Nollywood Actress Anita Joseph who is rumoured to have once been married with a child has said she won’t say a word on that but will keep quiet and let people say whatever thing they like about her. She said this while speaking to Spice. Hear her;
Monday, 28 December 2015
Anita Joseph Keeps Mum On Marriage, Speaks On N*dity
Nollywood Actress Anita Joseph who is rumoured to have once been married with a child has said she won’t say a word on that but will keep quiet and let people say whatever thing they like about her. She said this while speaking to Spice. Hear her;
I’ve been stripped naked – Mother of twins killed by drunken-cop
Seventy-five-year-old Beatrice Oyesolu, the mother of twin brothers shot dead on Saturday by a trigger-happy policeman guarding Paulson Hotel on Anibaba Street, Ketu-Ikosi, Lagos, says the promises her children made to her had been shattered.
The septuagenarian said the children ─ Taiye, a naval officer and Kehinde, an engineer ─ had concluded plans to start building her a house next month before the tragedy struck.
Son kills father on Christmas Day in Enugu
A youth, Anselm Ugwuoke, is currently on the run after killing his father, Paulinus Ugwuoke, 60, on Christmas Day, in Enugu.
The incident occurred in Imilike-Agu, a community in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
It was gathered that at about 10.00 pm on the fateful day, Anselm and some of his friends had a heated argument with his father at their family house.
ELECTROCUTED: Man Dies Trying To Vandalise Power Cables In Kaduna
An unidentified middle-aged man was electrocuted at the early hours of yesterday while trying to vandalise power supply installation at Accra Crescent by LEA primary school, Unguwar Rimi, Kaduna.
The Dan Iyar Unguwar Rimi, Alhaji Muhammad Gidado, who confirmed the incident, disclosed that the corpse of the vandal was evacuated from the scene by the police from Unguwar Rimi Division.
Sunday, 27 December 2015
I can't marry a fair girl unless I see her childhood photo-M.I
MI has opened up on his phobia's ,confessing to Potpourri (Vanguard) in an interview that he lives in mortal fear of fair girls because he believes most of them are not natural. He said before he would take one for a wife he would need to see a picture of her as a child just to make sure she is naturally fair and not artificial. According to him, most girls have bleached their skins for so long that it almost looks natural. He said
27-Year Old Man Rapes Teen In Badagry Till He Damaged Her Womb
When Mrs Lawal sent her 11-year-old grand-daughter (names withheld) on an errand to deliver okro to a customer, she did not envisage that the girl would be ambushed not to talk of being raped.
The fate that befell the grand-daughter on November 29, 2015, at Pure Water Bus Stop along Lagos-Badagry Road, was better imagined than experienced; she was found lying on a culvert unconscious, with blood all over her body.
PHOTOS: Muslim engineer raped female colleague for 5 days to convince her to convert to Islam
An Indian man has been accused of kidnapping and raping a female colleague for five days to force her to convert to Islam.
Engineer Syen Emad Hasan, 30, proposed to the 27-year-old woman but she rejected him and said her family would not allow 'an inter-religious marriage', police said.He harassed her until she cut short a work trip to Dubai. When she returned home to confront Hasan, he abducted her, locked her up at his house and took away her phone.
$2.1b arms scandal: PDP ex-national chair Bello, son for trial
•EFCC arrests son, father hooks up in hospital
All is set for the commencement of the trial of a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Haliru Bello Mohammed and his son, Abbah for alleged corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday.
‘It Feels Great To Be On R-Kelly’s Album’
Popular Nigerian singer, Ayo Balogun well known as Wizkid, has expressed his joy on being featured on American music star, R Kelly’s album.
The Nigerian did a song with the music star, which is included in the 13th studio album of R Kelly titled ‘The Buffet’.
Saturday, 26 December 2015
SARS catches three Mozambicans with R76 million
Three Mozambican nationals have been arrested after they were found with dollars, euros and rands amounting to R76m, the SA Revenue Services said on Saturday.
SARS spokesperson Sandile Memela said the silver Toyota Hilux was intercepted at the Lebombo border post in Mpumalanga on Friday around 05:40.
PHOTOS: This Man Bought His Wife Her Dream Ring After 30 Years Of Dating
This twitter user shared an incredible love story. It seems his parents have been dating since childhood, and for better for worse she stuck by him even when he had nothing. Now, after several years, he is finally able to buy her the ring she has always dreamed of.
Relocate To Sambisa Or Yobe To Prove Boko Haram Has Ended, Fayose Tells Lai Mohammed
Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose has described Federal Government’s announced reduction of petrol pump price from N87 to N85 per litre as a continuation of the deceit propagated by All Progressives Congress (APC) led government.
The governor who also challenged the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to relocate to Sambisa in Borno State or Yobe and move around there without heavy military security if indeed he was sure that Boko Haram had been defeated.
Six In Police Cell Over Alleged Armed Robbery In Delta
Six persons suspected to be armed robbers arrested by the Police in Ofagbe Community, Isoko North local government area of Delta State for allegedly stealing a laptop, handsets, and other items in the community, are at present helping the Police.
The suspects: Ejero Akporoghene, Lucky Ovie, Benson Otorh, Joseph Benson, Kingsley Odeh and Temi Nkem are alleged to have belonged to armed gang that has been terrorizing the people of Ofagbe Community in the recent times.
Petrol To Sell Below N87 From January – Kachikwu
The federal government has disclosed that a new pump price of fuel would become effective on 1, January, 2016.
This disclosure was made yesterday by the minister of state for petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, at the Port Harcourt refinery shortly after taking a tour of the facility.
79 Killed, Property Worth N98 Billion Saved From Fire in Lagos
The Lagos State Fire Service has said 79 people died in different fire disasters in Lagos State between January and November this year. The service who revealed this in a statement by the spokesman of the service, Mr Amodu Shakiru on Friday in Lagos added that it also rescued 99 victims from 1,638 fire operations recorded by the service within the period.
Subscribers helpless as telecoms operators make millions from illegal deductions
He sounded distraught as he narrated his displeasure to our correspondent that morning.
Mr. Adeyemi Linus, a peasant farmer in Bayeku, an agrarian community in Ibadan, Oyo State, woke up that morning to realise it was his grandson’s birthday. Hoping to be one of the first people to wish the 17-year-old a happy birthday, Linus grabbed his phone to check how much airtime he had as he rose slowly from bed.
