Nigeria Lifts Suspension on New SIM Card Registration

By Adedapo Adesanya Social messaging platform, WhatsApp, has introduced a feature that lets users create groups on the instant messaging app without needing to name them. This is a new option open to users, a change from the norm as users are required to name the groups they create on the messaging app. The announcement was made by Meta’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Mark Zuckerberg, on his Facebook page and Meta’s Instagram channel on Wednesday. According to him, the feature will help users now be able to create a group, even if they have not decided on a topic

By Adedapo Adesanya Data and AI technology company, Flapmax, has announced 12 startups selected for the second cohort of the FAST Accelerator startup programme, created in partnership with Microsoft to help strengthen and scale Africa’s digital ecosystem. Following the conclusion of its 2-week Online Bootcamp, which saw 60+ tech companies participate in intensive online training with experienced mentors, FAST Accelerator’s cohort of 12 startups will progress to a 5-week comprehensive acceleration experience in Silicon Valley, California, starting in October. Speaking on this, Mrs Mame-Fatou Gueye, SME Program Manager, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office, said, “Microsoft believes that African startups and small

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) changed the numbering format for fixed lines from January 1 next year. The agency said the fixed-lines numbering format will no longer be eight digits but would be 10 digits, with the addition of the 02 prefix before the existing fixed number. This change is totally different to the existing mobile numbering format. The decision is in keeping with its responsibilities under the enabling law, the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, to manage Nigeria’s numbering resources, according to Mr Reuben Muoka, the Director of Public Affairs at the NCC, in a statement.

By Adedapo Adesanya X, formerly known as Twitter, has announced plans to introduce voice and video calls to the platform. This is the latest move by the billionaire owner, Mr Elon Musk, to turn his app into what he calls an “everything app” modelled after China’s super app, WeChat. These features, when introduced, would place X in direct competition with WhatsApp, Telegram, and other social media apps offering the same services. Making its features unique, Mr Musk said users would not need phone numbers to make calls on X. According to the Twitter owner, the features would work on different

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the retention of the key monetary policy rates in the country in order to support growth recovery. The decision to maintain the rates was taken at the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja. Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who announced the outcome of the gathering, said members of the committee felt it was the best thing to do at the moment. It was the first MPC meeting for 2022 and based on the inflation data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the

By Dipo Olowookere The minimum operating capital of insurance companies operating in Nigeria has again come to the fore following an announcement made yesterday by the industry’s regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). The regulatory agency said it was raising the minimum paid-up share capital of insurance and reinsurance firms so as to make the sector stronger and better. In a circular to all insurance and reinsurance companies signed by NAICOM’s Director, Policy and Regulation Directorate, Mr Pius Agboola, on behalf of the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Mohammed Kari, it was said that the new capital regime would take effect

By Adedapo Adesanya The convener of the Chess in Slums Africa initiative, Mr Tunde Onakoya, has emerged as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award organised by Business Insider Africa. The inaugural Business Insider Africa Awards recognised outstanding business leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa who have been instrumental to the growth and advancement of the region’s economic landscape. There were 55 nominees, including some of the continent’s top business leaders, achievers, and innovators across various industries and sectors who have made noteworthy contributions to their various communities through charitable works and leadership roles. After two weeks of intensive

By Dipo Olowookere The 75th birthday dinner of Oba Adedotun Aremu, the Alake of Egba land, may have come and gone, but the memories of the event will remain in the minds of guests, who graced the event. Participants at the event could not have enough of one of Nigeria’s talking drummers known as Gabination. The entertainer effortlessly delivered a fascinating performance with intriguing beats, which mimics the tone and prosody of the Yoruba speeches. Oba Ilu, as he’s fondly called, demonstrated dexterity on the talking drum, which shows possibilities available in our vast cultural and ethnic diversity. Gabination’s performance

By Dipo Olowookere Etisalat Nigeria has confirmed that it was making progress in its discussions with its bankers concerning the $1.2 billion loan it took few years ago. Initially, there were reports that about 13 banks were planning to take over the telecoms firm because it failed to repay the loan. However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) waded into the matter to stop that move. Few weeks ago, it was learnt that officials of Etisalat Nigeria and the banks met in London for a meeting on the possible ways to pay back the

By Adedapo Adesanya The 39th week of trading in 2022 at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange saw an expansion of 1.69 per cent as investors gained N16.09 billion in the five days of trading. According to data from the bourse, the market capitalisation, which measures the value of the trading platform, grew to N968.60 trillion from the N952.51 billion it closed in week 38. Also, the NASD OTC Securities Exchange Index rose by 12.24 points to close at 735.79 points, in contrast to the 723.56 points of the preceding week. Business Post reports that the positive outcome for the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said the global oil sector will need a cumulative investment of $12.6 trillion in the upstream, midstream and downstream through to 2045. The Secretary-General of the organisation, Mr Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, gave the forecast at the 31st meeting of the Energy Charter Conference held via videoconference on Thursday. According to Mr Barkindo, the investment will be vital for improving the efficiency of the industry. “The objective behind our actions is the pursuit of a sustainable stable market in the interests of producers and consumers. This is essential to

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Sunday announced 86 new cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country. This is the highest number of cases recorded in a single day so far in the country since its first case was announced on February 27, 2020. According to the NCDC, the 86 additional cases recorded yesterday have increased the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 627. “As at 11:50 pm of April 19, 2020, there are 627 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria, [with 170 patients discharged after recovery and 21 deaths,] the agency