By Funmilola Gboteku

Telecom operators in Nigeria on Thursday urged the Federal Government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges.

This is contained in a joint statement by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

The statement was signed by Mr Gbenga Adebayo, the ALTON Chairman and Mr Tony Emoekpere, the ATCON President.

The two associations (ALTON and ATCON) represent Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and telecommunication companies respectively.

The telecom operators urged government to establish a framework that balanced consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability.

They said: “For a fully liberalised and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.

“Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last 11 years, primarily due to regulatory constraints.

“Government needs to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability.”

The operators also urged the government to take decisive action in addressing the numerous challenges confronting the telecommunications industry.

Speaking on regulatory independence, the associations advocated for the sustenance of a culture of independence in the regulatory landscape.

Accordingly, it will safeguard undue influence and unwholesome incursion into the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) domain.

They added that this would inspire trust in the telecom sector and encourage investment.

“Regulatory neutrality and independence are crucial to ensuring a thriving telecommunications sector.

“Statutory provisions lend credence to this notion, as a lack of an impartial regulator will lead to a failure to maintain public confidence in the objectivity and independence of its decisions,” it said.

According to the associations, there is urgent need for collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors to overcome obstacles hindering the sector’s growth and development.

The associations said that their members still lacked access to essential telecommunication services due to a myriad of challenges.

The challenges include multiple taxation, regulations, prohibitive Right of Way (RoW) charges, inadequate electric power supply and vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure.

The associations also advocated for legislations to designate telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

It further expressed concern over the escalating security threats facing telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria.

“Telecom infrastructure undisputedly plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s national security and socio-economic growth, especially as the country currently contends with multiple security challenges that require urgent and immediate actions in response to these threats.

“Attacks on cell towers, fibre optic cables, and other critical assets disrupt telecommunications services and result in significant financial losses for operators.

“We urge the government to prioritise the security of telecommunications infrastructure and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to enhance protection measures and combat vandalism and sabotage effectively.

“The industry also requires substantial investments in network expansion, maintenance, and technology upgrades,” they said.

In conclusion, the associations reaffirmed telcos’ commitment to working collaboratively with the government to address the challenges facing the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.

“By fostering conducive regulatory environment, prioritising infrastructure development, enhancing security measures, the government could unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector”. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Auwalu Birnin Kudu/Christiana Fadare

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

The Federal Government has partnered with the Association of Orphanages and Homes Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON) to transform the orphanages and childcare services in Nigeria.

The initiative seeks to leverage technology to streamline data management and enhance support for vulnerable children across the nation.

During a consultative forum held in Abuja, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, unveiled plans to implement a software solution in partnership with Both Ends Believing (BEB), an international organisation.

This innovative approach aims to provide comprehensive data on orphanages and vulnerable children, facilitating informed decision-making and improving child protection procedures.

The Children First Software (CFS), developed by BEB, will serve as a vital tool in this endeavor.

Designed as a mobile app and web-based platform, the software enables real-time tracking of vulnerable children within orphanage facilities, from their admission to eventual placement.

Representing the Minister at the forum, Mr Eligius Nobis, Assistant Director of Child Development, emphasised the significance of this partnership in addressing the challenges faced by the childcare sector.

He highlighted the government’s commitment to working with ASOHON and BEB to eradicate illegal orphanage operations, commonly referred to as “baby factories.”

Kennedy-Ohanenye underscored the importance of accurate data in guiding policy formulation and enforcement within the childcare sector.

She commended ASOHON for its role in facilitating this collaboration and urged regional chapters to actively participate in identifying and shutting down illegal childcare facilities.

Dr Gabriel Oyediji, National President of ASOHON, emphasised the urgency of updating existing data on vulnerable children, citing outdated statistics from 2007.

He noted the role of BEB’s CFS in addressing this gap and reiterated the association’s commitment to ensuring the well-being of children under their care.

“As we embark on this journey of collaboration and dialogue, let us reflect on the profound impact our collective actions can have on the lives of these children.