With a balance of N26.58k on his phone, he pulled out the N500 he had tucked under his pillow the previous night, grabbed the closest of his shirts and rushed out into the street to buy airtime so he could share the “joy of the special day” with his “adorable” grandchild, before going to the farm.
Linus bought N400 MTN recharge card, hoping it would enable him to make his call and still have a little left to make a few other calls. Anticipating an exciting conversation with his grandson as he made his way back to his house, he whistled as he loaded the card. Time check was 8:30am.
Just as he settled into the sofa in front of his house to initiate the call, he received four messages consecutively. He told our correspondent that he almost ignored the messages because he was in a hurry to make the call but that he grudgingly clicked on the first message, which left him deflated afterwards.
He recalled, “I was shocked to see that N200 had been deducted from my airtime as subscription fees for some services that I never subscribed to. It was as if I was dreaming because I did not subscribe to anything. All I do with the phone is to make calls and read messages, most of which are from MTN without my asking for them. I had noticed similar deductions from my airtime in the past and that was why I rarely recharge the phone because they bill me for several things that I don’t know about.
“Each of the four messages cost N50 so I lost N200 just like that. The first message gave me health tips, the second one gave me reasons why I should do exercise; the third one said my caller tune had been renewed and the fourth was about ‘tips to make money from the comfort of your home,’ and I never applied or subscribed to any of them.
“I had called the customer care many times but they kept assuring me they had deactivated it, yet they kept billing me.”
Apparently confused about the development, Linus recalled that he read the messages several times, hoping he received them in error and his money would be returned. But just as he was slowly reconciling himself with the “strange billing” and made to “quickly make the call before they removed the remaining,” another message came in, saying his monthly subscription for “twitter goodie bag had successfully been renewed at N100.”
“At that juncture, I felt like throwing the phone away. My dear friend, I never subscribed to anything and I wonder why MTN should do that. I had to quickly switch off my phone and remove the battery so I could save the remaining amount.
“Fortunately, moments later, I switched it on and I quickly called the boy. I spoke for about four minutes 35 seconds when I heard “one minute remaining.” I thank God that they even allowed me to make the call, even though it was shorter than I planned. By the time I finished, I had N2.56k. I was angry but there was nothing I could do. These days, I only recharge when I need to make call.”
Some subscriber at one of the telecoms operators’ customer care centre in Garki, Abuja
Linus’ experience might sound strange but such is the reality of many mobile telecoms subscribers in Nigeria today, whereby mobile telecom operators, including Glo, MTN, Etisalat and Airtel charge them for services they never subscribed to.
Many mobile phone users who spoke to Saturday PUNCH lamented that they had been surcharged by their network providers, usually for things they knew nothing about. They explained that even though the introduction of GSM service in the country has been a blessing, they have equally had bitter experiences that had almost robbed them of the joy that it brought them initially.
Telecoms in Nigeria, a bitter-sweet experience
When the Global System for Mobile communication was introduced in Nigeria in 2001, the joy and excitement that greeted its arrival was historic and unequalled. It was like a breakthrough from the primitive days, when people went through harrowing experiences before they could make use of telephone services.
Then, people largely made use of rechargeable NITEL card and they had to visit telephone booths to make calls, and some of the few subscribers observed that what was obtainable then was a system characterised by frustration, pronounced dissatisfaction and poor service delivery. But since the introduction of the GSM, efficiency and comfort became affordable.
Therefore, in the opinion of many, the advent of GSM did not only sweeten communication experience, it was like a migration from an old order, more so that shortly after the commencement of GSM services, the arrival of Econet Nigeria (now Airtel) and MTN in the same 2001 and Glo’s entry in 2003 made the experience a sweet one. The advent of smartphones also gave Nigerians more reasons to appreciate the development some more.
But few years down the line, many subscribers describe their experience with their network providers as frustrating and one plagued with a mix of instantaneous joy and remarkable sadness. Impliedly, the pleasant experience people once had has been taking a sharp descent for the worse.
They noted that apart from the declining quality of service and the frustration that often accompanies it, most of the network service providers had devised ways of cheating them. These, consumers said, range from unsolicited ringback tunes and tips on various subjects, monthly deductions for subscriptions they never initiated, news alerts to undelivered SMS without refund and sometimes promo offers.
They said even when they complain, the usual response they often get from the customer care of the respective network providers is ‘system error’ while they (consumers) kept losing money. According to some consumers, even when they send the stipulated command to end a service or they complain to the customer care officers of the affected operator, they would be assured that the problem had been resolved while it persists.
This is perhaps one of the reasons why Akinyemi Janet had yet to forgive MTN for debiting her of N8,000 when she travelled to the United States on a short visit few weeks ago. She recalled that before she left the country, she recharged her phone to the tune of N8,000 so as to have something to rely on in case of emergency.
But shortly after her arrival at the airport, she said she saw a brief message on her phone that N1,500 had been deducted from her account but that before she could read the message it had disappeared. “After a 12-hour flight, I was too tired to check it or bother myself about it. I thought it might have something to do with the change of environment,” she said.
Janet, who had been strained by the jet lag, sprang to life when she tried to call her parents back home and she was told she didn’t have sufficient credit to make a call. She continued, “Initially, I felt it was bad network, so I kept trying. Since the response persisted, I checked my balance to see what was happening. To my greatest surprise, my credit balance was N0.02k. I screamed!
“I knew it couldn’t be real, so I switched off the phone to see if it would come back, but it never came back. To avoid a repeat of same, I refused to recharge my phone until I came back.”
Out of anger, Janet said one of the first calls she made on arriving Nigeria was to the customer care and that she was told that the money was for her internet connection.
She continued, “Before I left Nigeria, I subscribed to the normal N1,000 Blackberry Internet Service on my Blackberry and they never touched my airtime. But when I got the US, they left my data and started deducting from my airtime. And interestingly, I wasn’t even browsing when they deducted the money. Even if I was browsing, do they charge N500 per kilobyte for me to have exhausted N8,000 within five minutes. Till date that money is gone and they expect me to forget about it.
