring a well-developed and organised satellite communications market with appropriate legal framework that meets international best practices, encourages innovation, promotes competition and guarantees public safety in the rendering of commercial satellite services.

Rape Allegations: Bishop Blessing Samuel Speaks Up!

Rape Allegations: Bishop Blessing Samuel Speaks Up!

Lately, one Apostle Belema Abili allegedly paid one Evi Okaili to accuse Bishop Blessing Samuel of rape. They took to social media (Facebook) to announce how she was raped by Bishop Blessing Samuel of Royal Place Ministries Int’l. In a Facebook post, they connived and accused the Man of God of having a relationship with one Evi which when it got sour decided to rape her, these allegation has been vehemently denied by Bishop Blessing. Irrespective of the clergy’s magnanimity to Balema and Evi. Members of the church have said that the allegations are unfounded and ridiculous.

The U.S based reputable Man of God, bishop Blessing who has been petrified, shocked and embarrassed by this statement has vehemently denied having any carnal or sexual knowledge or doings with her either with her intention or not.
Bishop Blessing has always been a blessing to the people that do come in contact with him. As a clergy, the bishop has over the years involved himself in evangelical mission, converting souls to Christ, adding value in lives of people, impacting kingship and banishing slavery.

It was also gathered that same Belema once brought a lady called Nadia to accuse Bishop Blessing Samuel of rape on her live video, people saw through her lies and deceit, Nadia’s messages were exposed for the world to see that bishop was innocent of the false accusations. Her deceitful act made her disappeared from Facebook till date.

Belema Abili was one of the young chaps that Bishop Blessing impacted positively. The Bishop met Belema when she was worldly and decided to give her sense of direction spiritually and in her well-being. Over the years, Bishop Blessing has played a fatherly role in the live of this young Christian convert Belema Abili. He has described the allegation(s) be it rape or having a relationship that goes sour as “utterly ridiculous “and preposterous.

Just like our Lord Jesus Christ was accused of so many things, it is said that true Christians must be faced with persecution and trials and this rape case isn’t far from it for a true Christian.

In the word of Bishop Blessing Samuel, he said that “this is a false allegation and this young lady is using this to tarnish my image and ruin my reputation as a man of God. The young lady in question, I took her as a daughter and I am wondering how she could allow the devil or worldly enchantments to take over her, especially her sense of decency and morality. She is out to ruin my reputation which I will not agree to. It took me years to build these reputations and I know that the Lord I serve will vindicate me”

“let it be clear that on no period had I had any amorous or sexual relationship with Balema, our relationship was strictly spiritual and I saw her as a spiritual daughter and I acted in accordance to the biblical injunction. I wonder where she is getting the idea of me raping her. I do not know why she is going around talking this in social media. If she is very sure of what she is doing, she should head to court with evidences and prove to the world that I, Bishop Blessing Samuel raped her or had a sexual relationship with her. She should desist from this libelous character “, Samuel added.

The Clergy, Bishop Blessing said that he sent Evi Okaili money to support her and ensure that she becomes successful in her life. “I do not know how a lady can say thank you so much for financial blessings in my life over these years, to say that I raped her, I gave this lady a financial assistant to support her business and then another for her sick parents.” bothered Blessing concluded.

Most of the people who commented on Apostle Belema Abili’s sex allegations against Bishop Blessing Samuel advised woman to retrace her steps from defaming the bishop in order to avoid bringing the entire body of Christ into disrepute.

LASWA RESTATES COMMITMENT TO SAFETY ON WATERWAYS

LASWA RESTATES COMMITMENT TO SAFETY ON WATERWAYS

… Donates 400 Life Jackets to Ferry Passengers, Operators in CMS, Apapa

In continuation of its safety awareness campaign programme, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), has commenced the distribution of free life-jackets to residents of different riverine communities in Lagos State.

Speaking on the exercise, the General Manager of LASWA, Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said that the items were distributed to ensure passenger safety during the rainy season, just as he pointed out that the number of boat mishaps has reduced since Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu assumed office.

“This success story is due to the massive investment of the current administration in the waterways sub-sector, especially in safety improvement and awareness”, he added.

The General Manager warned boat operators to always navigate with caution and ensure all passengers put on their life jackets before boarding, promising that weather conditions will always be monitored before sailing during this rainy season.

