Nigeria telcos to block millions from mobile banking over banks debt
Millions of Nigerians use the USSD to access banking services daily, but telcos say they are being owed by banks.
Telephone companies in Nigeria have threatened to suspend USSD services over indebtedness by banks.
Millions of Nigerians use the shortcode platform to access banking services daily through their phones, but the telcos say they are being owed by the banks.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, and head of operations, Gbolahan Awonuga, the group on Friday explained that the withdrawal became necessary after its members and banks failed to reach an agreement on a payment structure that will exclude phone users.
Stakeholders demand six-month NIN-SIM linkage deadline extension
Temiloluwa O’Peters
Stakeholders in the telecom space have called for further extension of the National Identification Number and Subscriber Identity Module integration exercise by six months.
They noted that the eight weeks extension given by government on Tuesday would not be enough going by the number of Nigerians yet to be registered, as well as other challenges with the NIN enrolment.
Reacting to the extension, the National Coordinator, Alliance for Affordable Internet, Olusola Teniola, stated that the April 6 deadline would not be sufficient to register every single NIN.
Teniola observed that the SIM registration database at present could not represent all Nigerians, saying it would represent at most 65 to 95 million Nigerians.
The Federal Government has pledged to increase its support for Micro Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country to fight unemployment and aid economic growth.
This is as an additional 1.3 million jobs is expected to be created across the country with the Bank of Industry committing N1.3 billion to support the MSME sector.
This pledge was made by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, during a Capacity Building Training for MSMEs on Monday, March 22, 2021, in Abuja.
At the training which was organised by Quantum Mechanics Limited in collaboration with the ministry, Adebayo said the fund would support the growth of MSMEs and artisans, pointing out that his ministry would continue to do everything possible to see to the growth of MSMEs in the country.
Group calls for six-month NIN deadline extension
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Applicants for the National Identification Number at the National Identity Management Commission office at Alausa, Lagos.on Monday. Photo: Saheed Olugbon
Temiloluwa O’Peters
The Association of Telephone, Cable TV and Internet Subscribers has asked the government to stop exposing Nigerians to the risk of losing their lives all in the name of getting National Identity Numbers and linking it to their SIM cards.
The subscriber association said the insistence of the government on the February 9 deadline for the full linkage of National Identification Numbers had led to human deluge at various NIN registration centres in the country.