“As if that was not enough, my Airtel SIM did the same thing the day I came back. I bought a new smartphone and inserted the SIM. I recharged with N2,000 airtime, hoping to subscribe for data the following day, but before the next morning, everything was gone. When I called the customer care line, I was told that since I didn’t subscribe for data, they had to deduct from my airtime, even when I didn’t browse or download anything. Since then, I have not recharged the line and that is the way it will be.”
Like Janet, Chika Ezeobi is definitely not happy with his network provider, MTN, at the moment. He told Saturday PUNCH that following the company’s promo, called ‘cash quest promo’ for which subscribers were charged N100 daily with the promise that they could win cash prize, a sport utility vehicle or electronics, he had been very angry with his network provider.
Ezeobi, a student who was hoping to hit a jackpot through his daily subscription, said having done the subscription for a number of weeks, he had to visit the closest customer care office to find out the date of the draw.
A distressed Ezeobi said he was shocked beyond words when a customer care officer at a retail centre told him the programme had ended since August 8, while his money was still being deducted in November.
He said, “I was shocked and disappointed on hearing that because it was fraudulent. If the promo had ended, why were they still deducting my money? The person who attended to me said I should have been following the promo to know when it ended. And I wondered if it was not left to them to discontinue the deductions when it ended.
“When I called the customer care line, the person who spoke to me apologised. I asked if my money would be refunded, he said MTN wouldn’t be able to do so because it was a system error. I felt scandalised and till date, I lost thousands of naira to them. If you multiply that by the number of persons that could have suffered the same fate, it could be running into millions. That is not fair.”
Unlike Ezeobi who actually subscribed to the service for which he was being charged, Kingsley said he had never subscribed to caller tunes on his Glo network, yet he has a fuji song as his ringback tune for which N50 is deducted from his account every month.
Like Kingsley, another angry subscriber, Desmond, is yet to forgive Airtel and Glo for the amount of money he said he had lost to the “sharp practices” of the operators. He noted that apart from relationship tips and news update from CNN, he had been forced to pay N100 monthly to renew Twitter Goodie Bag that he never subscribed to. He added that in spite of the repeated calls to the customer care and the assurance that it had been cancelled, Glo kept deducting the N100 till two years after.
“The deduction started in April, 2013 and immediately I complained to the customer care portal they gave me a code to send. I must have sent that code for about 1,000 times but it never stopped. I went to their outlet, they promised to stop it but they didn’t, until September 2015.
“They also send me relationship tips, CNN news update, all at a cost to me. Painfully, when you tell them to stop it, they won’t even if they promise to.” The myriad of complaints from subscribers can be overwhelming. Some lamented that after exhausting their browsing data, the operators, without notifying them, start deducting from their airtime. Desmond is also not happy that his N50 is being deducted for relationship tips every two weeks by Airtel. “I even bought an Etisalat line, hoping it would be free from these illegal deductions, but they are all the same. Eventually, I have had to drop the two other lines to endure MTN’s service. They are all the same, and it is so painful,” he added.
Findings showed that many subscribers have had to buy more than one SIM card from different operators to reduce their losses and with the hope of getting an improved service from another if one was deficient.
Since Moyin Akinbami travelled to the United Kingdom sometime last year, she said Glo had been deducting an unspecified amount from her airtime when she did not subscribe to any service. She said, “The Mumu Comic Service is against my wish and it is distributed under the 55501 portal. It can be up to five times a day, starting from 12 midnight, and Glo has refused to unsubscribe me from the service. I keep my Glo line alive by having airtime sent to me on a regular basis, but Glo systematically drains everything through unsolicited messages, spurious calls and many others. Does the NCC still think it’s only MTN that deserves a fine?”
Beyond the “illegal” deduction of subscribers’ airtime, other complaints lodged by the subscribers include unsolicited messages and unwanted calls from the networks, such as 55990 or 7571 for Glo, 08034100 or 0757 for MTN, 08090334069 for Etisalat, 39922227 for Airtel, etc, call jam or interruption, delay in connection, false messages, among others.
Telecoms, a growing initiative
Between July 2014 and September 2015, the number of active lines, including mobile and Code Division Multiple Access, known as CDMAs in the country has risen from 132,186, 840 to 150,660,631 out of a population of about 170 million Nigerians.
As of September 2015, MTN has 62,493,732 subscribers (representing 2.1 per cent increase since the third quarter of 2014), Globacom has 31,306,472 (representing 4.81 per cent increase within the same period), Airtel has 31,134,625 (representing 4.08 per cent increase within the same period) while Etisalat has 23,492,214 (representing 5.36 per cent increase within the same period).
Furthermore, the number of telephone subscribers per 100 individuals living within an area (Teledensity) passed 100 per cent for the first time to stand at 103.9 per cent, which points to the fact that more Nigerians are embracing the use of mobile phones. This is even more so, going by the information that Nigerians spend about N212bn monthly on internet subscriptions while the country’s telecom revenue is also estimated to have surpassed $20bn in 2015.
Given that the average revenue per user is $6 at N196.79 to a dollar, this gives N1,181.82 as the ARPU monthly. When this is multiplied by the number of 150,660,631 active users as of September 2015, according to NCC, the amount spent on airtime monthly by active subscribers in Nigeria is given as N178bn monthly. Thus, given the many ways operators surcharge their subscribers, a part of this might account for the over $20bn recorded by the industry in 2015.
An evaluation by Wikipedia in 2014 had shown that Nigeria ranks as the seventh country in the world with the highest number of mobile phones in use, with about 167,371,945 mobile phones and over 90 million internet users.
An expert in Information Technology, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, averred that given the barrage of complaints from many of these subscribers, there are indications that many subscribers are dissatisfied with their network providers, most of whom, he said, appear to have benefitted from unduly surcharging their customers.
He noted that if unchecked, the network providers would continue to enrich themselves illegally by subjecting their customers to discomfort. “It is fraudulent for network providers to charge people for services they never requested for, and when they complain, they promise to stop it but they don’t.
“In some cases, there is even no information as to how to unsubscribe and if you call them, it takes them forever to connect the calls. This means any busy individual might have to endure the extortion. A similar one is the promo offers. Even though it is optional and there are always terms and conditions, many people don’t bother to read through, so, the blame on that is equitable,” he explained.
The dissatisfaction of consumers with their service providers was further strengthened by a survey conducted in December 2015 by NOIPolls, a country-specific polling service in the West African region to develop opinion research in Nigeria. The survey revealed that in spite of the continuous rise in the number of subscribers and the increase in the usage of dual lines, there is a general decline in consumers’ satisfaction with services being provided by the various GSM operators.