“A total number of 400 life jackets of various sizes were donated to ferry passengers, school children and boat operators during the exercise at Ebute-Ero, Sabokoji, Liverpool, Temidire and Coconut jetties in CMS and Apapa areas of Lagos State. The exercise is one of the strategies adopted by LASWA to make water transportation safer for residents of the State”, Emmanuel asserted.

LASG

ForAGreaterLagos

PIX 1: LASWA Officials presenting life jackets at Temidire Jetty in Apapa.

PIX 2: Kids in the Sabonkoji riverine area wearing the life jackets donated by LASWA

PIX 3: Passengers at Ebute-Ero jetty with donated life jackets

PIX 4: Ebute-Ero market women and waterways users with their life jackets donated by LASWA

APC CONSTITUTION REVIEW: GOV AKEREDOLU RECEIVES SOUTHWEST COMMITTEE’S REPORT

APC CONSTITUTION REVIEW: GOV AKEREDOLU RECEIVES SOUTHWEST COMMITTEE’S REPORT

Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has received the report of the Southwest All Progressives Congress (APC) Constitution Review Committee.

The committee’s report was presented to the Governor by its Chairman, who is also Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapohunda.

The committee was put together to look at the ongoing constitution review of the APC with a view to contributing the observations and recommendations of the party in the Southwest region to the exercise.

Receiving the report virtually in his office on Wednesday, Governor Akeredolu, who commended the committee for the impressive efforts put into the assignment, said the observations and contributions of the Southwest APC will now form part of the national deliberations of the party.

He said the committee has touched many areas, stressing that areas where consensus could not be reached will be left for the national body to deliberate and decide upon.

On the mode of primaries to be adopted, Governor Akeredolu said it is clear that it will be a difficult discussion at the national level, adding that whatever the decision will be, it will be brought back to the National Executive Council and the National Convention of the party.

“On the issue of sharing formula, something must be done to raise some resources for most of the states except the ones that have Governors. It is time for the party to make some investment. Resources must come to the states. And at the state level, something must go to the local government level. That is how we can survive,” Governor Akeredolu said.

Signed:

Richard Olatunde
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ondo State.

SANWO-OLU COMMISSIONS 66-CLASSROOM BLOCKS IN FOUR LAGOS SCHOOLS

SANWO-OLU COMMISSIONS 66-CLASSROOM BLOCKS IN FOUR LAGOS SCHOOLS

…As Governor connects 100 schools to broadband Internet to aid learning

…State to unveil 300 more education projects next week

Four magnificent newly completed school buildings were unveiled on Thursday by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu across three Local Government Areas (LGA) in Lagos State.

The multi-level ultra-modern buildings are part of the infrastructure projects completed by the Ministry of Education under the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP), which is covering 970 basic and secondary schools across the State.

Sanwo-Olu inaugurated the school projects amid praises by teachers, students and their parents. As he stopped in each of the beneficiary schools to formally open the buildings, the Governor was warmly received by cultural troupes made up of pupils, singing in appreciation of the gesture.

Four-storey buildings of 18 fully furnished classrooms each were commissioned by Sanwo-Olu in Fazil Omar Senior High School, Iwaya, Yaba; Onike Girls Junior High School, Onike-Iwaya, and Igbobi Junior High School, Somolu. The fourth school project is in Akintan Junior Grammar School on Clegg Street, Surulere, where the Governor opened a single-story building of 12 fully furnished classrooms.

Sanwo-Olu said his administration’s intervention in education was predicated on revamping the learning environment and introduction on technology to raise quality and deliver excellent results.

He said education remained one of his Government’s building blocks to achieve its vision of Greater Lagos, adding that the projects would further strengthen the effort to achieve the goals in “Education and Technology” pillar of his T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda.

He said: “The move to actualise our Greater Lagos vision is hinged on delivering quality education as building blocks. We flagged off the upgrade of infrastructure in schools to deliver 300 classrooms, including seven new hostel blocks across our boarding schools.

“Some of the projects are being commissioned today and they include a block of 18 classrooms with administrative offices, library, laboratory, toilets, and water supply systems each at Igbobi Junior College, Fazil Omar Senior High School Iwaya and Onike Girls High School, Iwaya.

“We aggressively embarked on these projects to accelerate our children’s access to world-class learning environments, thereby providing requisite facilities and security in the schools that cut across Education Districts and Local Government Councils. All of these efforts are taken to expand access to quality education for our children irrespective of their location.”

In complementing the facility upgrade, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government had started to roll out fibre optics across the State-owned schools to aid learning through high-speed Internet connectivity.

