Nigeria resists plans to distort the Internet economies and freedom of Infor-
K UNl£ A ZEEZ
mation.. Experts and analysts are eX the opinion thai the content or the
has W'A'9i 10 resist any mIM! 10 make dedsian at gk)bal level with t.endeocy to distort the operation of the Internet thereby creating
NE
.,.".,.,..,.tITRshasnot-'_ Iy available lOr comment; that there is no evidence tosuppori. the proposals and that IntemaUona1
serious dJsTUption for lntemel: u.s. in NIgcrla and the resl of the ~ Stakeho}ders around the wor1d have expressed dissatisfaction with the process and likely OUt-
In
come or the \IA:Jr1d Conference on Intcrnatlonal TeIecommunl· cations (WelT), "itkh will take pla(z in DubaJ from December 3 and 14. 31l2.. The stakeholden have speclficalIy hJghUghted the propo!ged changes to the Intemational ThJe.
oommunicaUons
Regulations (ITRs). whkh wID effect funda. mental changes in the ~ the Intemet operates, 10 the detriment or the futunl r1 the Internet and
Teiecommunlcat.ions Union proan! restrlctl\"e.. limiting stakeholder participation In pru1:icular, the lnb!meC SodetY has echoed the va'5, stathlt that tJ1e prnpa;aIs woukl crmte a newJDOdel.irIntemetoomec::tion; alh'm!ely lmpactIntemeC. ~ olllllberins and addn!ssJrc; and extend regWatory authority to new art'9S, ~ mt<i to the lnternet aodlntemet~
c::esses
'J'helntemethasl"e"o()lutionlsed the llws or bUllons or people by giving them acass: to InfonnaUon and the ability to canmunJc:al. frneJy with each othet: The model that enabk!d this nM)Jution must not be tampered with.
fore W'gl'd the Ni8eria governmen! represcntatM!s who will atterd the werT' and all other deIegat.CS to the Conference to reject
the.,.".,.,..,.t_totheITRs. But speaking with Nationa1 Mirror on phone ~ EJ:ecutive Directoc Thdurlcal Scrvic:es. NCX. Dr. Bashlr Gwandu. who is
MultiChoice eulogises dealers' entrepreneurial drive UChok:e,
1E
1eradin8
N1geria's
entertainI destination in the country has lauded Its dealers P"Y
attOSS the OOWllry for
Its success in growing the vast network of subscriber.! and helping to take services Into the homes of Ni gerians. John Ogbe., Managing O_orMulliOlOIcoNIge.-Ia, attributed the St.KXX'Sge!I the rompany hnsacb..ic\lcd (JV(!rthc,)1!aC5 to the entrepnn!Urlal spint and keen sen9E! to grow the business
represenUngNIgerla'slnten!stat the I'ortlx:oming oonf"erence. aI.9o conI1nned the ~t, notlng that agitations \Io'Ut! aJread;y growing against some decisions they ~ intemJpt the Internet. operations and oonsequenUy ac.
shoY.llb)'theSUperDeaJers. The dealen. who wen! feted at the 3)12 edition d MultiOlokle Nlgerla Super Doolen Award
cess.
ing their fianchbes Into big busInesses, employing thous:uxis or people. provkUng ma.n.y Ntgeri. anstheir9ClUroedllveliboodand
He said: "We llI'llkntand that there ha\Ie been ina'erasln,g agita-
tionfromallovertheworldonthe likely disruption d the internet
based on the envisaged n!.'IOIu. tions e:xpected to be made at the oonference. but I can ....... you thai Nigeria as a oountry will GO against any deciskln that ~ have negath-e impact on the intl!'r'
"=;;I~ts~oon~trl~bution ~~tD~_ =~::Ing ~:o;~The~~_ ~;==:.;:""'~~~"""'~ ;;;;~nel =;·;;.._
..
NlghthekllnLapNO'o'et11berlO, 2I)l.2, 'oI.'t'f'e l'S])C!dalIy 1alXk!d for theroJelheybave p~'ed in grow.
cu1t and chailcngq conditions as Yo'!! have seen in.some parts or the coun~ dealers t!f15UI'ed thai
our products were made ....allable to subscribers. complaints were treatL'd with dlspmch, and the business oontinues to grov.t" added Mz: Ugbc. Before the awards night the _ visUal and made donaBons 10 a hospice as y,1!ll as a home fur the blind In Lagos, wuh oootrlbutions whJch they poolOO togethB- with oontrlbution from Mu1tiChoice.
-rtJniRht
reprn-
MultlChoice Nigeria tsaDaboul ~saklMI: Ugbe. '"Look around you and you wtll see that MultKhlkr Is a truJ;y N~ oompamr We started this jour. neyafewyearsagowithonJyfM sents what
dealers:;
oow 'A"e
haI."e 54.
dealers.
opportunItiestoexpandthe!JlX)pe
who bnYe in turn opened offices in d.i.frerml locations m'OSS the 00Wltr)t ~ jobs and ex· pericooe to thousands or)'QUllg
oC the ~ "Ew!n in dfffi
Nigerians.