Findings of the survey, a copy of which was received by our correspondent, showed that many subscribers say they are not getting value for their money from the operators, and the reasons consumers adduced for this include high tariff, poor network service, poor promotions, poor customer service and undue credit deductions, which they said have compelled them to have more than one SIM card with the hope of enjoying a complementary service.
Notably, the percentage of people using two lines has risen from 39 per cent in 2012 to 49 per cent in 2015, with majority still left dissatisfied. Findings also showed that some subscribers have dropped or abandoned their SIM cards and left them inactive because of poor service delivery and what they term extortion, which also accounts for revenue loss for the operators. A report had put the potential revenue loss from inactive lines at over N50bn monthly.
“For instance, almost half (46 per cent) of the subscribers who use MTN as their main line think they are not getting value for money from this provider in 2015, although slightly more than half (54 per cent) of the subscribers believe they are getting value for money from this provider in 2015. However, this figure represents a six-point decline from the 60 per cent satisfaction it had in 2014,” the report added.
The poll notes further that even though MTN topped the chart as the operator that provides the best services in 2015, a large number of its subscribers say they are not getting value for their money. Perhaps, the subscribers’ complaints tilted more against MTN, because, according to the survey, 88 per cent of mobile network subscribers use MTN either as their main line or as a supplementary line.
Similarly, the level of satisfaction of Etisalat subscribers seems to have declined, according to the respondents, as its rating by its consumers dropped from 97 per cent in 2013 to 65 per cent in 2015.
According to the survey, 15 per cent of Etisalat subscribers said they didn’t get value for their money because of undue credit deduction, as compared to Glo’s 12 per cent, MTN’s nine per cent and Airtel’s seven per cent.
According to the report, between 2012 and 2015, the percentage of MTN subscribers who said they got value for their money dropped from 57 per cent to 54 per cent, that of Airtel dropped from 72 per cent in 2012 to 52 per cent in 2015 and that of Etisalat drops from 78 per cent to 65 per cent, unlike Glo’s rating that rose from 63 per cent to 69 per cent within the same period.
The NOIPolls urged the Nigerian Communications Commission to ensure that consumers continue to have access to high quality telecommunications service by setting basic minimum quality levels for all operators. “With a sample of the size we employed, we can say with 95 per cent confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus three per cent,” it adds.
The slippery road to a better telecom service
Most of the mobile network providers have often blamed the network problems that consumers experience on high operating cost and infrastructural deficit, such as poor power supply, which they said makes them to spend more of their income on recurrent expenditure. They had explained that this had not enabled them to focus on other areas that could make their service delivery better.
According to them, given the nature of the service they render, which must be on and stable at every time of the day, they have had to rely on generators which they said cost a lot of money to maintain.
It was gathered that the telecoms companies spent about N45bn monthly (N540bn per annum) to power their Base Transceiver Stations in 2014, and given the increasing number of the stations and the likely increase in maintenance and personnel cost across the country, the cost incurred by the respective operators might have increased.
The Executive Secretary, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Gbolahan Awonuga, had said recently that operators providing 4G internet service were the largest consumers of diesel in the country. Notably, diesel costs about N150 per litre. Given the number of subscribers in the country and the prevalent poor power supply, which operators have identified as a bottleneck, Nigerians might have to endure these issues and other shortcomings of the service providers for a longer time. Some experts in the industry have however said there was need for more base stations across the country. They noted that the about 30,000 base stations as of the end of 2014 were not enough to cater for the about 150 million connected lines.
The former Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, had said that Nigeria needs at least 60,000 base stations by 2018 to overcome the poor quality service in the sector, noting that the rate of growth of the stations had slowed down.
She pointed out that epileptic power supply, security risk, high cost of setting up the stations and maintenance, vandalism, stealing of equipment, delay in approval by the government have all negatively affected the growth of base stations in the country. Some consumers told Saturday PUNCH that the network providers might have been surcharging them to be able to meet up with their operating cost and boost their revenue.
Reacting to the issues raised about the service providers, the spokesperson for the NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, told our correspondent that the NCC has a platform through which subscribers could make their complaints, saying “complaints are treated as they come.” He added that the mobile number portability was introduced to give subscribers an opportunity to make a choice among the service providers.
He said, “Anyone who has complaints should complain to the network provider and in case they don’t get any redress, they should call our complain desk on 622 and supply the reference number that was given to them by the network provider, which indicates that they have already complained and nothing has been done. And we will take it up from there.”
On the issue of unsolicited messages, he said, “Even though some of the messages are advisory and could be beneficial to subscribers, what we have done is to ensure that they provide options for people to opt out and most of them have complied with that.”
Speaking on the inadequacy of base stations, Ojobo identified the issues confronting the deployment of base stations to include security challenges, community restiveness and multiple demands, approval from states and multiple taxes, noting that the NCC had initiated discussions with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to draw their attention to some of the challenges being experienced by operators in their states.
Also reacting, the spokesperson for Airtel, Emeka Opara, said across the world, operators normally send messages to customers to inform them of new services. He added, “The only issue there is the message hits you when you are not expecting it and some of them come in at such times like midnight because of network issues, but I admit that it is wrong to harass customers with messages, especially at late hours. I’m a customer as well, so I feel it.”
About the illegal subscription and deductions, he said any man-made system was prone to error and malfunctioning but that when a customer comes with a genuine complain, the tradition is to respond to them accordingly.
He said, “These networks were not built by God but by man, which is prone to mistakes, errors and unintended developments. However, if your credit has been illegally deducted, go to any Airtel shop or call the customer care and ask them to stop it and if they don’t you have a right to complain.
“As a business, we do not set out to annoy or exploit our customers. However, sometimes people complain because they do not even know what they have done or what anyone else, like their children, could have done with their phones. Regardless, we do everything possible to resolve any complaints that come.”
Meanwhile, efforts made to get Etisalat to respond were not successful as the spokesperson did not reply the mail she promised to send, while MTN and Glo also did not reply the mails sent to them.
Linus’ experience might sound strange but such is the reality of many mobile telecoms subscribers in Nigeria today, whereby mobile telecom operators, including Glo, MTN, Etisalat and Airtel charge them for services they never subscribed to.