Before end of the month, the Governor said broadband Internet infrastructure would be completed and commissioned in 100 schools selected for pilot scheme.

From next week, Sanwo-Olu disclosed that members of the State’s Executive Council would be commissioning iconic schools projects across the State, as part of the activities marking his second year anniversary in office.

The Governor acknowledged the national feats in academic recorded in the 2021 National Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientist (JETS) Competition held last February in Abuja, in which pupils of Lagos State origin won 11 medals and 10 trophies in various categories of the academic contest.

Also at the recently concluded Maltina School Games, Lagos emerged the Overall Best State, clinching 21 gold medals. Sanwo-Olu described the feats as part of the results of his administration’s investment in education.

He promised to continue to improve the standard of education and quality of teaching personnel to make Lagos schools a positive reference point.

He said: “The infrastructure being put in place in our schools would amount to nothing if they were not complemented by competent, dedicated and passionate teachers. I assure all parents that the standard of education will continue to rise and we will not stop until Lagos schools become a positive reference point across the globe.”

Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, said the Governor’s focus was not on infrastructure upgrade alone. She said the State’s intervention had also touched all elements of the value chain in education, including teachers’ recruitment and training, teachers’ rewards, curriculum review, investment in technology for learning, and provision of teachers tablets, among others.

She said the inaugurated projects were parts of the 1,097 projects being undertaken by the Sanwo-Olu administration, covering comprehensive upgrade of 970 public primary and secondary schools.

In the LMDGP, the Commissioner said the State Government had supplied 86,000 dual furniture sets to 775 schools, constructed 70 new school buildings, renovated 197 schools and built eight new hostel blocks in the State-owned boarding schools.

Adefisayo said: “The State Government’s ultimate purpose is to ensure that all students in our schools receive sound and quality education in a good environment. It is wonderful to see that these promises are being kept. In less than 2 years, the State Government has met every one of these promises to a significant extent.”

Chairman of Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS), Mr. Hakeem Smith, highlighted the details of the projects, pointing out that the intervention addressed spatial functionality, design efficiency, building durability, adequate ventilation and natural lighting.

He added that the Committee, since its inauguration in November 2019, had embarked on the construction of several classroom blocks, school hostel accommodation cutting across 100 primary and secondary schools in the State.

On the top most floors of the inaugurated schools are laboratories, assembly grounds and office spaces for teaching personnel.

WE ARE LOOKING AT RURAL MARKETS TO DEPLOY OUR AGENCY BANKING SOLUTIONS – LOLADE

WE ARE LOOKING AT RURAL MARKETS TO DEPLOY OUR AGENCY BANKING SOLUTIONS – LOLADE

As an IT firm, how has it been all these years?

Being an indigenous IT firm that has being in existence before the information technology (IT) industry became fully grown, I must say that it has being tough. Getting good resource and trying to build products that are worthy of the tech space in the world at large wasn’t easy to crack. It has gotten easier over the years and it can only get better, IT is here to stay and here to rule.

What are the core areas of IT you are into?

We are a financial technology company with solutions tailored to solve financial problems with IT.  E-Settlement Limited is an independent, private sector led, limited liability company located in Lagos, Nigeria focused on providing Innovative, Dependable, Easy-to-use, Affordable and Secure payment solutions to everyday financial problems in Africa. 

As a fintech, do you think that Nigerian Fintech space has matured?

Definitely, there are more players in the space as opposed to what it was 7 years ago. S from this analysis we can say that we are maturing and one of the most robust markets in Africa. But that doesn’t mean that we have arrived, there are rooms for improvements, improvements in the areas of deepening financial inclusion, making electronic payment easier and more convenient for Nigerians. I think we are growing as a nation and our market is robust.     

Do you think that USSD is the best way to go?

USSD is a worthy alternative. Due to our ecosystem, I am not sure there is just one way to go for payments. All the options are necessary, online, offline, card present and card not present. Having all the options makes one ready for all circumstances that might occur. So, USSD has their roles to play and a niche they serve, but telling you that USSD is the best is far from it, it is good and other forms of electronic payments are also good.

Agency Banking is the norm today but with attendance security challenges, do you think that it is the best way? 

Insecurity is a general issue; I like to think agency banking helps protect funds in a way. People in underbanked areas won’t need to travel with large amount of cash since there would be a PayCentre agent that they can get cash from once they reach their destination. Agency banking is not the cause of insecurity but it is helping to curb it in its own way.