“By working hand-in-hand, we can ensure that they receive love, care and support they deserve to thrive and fulfil their potential,’’ Oyediji said.

The national president, encouraged the government to prioritise social welfare funding, data coherency and ensure conclusive projects on assembling data which had failed in the past.

According to him, until the budget for social care and welfare is improved, things will not get better, because people working in this sector are discouraged.

Mr Kenneth Ayebazibwe, African Regional Director for BEB, emphasised the software’s role in promoting transparency and accountability within the childcare system.

He outlined the benefits of the CFS, including improved coordination among stakeholders and streamlined licensing procedures for orphanages.

Ms Yonpan Dariem, a representative of BEB Nigeria, while presenting the findings from homes on the pilot project, said out of over 500 homes registered with ASOHON, they assessed 90.

Dariem said that from the assessment, children brought into childcare services were either partial/total orphans, had shelter issues, abandoned, faced extreme poverty, dissatisfied about basic needs, abused, among other reasons.

She also mentioned that some were kept in home due to disability and out of 3,753 assessed, 13 of them were children with disabilities. 

Other assessment criteria included children in residential care by age, sex, parental status, children with up-to-date care plan, among other conditions. (NAN)www.nannews.ng

Edited by Jacinta Nwachukwu/Deji Abdulwahab

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has expressed its readiness to partner with relevant stakeholders to integrate digital technology in agriculture to ensure food security in the country.

Its Director-General, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, said this on Monday when a delegation from US Agency for International Development (USAID), led by Mr Josh Woodard, Senior Digital Advisor Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security, paid him a working visit in Abuja.

Inuwa said that Nigeria had over 70 million hectares of arable land to feed the country and other western African countries, hence the need to have a rapid landscape assessment of digital agriculture in the country.

He said that part of President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” was to focus on boosting agriculture to achieve food security.

He recalled that the agency’s mandate was to develop the National IT Policy which encompassed developing IT to boost productivity across all critical sectors including agriculture.

“We are coming up with a lot of initiatives in trying to see how we can build an agriculture strategy with IT in mind and make it a more attractive business for the younger generation.

“We are working with the ecosystem to develop a strategy on how to use AI in agriculture, health, education, and so on.

“We are working on how to use the Internet of Things, (IoT) in agriculture for crop monitoring, soil monitoring, precision irrigation, climate monitoring livestock monitoring.

“We are deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, (UAVs) to facilitate pest detection, water control, yield assessment,” director-general said.

According to him, we are working on using blockchain for the traceability of farm produce from farm to store, record keeping, quality assurance, and so on.

He said “we are working on using robotics to enhance productivity in agriculture in terms of automation of physical farm processing like weeding, harvesting, tractors.

“For additive manufacturing, we are working on using it to upscale our manufacturing industry in the agricultural sector for the production of crop and soil monitoring devices, customised equipment, and many more.”

Inuwa called on the USAID to be part of the initiatives to address food insecurity.

Earlier, Woodard said that the visit was to enable USAID to have first-hand information on what Nigeria was doing in digital farming, see how to enhance the integration of digital technology in agriculture.

He revealed that USAID recently launched the Global Food Security Strategy for Nigeria (2024 -2029) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to him, we want to work with all stakeholders to ensure food security in Nigeria. (NAN)www.nannews.ng

Edited by Gregg Mmaduakolam/Deji Abdulwahab

CNG,PRESIDENTIAL CNG INITIATIVE SET FOR ROLLOUT

By Bayo Onanuga
After the removal of the wasteful fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched the Presidential CNG Initiative in October last year to deliver cheaper, safer and more climate friendly energy. The CNG Initiative was designed to deliver compressed natural gas especially for mass transit.

The Federal Government as part of the many intervention programmes to reduce the burden of increase in pump price on the masses, provided N100 billion (part of the N500 billion palliative budget) to purchase 5500 CNG vehicles (buse and tricycles), 100 Electric buses and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits, alongside spurring the development of CNG refilling stations and electric charging stations.

After months of detailed planning and background work, the committee driving the initiative is set to deliver on President Tinubu’s vision and promise.