Many mobile phone users who spoke to Saturday PUNCH lamented that they had been surcharged by their network providers, usually for things they knew nothing about. They explained that even though the introduction of GSM service in the country has been a blessing, they have equally had bitter experiences that had almost robbed them of the joy that it brought them initially.
Telecoms in Nigeria, a bitter-sweet experience
When the Global System for Mobile communication was introduced in Nigeria in 2001, the joy and excitement that greeted its arrival was historic and unequalled. It was like a breakthrough from the primitive days, when people went through harrowing experiences before they could make use of telephone services.
Then, people largely made use of rechargeable NITEL card and they had to visit telephone booths to make calls, and some of the few subscribers observed that what was obtainable then was a system characterised by frustration, pronounced dissatisfaction and poor service delivery. But since the introduction of the GSM, efficiency and comfort became affordable.
Therefore, in the opinion of many, the advent of GSM did not only sweeten communication experience, it was like a migration from an old order, more so that shortly after the commencement of GSM services, the arrival of Econet Nigeria (now Airtel) and MTN in the same 2001 and Glo’s entry in 2003 made the experience a sweet one. The advent of smartphones also gave Nigerians more reasons to appreciate the development some more.
But few years down the line, many subscribers describe their experience with their network providers as frustrating and one plagued with a mix of instantaneous joy and remarkable sadness. Impliedly, the pleasant experience people once had has been taking a sharp descent for the worse.
They noted that apart from the declining quality of service and the frustration that often accompanies it, most of the network service providers had devised ways of cheating them. These, consumers said, range from unsolicited ringback tunes and tips on various subjects, monthly deductions for subscriptions they never initiated, news alerts to undelivered SMS without refund and sometimes promo offers.
They said even when they complain, the usual response they often get from the customer care of the respective network providers is ‘system error’ while they (consumers) kept losing money. According to some consumers, even when they send the stipulated command to end a service or they complain to the customer care officers of the affected operator, they would be assured that the problem had been resolved while it persists.
This is perhaps one of the reasons why Akinyemi Janet had yet to forgive MTN for debiting her of N8,000 when she travelled to the United States on a short visit few weeks ago. She recalled that before she left the country, she recharged her phone to the tune of N8,000 so as to have something to rely on in case of emergency.
But shortly after her arrival at the airport, she said she saw a brief message on her phone that N1,500 had been deducted from her account but that before she could read the message it had disappeared. “After a 12-hour flight, I was too tired to check it or bother myself about it. I thought it might have something to do with the change of environment,” she said.
Janet, who had been strained by the jet lag, sprang to life when she tried to call her parents back home and she was told she didn’t have sufficient credit to make a call. She continued, “Initially, I felt it was bad network, so I kept trying. Since the response persisted, I checked my balance to see what was happening. To my greatest surprise, my credit balance was N0.02k. I screamed!
“I knew it couldn’t be real, so I switched off the phone to see if it would come back, but it never came back. To avoid a repeat of same, I refused to recharge my phone until I came back.”
Out of anger, Janet said one of the first calls she made on arriving Nigeria was to the customer care and that she was told that the money was for her internet connection.
She continued, “Before I left Nigeria, I subscribed to the normal N1,000 Blackberry Internet Service on my Blackberry and they never touched my airtime. But when I got the US, they left my data and started deducting from my airtime. And interestingly, I wasn’t even browsing when they deducted the money. Even if I was browsing, do they charge N500 per kilobyte for me to have exhausted N8,000 within five minutes. Till date that money is gone and they expect me to forget about it.
“As if that was not enough, my Airtel SIM did the same thing the day I came back. I bought a new smartphone and inserted the SIM. I recharged with N2,000 airtime, hoping to subscribe for data the following day, but before the next morning, everything was gone. When I called the customer care line, I was told that since I didn’t subscribe for data, they had to deduct from my airtime, even when I didn’t browse or download anything. Since then, I have not recharged the line and that is the way it will be.”
Like Janet, Chika Ezeobi is definitely not happy with his network provider, MTN, at the moment. He told Saturday PUNCH that following the company’s promo, called ‘cash quest promo’ for which subscribers were charged N100 daily with the promise that they could win cash prize, a sport utility vehicle or electronics, he had been very angry with his network provider.
Ezeobi, a student who was hoping to hit a jackpot through his daily subscription, said having done the subscription for a number of weeks, he had to visit the closest customer care office to find out the date of the draw.
A distressed Ezeobi said he was shocked beyond words when a customer care officer at a retail centre told him the programme had ended since August 8, while his money was still being deducted in November.
He said, “I was shocked and disappointed on hearing that because it was fraudulent. If the promo had ended, why were they still deducting my money? The person who attended to me said I should have been following the promo to know when it ended. And I wondered if it was not left to them to discontinue the deductions when it ended.
“When I called the customer care line, the person who spoke to me apologised. I asked if my money would be refunded, he said MTN wouldn’t be able to do so because it was a system error. I felt scandalised and till date, I lost thousands of naira to them. If you multiply that by the number of persons that could have suffered the same fate, it could be running into millions. That is not fair.”
Unlike Ezeobi who actually subscribed to the service for which he was being charged, Kingsley said he had never subscribed to caller tunes on his Glo network, yet he has a fuji song as his ringback tune for which N50 is deducted from his account every month.
Like Kingsley, another angry subscriber, Desmond, is yet to forgive Airtel and Glo for the amount of money he said he had lost to the “sharp practices” of the operators. He noted that apart from relationship tips and news update from CNN, he had been forced to pay N100 monthly to renew Twitter Goodie Bag that he never subscribed to. He added that in spite of the repeated calls to the customer care and the assurance that it had been cancelled, Glo kept deducting the N100 till two years after.
“The deduction started in April, 2013 and immediately I complained to the customer care portal they gave me a code to send. I must have sent that code for about 1,000 times but it never stopped. I went to their outlet, they promised to stop it but they didn’t, until September 2015.
“They also send me relationship tips, CNN news update, all at a cost to me. Painfully, when you tell them to stop it, they won’t even if they promise to.” The myriad of complaints from subscribers can be overwhelming. Some lamented that after exhausting their browsing data, the operators, without notifying them, start deducting from their airtime. Desmond is also not happy that his N50 is being deducted for relationship tips every two weeks by Airtel. “I even bought an Etisalat line, hoping it would be free from these illegal deductions, but they are all the same. Eventually, I have had to drop the two other lines to endure MTN’s service. They are all the same, and it is so painful,” he added.