Paycentre is a financial inclusion solution that provides some banking hall services outside of the brick bank especially in underserved and unbanked communities.  Paycentre also aims to be a lifestyle solution with bill payment features ranging from airtime, to cable and also electricity. Paycentre aims to provide everyday needs for funds without you having to visit a bank.

Tell us about your PayCentre solution?

Paycentre is a financial inclusion solution that provides some banking hall services outside of the brick bank especially in underserved and unbanked communities.  Paycentre also aims to be a lifestyle solution with bill payment features ranging from airtime, to cable and also electricity. Paycentre aims to provide everyday needs for funds without you having to visit a bank. The PayCentre Web and Mobile app grants you the freedom to receive and provide banking hall services by offering you the best agency banking solution in Africa.Our easy-to-use platform grants you total control and insight into your business performance.

You also have PAYPAD, how is it different from PAYCENTRE solution?

The paypad is a merchant solution and is only card present. It is your regular POS but ours is mPOS where the merchant/shop owner has an application and can input the cost of the item bought on the app and the mPOS serves as a card reader. Interesting fact, Paycentre was born out of the Paypad solution. PAYPAD is an mPOS solution that enables businesses receive payments via a smart phone. PayPad grants its users access to functions such as E-marketing, smart printing, sales analytics, payment acceptance, seamless integration, multi-location support, invoice & order issuance.

With the volume of electronic transactions today in the country especially in big cities like Lagos, PH, Abuja and maybe Onitsha, what are you doing to drive your solutions to other parts of the country?

This year we are making data targeted decisions and going actively after areas that we have relatively low agents in. This way we are able to think of creative ways to gain more agents in that area. These markets are critical to us as a firm and we are focusing towards that market.

Are we expecting to see more agents and franchises from you this year?

Ohh yes, Definitely. That is the new frontiers we are focusing and we hope to increase our agents and presence around the country.      On the engagement with our agents in the rural areas, we are constantly engaging our agents who in turn refer us to another potential agent. Social media like Facebook has also being very helpful. Our strategies are uniquely tailored to fit each region.

Do you feel that the regulator (CBN) is doing enough to protect FinTech’s like yours in the country?

The CBN is regularly evolving and coming up with guidelines and rules to put structure in this market that is constantly growing and changing. CBN is not only protecting us but protecting the end users which are the everyday customer. They have an enormous task at hand and they perform it graciously and even beyond scope. We totally align with their policy directives as a regulator and I must tell you the truth, we commend them for their directives.

Are you looking at ECOWAS market or are you contended with Nigerian ecosystem?

We are definitely looking to expand to other countries in Africa that have these same issues that we experience here in Nigeria. We do not want to be only Nigerian based market. We have that in the plan, we hope t expand to other African countries, but it is one step at a time.

…we are constantly engaging our agents who in turn refer us to another potential agent. Social media like Facebook has also being very helpful. Our strategies are uniquely tailored to fit each region.

ECOWAS Court Dismisses SERAP’s Case Prosecuted By Falana Against FG

ECOWAS Court Dismisses SERAP’s Case Prosecuted By Falana Against FG

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has dismissed six year application (ECW/CCJ/JUD/08/21) filed by the registered trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Government.

In a judgment which was delivered on 26th April, 2021 the Court which was presided over by Hon. Justice Edward Amoaka ASANTE comprising two other members including Hon. Justice Gberi-Be OUTATTARA and Hon. Justice Januaria T. Silva Moreira COSTA declared the application inadmissible.

SERAP through its solicitors; Olufunmilola Falana (Mrs) Esq, Olusola Egbeyinka, Esq of Falana and Falana Chambers had on 4th April, 2016 filed an application at the ECOWAS against “violation of human rights of Nigerians and other individuals”.

Such rights according to the applicants included the rights to life, to security of the human persons, to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and right of property, guaranteed by Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 14 of the African Charter, Articles 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 2 and 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Federal Government solicitors; T.A Gazali,SAN and Adedayo Ogundele, Esq all of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja advanced responses ranging from:

(a) Denying committing any violation against some groups,

(b) Settlement of compensation, and

(C) Contention that most of the issues were either settled, or at the appeal courts for further interpretation and final resolution.