Already, the committee, being led by Michael Oluwagbemi, an oil and gas expert, has delivered some major foundational reforms to enable the new CNG and Electric Vehicles future the President promised. All is now ready for delivery of the first set of critical assets for deployment and launch of the CNG initiative ahead of the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29.

With necessary tax and duty waivers approved by President Tinubu in December 2023, the PCNGI committee is partnering with the private sector to deliver the promise on the initiative. The private sector has responded with over $50 million in actual investments in refuelling stations, conversion centres, and mother stations.

Also, a safety policy document on 80 standards and regulations that must be strictly adhered to by operators has been developed and approved to ensure CNG conversions are done safely and reliably.

The deployment of CNG buses and tricycles and the vision to get at least one million natural gas propelled vehicles on our roads by 2027 will mark a major energy transition in our country’s transportation industry. The use of more expensive diesel and PMS will gradually be phased out, when many vehicles, including trucks run on natural gas, which our nation has in abundance in at least 30 out of the 36 states of the federation.

As studies have shown, one of the main causes of air pollution is primarily the amount of gases emitted by gasoline and diesel engines. To reduce the pollution, some countries of the world, such as India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil , Argentina, Italy have built fleets of natural gas powered vehicles, instead of going the route of relying on liquid petroleum products propelled vehicles. Natural gas vehicles reduce tail pipe emission by up to 40 percent, and Nigeria’s commitment to this course will enable her meet her nationally determined commitments (NDCs) under Paris Climate Accord to which we are signatory.

From the end of May, Nigeria will take some baby steps to join such nations that already have large fleets of CNG vehicles.

Remarkably, the Tinubu administration, in driving the nation to the desired destination, has flagged open a new industry, along with thousands of new jobs.

Four plants owned by JET, Mikano, Mojo, and Brilliant EV located in various parts of the country are involved in the assembly of the Semi Knocked Down (SKD) components of the CNG buses. JET, which has received the SKD parts is coupling the buses in Lagos and is working towards delivering 200 units before the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration.

Brilliant EV will assemble electric vehicles. It is awaiting the SKD parts, which will arrive in due course. The electric vehicles it will produce are meant for states such as Kano and Borno, which do not have access to CNG for now. They will also be available in key Nigerian cities and university campuses. It must be noted that soon to be completed gas pipeline projects initiated by the Buhari administration and being completed by NNPCL (the AKK Pipeline) will take gas into the hinterlands of North East and North West where there is current paucity.

In all, over 600 buses are targeted for production in the first phase that will be accomplished this year.

A new plant on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will assemble thousands of tricycles. The SKD parts manufactured by the Chinese company LUOJIA in partnership with its local partner to support the consortium of local suppliers of CNG tricycles are set for shipment to Nigeria and expected to arrive early in May. About 2,500 of the tricycles will be ready before May 29, 2024.

Thousands of conversion kits for petrol powered buses and taxis that want to migrate to CNG are also ready with CNG cylinders. The Federal Government intends to provide them at subsidized rates, especially to commercial vehicle drivers to bring down the cost of public transportation.

As part of private sector collaboration, NIPCO and BOVAS are involved in offering refilling services for the CNG vehicles and also serving as conversion centres. NIPCO is setting up 32 stations nationwide to offer the services. The company has completed the set up of four of the CNG stations. Likewise, BOVAS is setting up eight stations in Ibadan, two each in Ekiti, Abuja and four in Ilorin. MRS is also involved. It is making efforts to announce where its refilling stations and conversion centres will be.

The NNPC Limited which had launched an on-and-off CNG initiative in the past is joining the new initiative. It is expected soon to announce the locations for CNG refilling and CNG conversion centres nationwide.

In addition, the PCNGI is working with 22 other agency partners, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria(SON) and Nigeria Automotive Design and Development Council to deliver 80 Natural Gas Vehicle Conversion and Associated Appliances Standards for the country.

For proper monitoring, PCNGI will also launch MYCNG.NG App. The app will embed the Nigeria Gas Vehicle Monitoring Systems, which will show CNG conversion and refuelling sites in the country.

