Banking
Subscribers Go Tough On DStv, Call For Better Service
By Dipo Olowookere
Subscribers to DStv service in Abuja have called on the relevant regulatory bodies to check what they described as “inflexible’’ subscription conditions.
The subscribers to the digital cable TV service made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
They complained, among other things, about the absence of toll-free lines to reach the company whenever necessary, absence of free-to-air channels, as well as exorbitant subscription rates for bouquets.
The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) had in February issued a directive to MultiChoice Nigeria, owners of DStv, on the need to be flexible on its dealings with subscribers.
Investigations by CPC earlier had confirmed allegations of violations of consumers’ rights leveled against MultiChoice Nigeria in the delivery of its service.
Consequently, it ordered the cable company to, among other things; provide toll-free lines to its subscribers, release free-to-air channels, even when subscription expires and compensate consumers across board for lost viewing time.
The council also observed that the DStv billing system, whereby “billing is not contemporaneous with the provision of service” was not in the best interest of consumers.
It, therefore, ordered MultiChoice to install a billing system that would ensure that billing was commensurate with the provision of service.
However, over six months after the order was given by the CPC, subscribers to DStv service were still agitating for better service experience.
Some of them said that DSTV was yet to comply to the order, alleging it was either the company had “settled the CPC or money has exchanged hands’’.
Martins Asuquo, a civil servant, said there was the need for the cable company to be more sensitive and responsive to the Nigerian market in view of the present economic challenges.
“Our regulatory bodies should call DStv operators to order.
“If it really means well for Nigerians, DStv needs to listen to its customers and make its service affordable and readily accessible.
“If you are having any challenge with the service, you will have to make sure you have enough airtime on your phone before you can contact its customer centre.
“Why can’t they provide toll-free lines for us?
“If they have, let them make such lines readily available to their numerous customers across the country,” he said.
Mr Asuquo said it was annoying that the company always reminded customers to renew their subscription that was yet to expire.
“One will always receive series of calls to be reminded on the need to get prepared for the next subscription.
“This is more disturbing when you realise that you will be yanked off as soon as your subscription expires.”
Another subscriber, Mrs Juliet Ogunyemi said the company had no free-to-air channels, in spite of the huge money they were making from Nigeria.
She added that there was need for the company to list all Nigerian local television stations on its free-to-air channels in all its available bouquets.
“The only free-to air channel I know on DStv for now is CCTV, which is not even our indigenous station.
“I don’t think it will amount to giving too much to Nigerians if DStv increased our free-to-air channels.
“We have remained loyal and consistent to this company over the years, let it reciprocate our loyalty,” Mrs Ogunyemi said.
She added that the company’s service suspension mechanism, on account of being away for some time, was yet to be made efficient.
“If you apply for suspension of service, it normally takes longer than you wanted before they will make it effective.
“This also reduces the duration you are supposed to enjoy your subscription.
“It will be better if a code is devised to enable a subscriber apply for it on his or her mobile device,” she said.
In the same vein, Tijani Atojoko, a sports enthusiast, noted that some popular channels, especially on sports, were not available in certain bouquets of DStv.
“Sport is something almost everyone loves and follows.
“There should be an equitable spread of popular sports and other channels in the bouquets.
“Government should make DStv see reasons to make its service better for us.
“I don’t think this is how they operate in other countries such as South Africa,’’ he said.
Erica Ovuakporoye said since she subscribed to the cable TV, she’s had a nasty experience.
According to her, DSTV is exploitative.
Ovuakporoye said that even after renewing her subscription, she would still be disconnected.
She said the most annoying aspect was that she had to spend her airtime to call DSTV for a problem that was not her making to be rectified.
“It is so annoying and frustrating, the Nigerian Government has to stand up and protect its citizens from the exploitation of these foreign companies,’’ she said.
When NAN contacted Abiodun Obimuyiwa, the Deputy Director of Public Relations of the Consumer council, he said MultiChoice had complied with the order.
“We can confirm that they complied with our order. I am aware that DStv now has a toll-free- line for its subscribers.
“Also, they have also compensated consumers across board for lost viewing time.
“I don’t know why some subscribers are saying they are not aware of these,’’ he said.
Obimuyiwa claimed that that DStv had also a listed a local television channel as its free-to –air channel as stipulated by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
“By the NBC provision, a digital TV station is supposed to leave one local TV as its free-to-air channel, and DStv’s free to air is NTA,” he said.
NAN
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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