Findings showed that many subscribers have had to buy more than one SIM card from different operators to reduce their losses and with the hope of getting an improved service from another if one was deficient.
Since Moyin Akinbami travelled to the United Kingdom sometime last year, she said Glo had been deducting an unspecified amount from her airtime when she did not subscribe to any service. She said, “The Mumu Comic Service is against my wish and it is distributed under the 55501 portal. It can be up to five times a day, starting from 12 midnight, and Glo has refused to unsubscribe me from the service. I keep my Glo line alive by having airtime sent to me on a regular basis, but Glo systematically drains everything through unsolicited messages, spurious calls and many others. Does the NCC still think it’s only MTN that deserves a fine?”
Beyond the “illegal” deduction of subscribers’ airtime, other complaints lodged by the subscribers include unsolicited messages and unwanted calls from the networks, such as 55990 or 7571 for Glo, 08034100 or 0757 for MTN, 08090334069 for Etisalat, 39922227 for Airtel, etc, call jam or interruption, delay in connection, false messages, among others.
Telecoms, a growing initiative
Between July 2014 and September 2015, the number of active lines, including mobile and Code Division Multiple Access, known as CDMAs in the country has risen from 132,186, 840 to 150,660,631 out of a population of about 170 million Nigerians.
As of September 2015, MTN has 62,493,732 subscribers (representing 2.1 per cent increase since the third quarter of 2014), Globacom has 31,306,472 (representing 4.81 per cent increase within the same period), Airtel has 31,134,625 (representing 4.08 per cent increase within the same period) while Etisalat has 23,492,214 (representing 5.36 per cent increase within the same period).
Furthermore, the number of telephone subscribers per 100 individuals living within an area (Teledensity) passed 100 per cent for the first time to stand at 103.9 per cent, which points to the fact that more Nigerians are embracing the use of mobile phones. This is even more so, going by the information that Nigerians spend about N212bn monthly on internet subscriptions while the country’s telecom revenue is also estimated to have surpassed $20bn in 2015.
Given that the average revenue per user is $6 at N196.79 to a dollar, this gives N1,181.82 as the ARPU monthly. When this is multiplied by the number of 150,660,631 active users as of September 2015, according to NCC, the amount spent on airtime monthly by active subscribers in Nigeria is given as N178bn monthly. Thus, given the many ways operators surcharge their subscribers, a part of this might account for the over $20bn recorded by the industry in 2015.
An evaluation by Wikipedia in 2014 had shown that Nigeria ranks as the seventh country in the world with the highest number of mobile phones in use, with about 167,371,945 mobile phones and over 90 million internet users.
An expert in Information Technology, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, averred that given the barrage of complaints from many of these subscribers, there are indications that many subscribers are dissatisfied with their network providers, most of whom, he said, appear to have benefitted from unduly surcharging their customers.
He noted that if unchecked, the network providers would continue to enrich themselves illegally by subjecting their customers to discomfort. “It is fraudulent for network providers to charge people for services they never requested for, and when they complain, they promise to stop it but they don’t.
“In some cases, there is even no information as to how to unsubscribe and if you call them, it takes them forever to connect the calls. This means any busy individual might have to endure the extortion. A similar one is the promo offers. Even though it is optional and there are always terms and conditions, many people don’t bother to read through, so, the blame on that is equitable,” he explained.
The dissatisfaction of consumers with their service providers was further strengthened by a survey conducted in December 2015 by NOIPolls, a country-specific polling service in the West African region to develop opinion research in Nigeria. The survey revealed that in spite of the continuous rise in the number of subscribers and the increase in the usage of dual lines, there is a general decline in consumers’ satisfaction with services being provided by the various GSM operators.
Findings of the survey, a copy of which was received by our correspondent, showed that many subscribers say they are not getting value for their money from the operators, and the reasons consumers adduced for this include high tariff, poor network service, poor promotions, poor customer service and undue credit deductions, which they said have compelled them to have more than one SIM card with the hope of enjoying a complementary service.
Notably, the percentage of people using two lines has risen from 39 per cent in 2012 to 49 per cent in 2015, with majority still left dissatisfied. Findings also showed that some subscribers have dropped or abandoned their SIM cards and left them inactive because of poor service delivery and what they term extortion, which also accounts for revenue loss for the operators. A report had put the potential revenue loss from inactive lines at over N50bn monthly.
“For instance, almost half (46 per cent) of the subscribers who use MTN as their main line think they are not getting value for money from this provider in 2015, although slightly more than half (54 per cent) of the subscribers believe they are getting value for money from this provider in 2015. However, this figure represents a six-point decline from the 60 per cent satisfaction it had in 2014,” the report added.
The poll notes further that even though MTN topped the chart as the operator that provides the best services in 2015, a large number of its subscribers say they are not getting value for their money. Perhaps, the subscribers’ complaints tilted more against MTN, because, according to the survey, 88 per cent of mobile network subscribers use MTN either as their main line or as a supplementary line.
Similarly, the level of satisfaction of Etisalat subscribers seems to have declined, according to the respondents, as its rating by its consumers dropped from 97 per cent in 2013 to 65 per cent in 2015.
According to the survey, 15 per cent of Etisalat subscribers said they didn’t get value for their money because of undue credit deduction, as compared to Glo’s 12 per cent, MTN’s nine per cent and Airtel’s seven per cent.
According to the report, between 2012 and 2015, the percentage of MTN subscribers who said they got value for their money dropped from 57 per cent to 54 per cent, that of Airtel dropped from 72 per cent in 2012 to 52 per cent in 2015 and that of Etisalat drops from 78 per cent to 65 per cent, unlike Glo’s rating that rose from 63 per cent to 69 per cent within the same period.
The NOIPolls urged the Nigerian Communications Commission to ensure that consumers continue to have access to high quality telecommunications service by setting basic minimum quality levels for all operators. “With a sample of the size we employed, we can say with 95 per cent confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus three per cent,” it adds.
The slippery road to a better telecom service
Most of the mobile network providers have often blamed the network problems that consumers experience on high operating cost and infrastructural deficit, such as poor power supply, which they said makes them to spend more of their income on recurrent expenditure. They had explained that this had not enabled them to focus on other areas that could make their service delivery better.
