ABUJA- PRESIDENT Barrack Obama of the United States of America, USA
has said that if all hands are on deck and Nigerians work together in
unison, Nigeria as a country and other nations would be better tomorrow.
President Obama disclosed this in a letter he wrote to former
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur
who recently marked his 80th birthday.
President Barrack Obama hailed the Elder Statesman, Ambassador Tukur
for his commitment to the improvement of the standard of living of
Nigerians in particular and Africans at-large.
In the congratulatory letter which he personally signed with his
wife, Michelle, they thanked the former PDP National Chairman for
joining hands with his fellow compatriots to make the world a better
place to live in for generations.
President Obama said, “your generation has witnessed what our Nations
can achieve when we join together in pursuit of a brighter tomorrow.
“We trust you take pride in all you have accomplished and in the ways you have touched the lives of those around you”.
He also wished Dr. Bamanga Tukur many more years filled with joy and happiness.
Tukur who recently joined the league of Octogenarians by turning
80years of age, is currently the President of NEPAD Group, World-Wide,
African Business Roundtable (ABR) and other World Acclaimed Business
Conglomerates, Former Chairman Nigerian Railway Corporation and Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
It would be recalled that Bamanga Tukur is the only African that has
been so honoured to address the United Nations as a Non-Head of State.
Monday, 2 November 2015
Home News Business Tech Politics Sports Entertainment Style Viewpoint Editorial Forum Jobs Columns PROPERTY You are here : Home » Technology » MTN bows to pressure, agrees to pay N1.04trn fine MTN bows to pressure, agrees to pay N1.04trn fine
While pleading for staggered payment model, MTN has finally bowed to
pressure as it has accepted to pay the N1.04 trillion fine slammed on it
last week by the telecoms regulatory authority, the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC).
Accordingly, the telecoms operator was fine for violating its directive on SIM deactivation.
This follows series of meeting held between MTN management team from South Africa and Nigeria with the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The telecoms operator which has largest subscriber base in Nigeria, it was gathered, may have agreed to pay the fine to sustain the interest of its telecoms business.
Industry sources who confirmed the new arrangement, disclosed that the federal government is already yielding to the plea, which according to him, was part of the agreement reached at the series of meeting held at the weekend in Nigeria.
“There have been series of meeting at the Presidency between the Vice President Osinbajo and MTN team both from South Africa and the Nigerian arm. MTN wanted a waiver considering their level of investments in the country, but government did not buy the idea of waiver. Instead, I think there will be concession, but certainly not a waiver. At the conclusion of the meeting, the MTN people negotiated on how to stagger the payment. The Presidency is even angry because MTN was a signatory to the regulation, but they are failing to comply with rules.”, the source added.
It would be recalled that NCC had said that MTN would not escape the fine, owing to the enormity of its implication to national security.
Although NCC had hinted that the issue is being handled by the federal government, the telecoms authority also noted that MTN would risk withdrawal of its licence if its fails to comply with the fine.
Even with the widespread calls for the intervention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), on the N1.04 trillion fine, Chief Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had last week called on the NSA not to intervene in the matter, adding that NCC regulation must take its course.
NCC said it had consistently engaged Mobile Network Operators, (MNOs) to strictly adhere to the regulations and its business rules in the registration of their subscribers.
Following several engagements, the Commission had confirmed various cases of violations of the regulations and sanctioned appropriately.
This follows series of meeting held between MTN management team from South Africa and Nigeria with the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The telecoms operator which has largest subscriber base in Nigeria, it was gathered, may have agreed to pay the fine to sustain the interest of its telecoms business.
Industry sources who confirmed the new arrangement, disclosed that the federal government is already yielding to the plea, which according to him, was part of the agreement reached at the series of meeting held at the weekend in Nigeria.
“There have been series of meeting at the Presidency between the Vice President Osinbajo and MTN team both from South Africa and the Nigerian arm. MTN wanted a waiver considering their level of investments in the country, but government did not buy the idea of waiver. Instead, I think there will be concession, but certainly not a waiver. At the conclusion of the meeting, the MTN people negotiated on how to stagger the payment. The Presidency is even angry because MTN was a signatory to the regulation, but they are failing to comply with rules.”, the source added.
It would be recalled that NCC had said that MTN would not escape the fine, owing to the enormity of its implication to national security.
Although NCC had hinted that the issue is being handled by the federal government, the telecoms authority also noted that MTN would risk withdrawal of its licence if its fails to comply with the fine.
Even with the widespread calls for the intervention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), on the N1.04 trillion fine, Chief Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had last week called on the NSA not to intervene in the matter, adding that NCC regulation must take its course.
NCC said it had consistently engaged Mobile Network Operators, (MNOs) to strictly adhere to the regulations and its business rules in the registration of their subscribers.
Following several engagements, the Commission had confirmed various cases of violations of the regulations and sanctioned appropriately.
NNPC loses N120bn in two months
The Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation incurred a total loss of N120.07bn in the months of August
and September, the latest NNPC Group financial report has shown.
According to the report, the corporation incurred losses of N60.67bn and N59.4bn in August and September, respectively.
It specifically stated that the national oil firm’s revenue in August was N146.617bn, while its expenses were put at N207.287bn.
In September, the corporation’s total expenses were N171.914bn, while its revenue for the same month was N112.514bn.
An analysis of the report showed that
the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the NNPC,
incurred the highest amount of losses in the two months under review.
The report noted that the losses were
incurred before subsidy, stating that the PPMC recorded a loss of
N34.275bn in August and N57.677bn in September.
It also showed that all government-owned
refineries managed by the NNPC were still not making profit, despite
claims that the facilities had started producing refined products for
public consumption.