The Tinubu administration is an enabler of the evolving CNG industry. In collaboration with the private sector, the PCNGI is set to deliver 100 conversion workshops and 60 refuelling sites spread across 18 states before the end of this year.

The vision of Mr. President to deliver one million gas vehicles cannot be possible without the private sector, including the RTEAN, NARTO, NURTW, and players in the downstream sector of the transportation chain and financiers.

Onanuga is Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

A consultancy firm, Sydani Group, has called on the Federal Government to improve on the educational access, healthcare and other initiatives, to boost the nation’s Human Capital Development (HCD) index.

The Director of Sydani Fellowship Programme, Mr Sunday Atobatele, made the call on Monday at a roundtable in Abuja.

The roundtable focuses on driving sustainability through a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria’s key development areas.

Atobatele said that HCD had a co-relation with a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He recalled the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund reports revealed that over 50 per cent of the country’s population was aged between 18 and 35.

“This demographic segment holds immense potential for HCD, but they are limited by poor educational access, high unemployment rate, inadequate healthcare services that continued to widen social and economic inequalities.’’

Atobatele explained that HCD was needed to drive economic growth, reduce poverty, promoting social equity and fostering sustainable development.

“During post-COVID era, a lot of young Nigerians expected to be productive and boost our HCD index, took to the alternative of migrating to more productive economies.

“There is a strong correlation with HCD and GDP, because when you have a productive population, you can put out the market value of products manufactured in the country.

“We need to improve our HCD index by empowering people with skills that can help them self-sustain, improve access to education, healthcare and other social development initiatives,’’ Atobatele said.

He said that the HCD index was measured by the survival of a child before five years, access to quality education and healthcare, among other components.

According to him, HCD requires universal primary education, quality teacher training, digital literacy programmes, universal health coverage, disease prevention and control, maternal and child health, infrastructure development, among others.

“Empowerment helps individuals to contribute effectively to their communities and economies. It also enhances workforce productivity, stimulates innovation and strengthens resilience to socio-economic challenges.’’

The director said that the firm partnered with the academia to improve the quality of the graduates from schools, adding that there were gaps between courses in school and the workforce environment.

He said that through its Sydani Fellowship Programme, the firm was building the capacity of students, providing them with opportunities for the period of five months and ensured their paid as well.

He said other avenues the firm designed to reach out to young people included the Sydani Research Institute, to train about 500,000 in 10 years with prerequisite skills.

“The training will focus on developing skills the beneficiaries can leverage on to apply for employments, to be self-sustained and come up with innovative solutions to help themselves.

“We need youths, vibrant people of productive age with prerequisite knowledge, skills, to prove their productivity that will translate to economic sustainability,’’ he said.

Earlier, Mr Sidney Sampson, Global Managing Partner of Sydani Group, said the group was dedicated to catalysing positive change, fostering development to underserved communities.

Sampson said the group’s focus areas which geared towards building the global and Nigerian economy also included advancing technology, healthcare, HCD, agriculture and climate change and education.

“We are here to analyse the critical questions within the Nigerian development, and the things we do revolve around development of a person.

“Nigerians need education, food, healthcare, human capital development, to be exposed to be able to drive economic activities and development,’’ he said.

According to him, Sydani group is collaborating with different agencies, institutions to develop and implement impactful solutions.

Sampson described the roundtable as imperative as media played a vital role in shaping and fostering accountability, delivering message in a right way. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng) media

Edited by Deji Abdulwahab

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

Mr Noble Ajuonu, Head, Sydani Technologies Ltd., has urged the Federal Government to harmonise National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to tackle crimes and insecurity in the country.

Ajuonu made the call on Monday at a media roundtable, organised by Sydani Group in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the roundtable focuses on driving sustainability through a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria’s key development areas.

Ajuonu said that Nigeria could overcome its security challenges and pave the way for a safer, more secure future for all Nigerians by embracing technology and implementing practical solutions,

“We need to harmonise data, prioritise seamless integration of databases like NIN, BVN, and security agency records, establish clear protocols for data sharing and access, with robust safeguards against misuse,’’ expert said.