According to them, given the nature of the service they render, which must be on and stable at every time of the day, they have had to rely on generators which they said cost a lot of money to maintain.
It was gathered that the telecoms companies spent about N45bn monthly (N540bn per annum) to power their Base Transceiver Stations in 2014, and given the increasing number of the stations and the likely increase in maintenance and personnel cost across the country, the cost incurred by the respective operators might have increased.
The Executive Secretary, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Gbolahan Awonuga, had said recently that operators providing 4G internet service were the largest consumers of diesel in the country. Notably, diesel costs about N150 per litre. Given the number of subscribers in the country and the prevalent poor power supply, which operators have identified as a bottleneck, Nigerians might have to endure these issues and other shortcomings of the service providers for a longer time. Some experts in the industry have however said there was need for more base stations across the country. They noted that the about 30,000 base stations as of the end of 2014 were not enough to cater for the about 150 million connected lines.
The former Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, had said that Nigeria needs at least 60,000 base stations by 2018 to overcome the poor quality service in the sector, noting that the rate of growth of the stations had slowed down.
She pointed out that epileptic power supply, security risk, high cost of setting up the stations and maintenance, vandalism, stealing of equipment, delay in approval by the government have all negatively affected the growth of base stations in the country. Some consumers told Saturday PUNCH that the network providers might have been surcharging them to be able to meet up with their operating cost and boost their revenue.
Reacting to the issues raised about the service providers, the spokesperson for the NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, told our correspondent that the NCC has a platform through which subscribers could make their complaints, saying “complaints are treated as they come.” He added that the mobile number portability was introduced to give subscribers an opportunity to make a choice among the service providers.
He said, “Anyone who has complaints should complain to the network provider and in case they don’t get any redress, they should call our complain desk on 622 and supply the reference number that was given to them by the network provider, which indicates that they have already complained and nothing has been done. And we will take it up from there.”
On the issue of unsolicited messages, he said, “Even though some of the messages are advisory and could be beneficial to subscribers, what we have done is to ensure that they provide options for people to opt out and most of them have complied with that.”
Speaking on the inadequacy of base stations, Ojobo identified the issues confronting the deployment of base stations to include security challenges, community restiveness and multiple demands, approval from states and multiple taxes, noting that the NCC had initiated discussions with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to draw their attention to some of the challenges being experienced by operators in their states.
Also reacting, the spokesperson for Airtel, Emeka Opara, said across the world, operators normally send messages to customers to inform them of new services. He added, “The only issue there is the message hits you when you are not expecting it and some of them come in at such times like midnight because of network issues, but I admit that it is wrong to harass customers with messages, especially at late hours. I’m a customer as well, so I feel it.”
About the illegal subscription and deductions, he said any man-made system was prone to error and malfunctioning but that when a customer comes with a genuine complain, the tradition is to respond to them accordingly.
He said, “These networks were not built by God but by man, which is prone to mistakes, errors and unintended developments. However, if your credit has been illegally deducted, go to any Airtel shop or call the customer care and ask them to stop it and if they don’t you have a right to complain.
“As a business, we do not set out to annoy or exploit our customers. However, sometimes people complain because they do not even know what they have done or what anyone else, like their children, could have done with their phones. Regardless, we do everything possible to resolve any complaints that come.”
Meanwhile, efforts made to get Etisalat to respond were not successful as the spokesperson did not reply the mail she promised to send, while MTN and Glo also did not reply the mails sent to them.
Hoodlums attack Lagos fun seekers, steal valuables
There was palpable tension at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, on Friday when some hoodlums invaded the premises, causing fun seekers to run for safety.
Nnewi fire: Obi condoles victims’ families
The former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has condoled with the families of victims of Thursday’s fire incidence at Nnewi.
Describing the incidence as “tragic and regrettable”, Obi who said he was downcast, prayed to God to grant repose to the dead and courage to those they left behind to bear the loss with equanimity.
Friday, 25 December 2015
Donald Trump Tweets 'Be Careful' at Hillary Clinton, Says He Will Beat Her 'Soundly'
Donald Trump has been battling the Hillary Clinton campaign with some very pointed remarks in recent days. But his recent tweet, sent right before they both temporarily left the campaign trail for the Christmas holiday, was a bit ominous.
“Hillary, When you complain about ‘a penchant for sexism,’ who are you referring to. I have great respect for women,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Wednesday evening. “BE CAREFUL,” he concluded.
Hillary, when you complain about "a penchant for sexism," who are you referring to. I have great respect for women. BE CAREFUL!
China to become third-largest contributor to UN regular budget
(File Photo)
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 24-- China is going to be the third-largest contributor to UNregular budget 2016-2018, with its assessed contribution accounting for 7.9 percent, said asenior Chinese diplomat here Wednesday.
The Chinese contribution to the total UN membership dues ranks the third among 193member states of the world body, just next to the United States and Japan, said WangMin, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.
KANU: Dialogue Is The Solution Not Military Approach - kukah
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has said the way the Federal Government is going about the matter of Radio Biafra Founder, Nnamdi Kanu is not the right way and a Military/Judiciary approach to this matter, won’t help either. Kukah emphasized that we are in a democratic era and so, the most appropriate thing to do his to dialogue. The Bishop who spoke with Punch said;
7 Ways to Help Your Husband with His Anger
More than anything, your husband needs to know that you’re on his side, that you’re not against him. You need to communicate, more than you probably think necessary, that you accept him and love him, even though you may not be satisfied with some of his behaviors or responses. Separate the actions from the man; affirm the man. His search for peace may begin sooner if he knows that you’re satisfied with him and willing to walk through the steps of healing.
BE HIS FRIEND, NOT HIS MOTHER
CBN Explains Why It Put A Restriction On Debits Cards
The Director Monetary Policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Moses Tule Speaking at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja,said that naira debit cards can no longer be used outside the country due to the abuse it has suffered in the hands of some persons who use it to transfer foreign currencies illegally.
THE PROBLEM OF INFERTILITY
BY REV FR. ANSELM ADODO
WHAT IS INFERTILITY?
A woman is said to be infertile when, for one reason or another, she is unable to conceive after a long period of trial. A man is said to be infertile when, for one reason or another, he is unable to impregnate a woman.