In August, the Kaduna Refining and
Petrochemical Company, Port Harcourt Refining Company and Warri Refining
and Petrochemical Company made a total loss of N6.575bn, while they
recorded a loss of N11.381bn in September.
The capacity utilisation of the WRPC and
KPRC in September 2015, according to the report, was zero per cent, as
both plants processed no crude oil in the month.
The report, however, noted that the
capacity utilisation of the PHRC was 4.15 per cent as the facility
processed 35,648 metric tonnes of crude oil.
The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr.
Ibe Kachikwu, had stated during his screening as a minister by the
Senate recently that non-performing refineries would be shut down at the
expiration of a 90-day performance deadline given them by the oil firm.
The ultimatum was given to the
respective management of the refineries by the GMD in September,
mandating the plants to commence full production before the expiration
of the deadline.
The GMD had stated that he had a mandate to get the refineries running by December.
Kachikwu had said, “What I have clearly
as a mandate will be that at the end of December when the 90 days is up,
we will sit down and say which one of the refineries has shown the
capacity to consistently perform at levels that make optimum sense.
“And those ones we will let to continue.
We will look at management issues and tidy them up and procurement
issues and tidy them up as well. But those that are not, we will have to
shut down and do complete maintenance.
“I’ve given a 90-day programme, which is
working, and I’m glad that over the last few weeks, Port Harcourt, for
example, has come out of the albatross and is producing right now at
about 67 per cent capacity. Our target is to grow Port Harcourt to about
70 to 75 per cent capacity by the end of the year. Warri is beginning
to signal that there is a likelihood that it will come on stream.
“If any refinery produces below 60 per
cent, then it is not production. Because the performance capacities of
refineries worldwide are in the 90 per cent and above categories, and
that is when you begin to make yields. That is when it can be said to be
a profitable refinery.”
WELCOME TO IKEA NATHANIEL'S BLOG: **World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Ni...
WELCOME TO IKEA NATHANIEL'S BLOG: **World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Ni...: **World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Nineteen Hour Operation Johannesburg, South Africa — A 36-year-old man has undergone the ...
WELCOME TO IKEA NATHANIEL'S BLOG: **World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Ni...
WELCOME TO IKEA NATHANIEL'S BLOG: **World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Ni...: **World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Nineteen Hour Operation Johannesburg, South Africa — A 36-year-old man has undergone the ...
**World’s First Head Transplant A Success After Nineteen Hour Operation
Johannesburg, South Africa — A 36-year-old man has undergone the world’s first successful head transplant. The ground-breaking operation took a team of surgeons nineteen hours to complete and has allowed the patient to be cancer-free.
Paul Horner, who was diagnosed with bone cancer five years ago, was on the verge of death when he was approved for the controversial and possibly deadly operation.
Doctor Tom Downey, who was part of the South African team who carried out the operation, told CNN he is thrilled about the results.
“It’s a massive breakthrough,” Downey said. “We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give someone a brand new body that is just as good, or better, than their previous one. The success of this operation leads to infinite possibilities.”
Surgeons at Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital inJohannesburg carried out the operation in February but waited until they could confirm it was successful before they made any public statement.
Downey spoke to reporters about the complexity behind the first ever head transplant.
“This procedure is another excellent example of how medical research, technical know-how and patient-centered care can be combined in the quest to relieve human suffering.”.. The operation was led by Professor Myron Danus and took place on February 10th of this year.
“Our goal is for Horner to be fully functional in two years and so far we are very pleased by his rapid recovery,” said Danus. “Before the operation, Horner’s body was riddled with cancer and he had less than a month to live. We were fortunate enough to find a donor body; a 21-year-old man who has been brain dead from a serious car accident that happened in 2012. The boys body worked just fine, but his brain was not functioning whatsoever, and there was absolutely no chance of recovery.” Danus continued, “We received approval from the young man’s parents to use their sons body to do the operation. They were extremely happy their son could save a life even in the vegetated state that he was in.”
Doctors say Horner has made an 85% recovery; walking, talking and doing the normal things a healthy individual does.. . .
Johannesburg, South Africa — A 36-year-old man has undergone the world’s first successful head transplant. The ground-breaking operation took a team of surgeons nineteen hours to complete and has allowed the patient to be cancer-free.
Paul Horner, who was diagnosed with bone cancer five years ago, was on the verge of death when he was approved for the controversial and possibly deadly operation.
Doctor Tom Downey, who was part of the South African team who carried out the operation, told CNN he is thrilled about the results.
“It’s a massive breakthrough,” Downey said. “We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give someone a brand new body that is just as good, or better, than their previous one. The success of this operation leads to infinite possibilities.”
Surgeons at Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital inJohannesburg carried out the operation in February but waited until they could confirm it was successful before they made any public statement.
Downey spoke to reporters about the complexity behind the first ever head transplant.
“This procedure is another excellent example of how medical research, technical know-how and patient-centered care can be combined in the quest to relieve human suffering.”.. The operation was led by Professor Myron Danus and took place on February 10th of this year.
“Our goal is for Horner to be fully functional in two years and so far we are very pleased by his rapid recovery,” said Danus. “Before the operation, Horner’s body was riddled with cancer and he had less than a month to live. We were fortunate enough to find a donor body; a 21-year-old man who has been brain dead from a serious car accident that happened in 2012. The boys body worked just fine, but his brain was not functioning whatsoever, and there was absolutely no chance of recovery.” Danus continued, “We received approval from the young man’s parents to use their sons body to do the operation. They were extremely happy their son could save a life even in the vegetated state that he was in.”
Doctors say Horner has made an 85% recovery; walking, talking and doing the normal things a healthy individual does.. . .
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