The Court further maintained that even where jurisdiction of Court is established, according to Article 10(d) of the Supplementary Protocol of the Court as amended, an application whose subject matter concerns human rights violation shall only be admissible when three criteria are met: the Applicant’s status as “victims” must be established, the non-anonymity of the application and the absence of litis pendence before another international Court or Tribunal.

According to the judgment:
“The Applicant having purportedly initiated the instant action on behalf of a community or group which lacks proper identification, Applicant’s locus standing in the matter cannot be sustained to admit the case for determination.

“Consequently, the action cannot be admitted under such a fatal capacity of the Applicant and same is dismissed in its entirety”.

“It must be further observed that the Applicant NGO has not been directly affected by the alleged violations, therefore it does not fulfill the requirement of being a victim on its own right”.

The Court judgment further stated that “the only ground to admit the case is on proof of the action being action popularis. However, the principles of public interest litigation and action popularis appear non-applicable to this case since the rights complained of, such as the right to life, to property, etc which primarily belongs to the victims and may only be claimed by them or their next-of-kins where necessary, have not been succinctly linked to the general public interest contemplated in the context of an action popularis.

“In the instant case, all the communities or groups on whose behalf the action is purportedly initiated to vindicate any alleged violations of their rights have themselves already taken various legal steps to remedy any wrongs if any.

The applicant case fails to clearly establish any community or groups whose public interest is allegedly breached and needs vindication as claimed,” the Court declared.

Responding to the development, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami described the judgment as a clear vindication of the Federal Government’s efforts towards respecting human rights and international conventions.

In a statement issued by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations in the office of the HAGF, Malami said the judgment has saved Nigeria from payment of billions of Nigeria’s naira for bogus claims.

Malami renewed the commitment of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and that of the Federal Government to protecting the rights of citizens in all ramifications as well as protecting the public interest in the discharge of constitutionally recognized mandate.

Modupe Ogundoro

Teraco Boosts Regional Interconnection With MÉTISS Cable

Teraco Boosts Regional Interconnection With MÉTISS Cable

Teraco, Africa’s largest and most interconnected data centre operator, has become an integral node to the Meltingpot Indianoceanic Submarine System (MÉTISS)

MÉTISS is a 3,200 km subsea fibre optic cable system connecting South Africa to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius. The MÉTISS consortium comprises Canal+ Télécom, CEB Fibernet, Emtel, Zeop and SRR (SFR) Telma. The MÉTISS cable lands in Amanzimtoti and is backhauled by Liquid Telecoms to Teraco’s data centre in Durban (DB1).

With MÉTISS consortium members having infrastructure in both the Teraco Durban (DB1) and Johannesburg (JB1)data centre facilities, the Indian Ocean Islands have direct access to Teraco’s ecosystem of over 300 networks, 130 IT service providers, 50 global content providers, and the key global cloud providers says Michele McCann, Head of Interconnection and Peering at Teraco. The availability of a new cable servicing the Indian Ocean Islands region widens the addressable market for content and cloud providers in South Africa. It adds new resilience to the existing telecommunications infrastructure.

MÉTISS provides global telecoms organisations, multinationals and enterprises with interests in the region with the reliable services and capacities to empower their digital strategies.

Situated on Durban’s north coast, Teraco DB1 is a strategic interconnection hub on the African subsea cable map with access to MÉTISS and the cable systems of Seacom and EASSy that are already accessible from the facility. Teraco’s DB1 facility is connected to the JB1 Campus in Isando, Johannesburg through a wide choice of carriers, via diverse regional fibre routes. It will allow clients to increase the number of partners they connect with and expand their reach into new markets. Teraco’s DB1 facility offers clients secure colocation and interconnection services, as well as the ability to leverage Teraco’s digital hubs in DB1 and JB1 directly.

“The cable brings connectivity across regions that were previously hard to reach. Through Teraco, access to this cable is an interconnect away and in keeping with our tagline, ‘the world connects here’, we are very proud to play such a pivotal role in the success of this cable system,” says McCann. Peering at Africa’s largest Internet exchange, NAPAfrica, is now also possible for the island region and brings many benefits: reduced latency; network fault tolerance; reliable exchange of traffic; increased routing control; and improved network performance.

Interconnection and peering successfully addresses a growing need for more bandwidth but at the lowest possible latency. This also needs to be done cost-effectively. The MÉTISS cable system will enable further interconnection within the Indian Ocean Islands region and the growth of its digital economy. Teraco makes it easy and accessible for everyone to connect within the data centre and immediately benefit.