Chelsea hold talks with Montreal over Drogba
CHELSEA are in talks with Major League Soccer franchise Montreal Impact over the future of striker Didier Drogba.
Montreal say Drogba has expressed a “desire to help” his old club. “We understand his attachment, but our objective is to have him back for another season,” Montreal tweeted.
Best ways to soothe indigestion
Most of us have experienced the discomfort of indigestion. Usually due to poor eating habits, it occurs when the stomach produces too much acid, causing a burning sensation and pain. When the acid is in the stomach, it is called gastritis. But, if it leaks into the Oesophagus (the tube leading to the stomach), it is called oesophagitis or heart burn. At some time, we’ve all paid the price for spicy food, here are some tips by nutritionists for soothing away indigestion:
I gave my friend only one blow – Murder suspect cries out
Sabitu, who hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State, explained that after the 38-year-old slumped, he rushed him to two different hospitals before he died.
Suspects hide hemp in biscuit cartons
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a truck load of cannabis sativapackaged as biscuits and cheese balls.
The 3,542.25kg bags of drug were impounded at the Odeda axis of Ijebu-Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government in Ogun State.
Buhari: no group’ll hold Nigeria to ransom again
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday warned that any threat to Nigeria’s peace woud not be tolerated.
“We must never again allow any group to hold the nation to ransom under whatever guise,” the President said in his Christmas message.
Somalian Government Bans Christmas Celebrations
Ex-APGA Chair Blasts S-East NASS Members For Keeping Mum On Kanu’s Detention
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Americans held hostage in Iran win compensation, 36 years later
After spending 444 days in captivity, and more than 30 years seeking restitution, the Americans taken hostage at the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979 have finally won compensation.
Buried in the huge spending bill signed into law last Friday are provisions that would give each of the 53 hostages or their estates up to $4.4 million.
Disturbing Story of How Man Raped Seven Children in Ebonyi
Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested a middle aged man, Chinedu Nwoja, for allegedly defiling seven female children at Onueke in Ezza South local government area of the state.
Narrating their ordeal, some of the victims aged between six and 10 alleged that the man who was a father of three had on several occasions lured them to his vehicle and other isolated places where he repeatedly carried out the act. He lives with the children in the same compound.
Yoruba Woman, Funmilola, Makes History In New York Police, Becomes Confirmed Inspector
Hard work sure pays. She has been diligent in her work and this elevation is well deserved!
The New York Police Department has announced the promotion of Deputy Inspector Olufunmilola F. Obe to the rank of Inspector.
Ladies Flaunt it All at Music Meets Runway Party
With the number of ladies with cleavage revealing outfits at the 5th edition of Music Meets Runway 2015 at Eko Hotel on 22 December, you would think it's a Boobs showing event. See more photos...
Must Watch! When Dino Melaye’s Colleagues Called Him A Masquerade At The Senate
Senator Dino was recently crowned the Jarma of Okuta and he attended his next sitting at the Senate dressed as a chief and his colleagues went ‘wild’ on him. When he entered, a lot of them started laughing, and then a loud voice was heard saying – masquerade, and the laugh continued. It went on like that till the end of the video. See video after cut..
PHOTOS: Empress Njama releases stunning Christmas
Actress Empress Njama released her annual Christmas photos .As you know,it is always hot!
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
Comedian Seyi Law Buys Honda Crosstour For Wife
Its Christmas season and Comedian Seyi Law just appreciated his wife with this gift. He wrote;
No wonder, God made it clear in His words, that when they say there is a casting down, we will say there is a lifting up.
PHOTOS: Artists incredible but scary images of how the world might end
Artist ,Steve McGhee has created apocalyptic images that seem to cover every possible way the world might end.
They include planes crashing down on New York City, blackholes opening up in Sydney Harbour and a large oil spill off the coast of France. Mr McGhee, from London, Ontario, believes his work could be influenced by the fact he watches far too many disaster movies.
Buhari' govenment spending money like a drunken sailor-Fani Kayode
Former Aviation minister, Fani Kayode has lambasted the Buhari led government for continuously blaming former president, Jonathan for it's present woes..In a statement ,he accused the APC government of spending money like a drunken sailor. He said
“The 2016 budget is fueled by insincerity, shrouded in fantasy, built on tall dreams and spawned by deceit, ignorance and the illusion of change. It is bloated, unrealistic, expensive, cosmetic and it will not result in anything good.
Police admit killing UNIPORT student
The Rivers State Police Command has admitted to killing a final year student of the University of Port Harcourt, Oghenekevwe Edah.
It was learnt that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations), A.A. Muhammed, who delivered a condolence message to the deceased’s family on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo, promised that justice would be done in the matter, Punch reports.
On Tuesday, Oghenekevwe was returning from a church on Sunday and was standing at the Assemblies of God Church Junction, in the Alakahia area of Port Harcourt, when a police van driving against traffic hit him.
Pay me my money, Fasehun tells Buhari
The founder of the Odua People’s Congress, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, has asked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to pay him and his organisation the money owed them for the protection of oil pipelines.
Fasehun, who is also the national chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, said this at a quarterly interactive media roundtable in Lagos on Tuesday.
Suspected robber misses way after operation, arrested
The police in Lagos have arrested a suspected robber, Saliu John, on the Old Apapa Road, Oyingbo, after allegedly dispossessing some market women of about N28,000.
Our correspondent gathered that John, who was said to have come to the area with two others, was nabbed by members of a vigilance group after he reportedly missed his way after the operation.
US Overtakes Russia As World’s Largest Producer Of Crude Oil
The United States is now the world’s largest oil and natural gas liquids exporter and would remain so for a while, overtaking both Saudi Arabia and Russia.
U.S. production of crude oil, along with liquids separated from natural gas, surpassed all other countries with daily output exceeding 11 million barrels during the first 5 months of this year.
Govt lists six treason charges against kanu
Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) leader and Radio Biafra Director Nnamdi Kanu is to be charged with treason.
Kanu was arrested on October 14 in Lagos and arraigned before an Abuja Magistrate’s Court on October 19. The court struck out the charges brought against him by the Department of State Service (DSS) because the prosecution applied to withdraw the charges.
Buhari directs immediate payment of December salaries
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate payment of December salaries to Federal Government workers.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at the end of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, said salaries were already being paid in response to the Presidential directive.
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