IWinners emerge at Fidelity Bank promo F :JUlluckywlnnenemerpd last \\U!k~nd at the flrst mini draw or the 25th All.
nivmoty ClJn &; 0J.sh SavIngs Promo held at the Lagos 0laJn. herCOmmen::e and Industry auditrriwn. Lagos Inter· nat1onal1'rade FaIr. Tafawa Balewa Square. Lap. The star prize or Nloo.OCOcasb lI.'et\t to Charles Nwalwu ,,-hlle lmnna A1ru9onawua. the second prize winner got a Blackberry smart phone.. Sunday O~ 'J'b. bechl and Ekenedirlchukwu Ike- Okoro, t\\."O r:L the thlnl prize "''lIlllel'S, each went home with a medium sb.OO generator: The 25th Anniversary can am Cash Savings Promo is the first in the geries actMties Fidellty Bank has lined up to eelebrntc its SUws- jubilee. f'Idcljf;y Bank is embarking on the savings
or
n.ccn
or
campaJgn to eoaJUIClgl' savings culture 8.JD:lI1iSt Nlgeria.m d all age brackels. In an environment like
N.ig:eria where8lXll5S to t\mds
15 minimal. individuals must cuiUvate the habit oC putting something aside for the fut.ure. 'I'h.Is invariably put! )W in a better position to borrow Ihm a bank or other soun::es than one whO does nothaYesavtngsatall. We encourage )00 to sbnply open a savings -.:count with f'i. deUty Bank with a minimum deposit« N2O. (XX) or top up ex1st.in8 accounts with inctemcntal NIO, OCO to be clig\bk! for the monthly draw. The savings acoount could be any in the saving! bouquet whidl includes the Fidelity SaYings Accounts (FSA). FideUty Per· !IOflal Savings (F'PSS). SWEETA ([or chUdren), Easlsa\.~ or PIex (for the youth).
TEF names Director of Entrepreneurship Development
FG urged against granting waiver on rice importation M ESHACK IO EHEN
T
he President d the Rice M1lIers. Importers and
Distributions Associa· tion or Nigeria (Rf1..0DAN). Mr Tur\ll Owoe)'t', has said the association is urging the Federal Government to forgo the idea or granting lmport wah-er for rice importers lnto the countT)! According 10 him, the as· sociation has In\'csted over N255bllllon in plants, rna· chlnerles. equipment. as well as backward integration, In order to meet the group's 0bjective d protecting the rice business in the countr)t and enswing that the su~sector plays tts role 0( sustaining
Its contribution to the coun· try's Gross DomesUc Product
(GOP). Speaking with }ow-naJists on MoO<l.a.x Owoeye said the Investments by RiMJDAN has shown that the association has emerged a rrutior stakeholder in the agrtculturaJ and by extension. other economic sectors in the COWltr)t saying also thai the group is resolved to partner with governments at various levels, corporate organisations and individuals to reallse the critical objet· moe or food sumclency in the country: WhUe calling on the Feder· al Government not to yield to pressure by granting waiver on rice importation in order to promote local production.
the rice millers president said they
will suppan goverrunenl's decision to increase levy on imported rice, and that there should be no waivers what· 5Oe\'er.
He said -n.e passion with which this present administration is evolv. ing policies and meastm!:5 to ensure thai Nigeria attalns the status of selr suffiCiency in food production Is very commendable, despite that Nigeria loses N32billLon yearly to rice smug· gling, Ulegal evasion of duties and wastes suffered by loc:a.I investors in rice processing locally" He explained that the figure of N32bUllon came as a result of a carefut monitoring and analysis or developments In the rice sector. ..... hlch revealed worsening revenue generation from Imported rice and declining performance by local processing flrllU.
he TDny Elumelu Foun· dationhasappointedMs. Nsirft Younge. a native of Sh'!rra Leone, as Olrectorof LeadershIp and Entrepreneur. ship Development Ms. Younge comes to the foundation with extensive experience in phllanthropy and lmp.... ct investing through her work with the Syn· ergos InsUiute's GiobaJ Pbllan· thropists Circle. as weD as the Robin Hood Foundation, both based in the United States. In a statement made avail· ahle to NtJlionaJ Mirror for the past three years, she has run her own US based phllanlhropIc strategy ad~sory company working with phIlanthropists. not·for profit organisatioN. and businesses to help them strategically execute 00 their phl1anlhropic missions. The !ltaiement said she jc ined The Tony Elumelu
T
Foundation at an exciting lime.. "Now startin& Its third
year of operations. the Foun· dation continues to pursue Its minion of enhancing the competitiveness of the Afri· can private sector through a coordlnatl!d strategy of programmes, granls and Impact Investments. Some of t.h e highlights include the rap· Idly expanding African Mar· kets lnternshJp Programme (AMIP), now planned for nine Africao countries. the launch of the Elumelu Legacy l>tite Programme. the 81aLr Elu melu FeUows Programme 10 Liberia and Sierra Leone, the Elumelu Fellows Programme, and the AlIWorid Nlgerla:iO. Grants include business development awards to pre-.start up businesses In the Co-Creation Hub in iA.gos, Nigeria, I\! well 8.!1 funding for conswtancles.