According to him, the unified data pool will empower intelligence gathering and targeted operations.

He also called for investments in smart surveillance, intelligent video analytics software, training of personnel in data analysis, interpretation of data in real-time to combat crimes.

“There is need to implement a legal framework for call interception in criminal investigations, with strict oversight to prevent abuse, encourage community cohesion, training of tech savvy security personnel with tech-enabled tools.’’

Ajuonu also urged the government to address infrastructure deficit in technology, saying that technology was all encompassing to address insecurity.

“According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as of December 2023, only 104.2 million Nigerians had been enrolled for the National Identity Number (NIN).’’

Ajuonu added that over 122.2 million citizens left uncaptured for NIN were people in rural areas where enrolment centres, digital services were limited.

“Most crimes are being perpetuated from rural communities and this lack of comprehensive identification creates a gap where elements not captured in the national database can constitute public nuisance, crimes.

“There is the inadequacy in the integration of NIN, BVN and Voters Identification Number (VIN).

“Advanced call interception and analysis tools, used successfully in other countries, could provide invaluable insights into criminal networks and operations but infrastructure is lacking,’’ he said.

Also, Mr Godfrey Petgrave, the Agricultural Expert, Sydani Group, called for empowerment of smallholder farmers with access to finance and training to enhance productivity.

According to Petgrave, Nigeria requires policy reform and institutional strengthening to improve agricultural practices and embrace digital agriculture solutions to address food insecurity.

Mr Akolade Jimoh, another expert of the group on health, advocated for expanded community-based health insurance programmes for rural and underserved areas.

Jimoh added that the country needed to encourage Public Private Partnership to revolutionise products design and quality improvement on health services. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deji Abdulwahab

By Collins Yakubu-Hammer

Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau has called for partnership among government, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Faith Base Organisations (FBOs), Corporate Organisations and wealthy individuals to expand Computer Based Test (CBT) infrastructures.

Mutfwang made the call at the roundabout on Athena/Educare Free Nationwide Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) Preparatory CBT launch  in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership in collaboration with Educare to mainstream CBT into school’s curriculum.

According to Mutfwang, Plateau as a state has only 21 CBT platforms which are not enough to cover the local government areas of the state.

He added that most of the 21 CBT Centers were located in the state capitals, which were all private sector initiative.

“There is no enough public sector involvement. This is a wakeup call for me as a governor, and I will like to appreciate what Athena and Educare has done to open our eyes towards involvement in this initiative.

“What I can assure you is that by grace of God, we are going to key into this partnership and we are going to see how we will be able to improve the capacity of our people.

“We want to be intentional and deliberate from this moment going forward, where we will take the lead.

“There is need for effective partnership to involve NGOs, FBOs, wealthy individuals and corporate organisations to come up with strategy for expanding the critical infrastructure to enable our students participate in CBT examinations.

“The density of access to IT facilities in the state is low. Not many students who are ready to write JAMB have access to ICT facilities. We need to allow our children to have access and participate in JAMB,” Mutfwang said.

The Plateau governor said he was going to ensure that when issuing licence to schools, there must be readiness to be able to create the platform.

“It is a massive deficit we have, but I think the deficit presents us with a massive opportunity and that is what we will be driving going forward,” he said.

Also, the Governor of Anambra, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, represented by his Special Assistant on Technology and Incubation, Miss Chinwe Okolie, narrated the education revolution drive in the state.

Soludo stressed that he would continue to ensure that Anambra remains in the lead of national examinations such as JAMB and WAEC.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the centre, Mr Osita Chidoka, said, the organisations was targeting one million students in its programme.

According to Chidoka, the programme was aimed at promoting constructive platforms for digital space that would enable students taking CBT examination prepare adequately.

He explained that the Centre observed that 80 per cent of students taking the jamb CBT examination were not familiar with computers.

Chidoka also called for expansion and improvement of infrastructure, production of quality teachers and inculcating of digital skills into students to make them prepare for CBT.

Similarly, the Founder of Educare, Mr Alex Onyia, said the organisation was prompted to bring the initiative to bear owing to the number of students who failed Jamb examination as a result of lack of knowledge of the CBT.

Onyia said that investment in a platform that enhance skills such as this would give Nigerian students quality education. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

By Funmilola Gboteku

An Information and Communication (ICT) Expert, Ahmed Ogundimu, says limited network coverage and low literacy levels are among factors hindering mobile money penetration in rural areas.

Ogundimu, who is a Senior Product Manager with Amazon, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday that another challenge was skepticism about digital financial services.

He said that infrastructural deficit, which included inadequate internet access, remained a major plague faced by operators in the mobile money market in the country.

Ogundimu said that coupled with these were other logistical issues that worsened the operation of mobile money in Nigeria, adding that these challenges had further widened the financial inclusion gap.

“Nigeria does not have adequate access points to financial services, making only about 23 per cent of poor Nigerians living in rural areas within three miles of such access points.

“Also, low quality of mobile phone service in Nigeria makes users constantly complain of low quality of services, such as glitches in transactions and the issue of recurring network interruptions,” he said.

Ogundimu noted that a lot of people in the rural area were excluded financially because they do not have adequate knowledge about mobile money.

To resolve these challenges, Ogundimu said that it was necessary for mobile money providers to expand their rural agent networks and offer more localised and user-friendly services.

He explained that to sell mobile money services to people in rural communities, operators needed to consider the necessity of advertising these products in the local languages of the different communities they intended to operate in.

Ogundimu added that to aid non-literate users, services could be sold to them using familiar images.

“Government and non-governmental initiatives aimed at promoting financial literacy and digital inclusion should be organised to contribute to the gradual penetration of mobile money services in these regions.

“The Nigerian government can also play a key role in expanding financial inclusion in rural areas. This can be done by providing incentives to financial institutions to establish and operate branches in rural areas,” Ogundimu said.

The ICT expert urged the government to invest more in telecommunications infrastructure for seamless transactions, saying it would go a long way in improving network issues.

He, however, stressed that the expansion of the digital financial service could not be overlooked as could be seen by the growth and acceptance of mobile money.

Ogundimu said that, according to an IMARC Group’s 2023 report, the Nigerian mobile money market was projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.37 per cent between 2024 and 2032.

“Also an EFInA report published by Bloomberg reported that 52 percent of adult Nigerians have a bank account.

“The ease of use, accessibility, and convenience offered by mobile money platforms through USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) and mobile wallets have also played a crucial role.

“Also, supportive regulatory frameworks and initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria, such as the licensing of Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and tiered Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements, have encouraged the growth of mobile money services,” he said.

According to Ogundimu, it is evident that the industry has generated significant employment opportunities and empowered individuals, though estimating the exact number in Nigeria is challenging.

He said that jobs created in the industry included direct employment by mobile money operators, agents, and vendors facilitating transactions.

Ogundimu added that there were indirect jobs created in related sectors such as telecommunications, software development and financial services.

“The ecosystem surrounding mobile money has not only created jobs but also bolstered entrepreneurship, as many individuals now operate small businesses as mobile money agents, thereby gaining financial independence and contributing to the economy,” he added.

On criminality in mobile money business, he said that while mobile money had brought significant benefits, it was crucial to acknowledge the potential risks.

According to him, instances of fraud, scams, and money laundering attempts have occurred.

He added that a notable case was that of a telecommunication company that sued 18 Nigerian banks over a 53 million dollar mobile money fraud in 2022.

Ogundimu stressed that this underscored the importance of collaborative efforts between stakeholders, regulatory authorities and mobile money providers to continually enhance security measures.

“The safety and security of mobile money users should be a top priority for all involved parties.

“Security measures should include robust authentication processes, secure technology infrastructures, KYC enforcement, transaction monitoring, and public awareness campaigns about safe mobile money practices,” he said. (NAN)

Edited by Christiana Fadare