Telecom firm, MTN, has received final approval from Nigerian regulators to run a payment service bank, the wireless carrier said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

“The date of commencement will be communicated to the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) in accordance with its requirements,” the telco heavyweight said of the bank to be known as MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited in a note to the Nigerian Exchange.

The approval, the fruit of well over two years of waiting for the permit, gives the local unit of Johannesburg-headquartered MTN Group Limited the leave to operate virtually all the services offered by conventional commercial banks with the exception of granting credit and processing foreign exchange transactions.

“We want to leverage the financial inclusion drive. We plan to give people who don’t have bank accounts or even ATM cards the opportunity to be able to do banking services,” a senior official said on condition that its identity will not be divulged because of the sensitivity of the matter,” Nigeria’s biggest company by revenue said.

“And we are leveraging on our size. When we have subscribers of over 70 million spread across Nigeria with our infrastructural spread, we are well positioned to cover everywhere. That’s exactly what we want to achieve.”

MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa, which got preliminary approvals last November to operate in the same space, will be looking to tap Nigeria’s unbanked adult population of 38 million people, who according to Abuja-based media research house and data analytics firm, held N26.2 trillion last year alone, a move that will pit both telcos against traditional banks in getting a slice of the market.

Shares in the telco were up by 0.34 per cent at 12.19 WAT on Lagos Customs Street on Monday, trading at N206 per unit.

The broad scale of MTN’s broadband penetration gives the two an open reach to rural Nigerians and urban places without access to banking services by way of connectivity, a luxury conventional banks cannot afford.

The ubiquity of coverage of the telcos mean banking will no longer be the preserve of commercial lenders, a development that could position the latter to take a big bite at the e-business earnings of conventional lenders at a time most banks are struggling to sustain profit growth.

For 2021, GTCO, Nigeria’s second biggest lender by market value, saw its profit hit a four-year low, while rival UBA managed to scrape a 4.3 per cent growth and Zenith 6.1 per cent.

In December, MTN and Mafab won the bid for 5G spectrum licence auctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

MTN Nigeria, which provides one-third of the MTN Group’s sales, saw revenue climb to record N1.7 trillion last year, with profit leaping 45.5 per cent to N298.9 billion.

A high court in Ogun state has ordered Zenith Bank Plc to pay N500,000 as damages for sending spam messages to one Omotola Fathiat Quadri.

Quadri had, in the suit marked HCT/605/2021, sued Zenith bank for infringing on her fundamental rights to privacy as guaranteed under section 37 of the constitution.

She claimed the respondents between February 16 to May 26, 2021, sent over 300 unsolicited messages to her email address despite not owning an account with the bank.

Quadri also claimed that despite writing to the bank through her solicitors and a petition to both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Information Technology Development Agency, the respondent did not stop sending unsolicited emails to her.

She prayed the court for an injunction restraining the bank from further sending her messages.

The applicant also prayed the court to award N5,000,000 in her favour as general damages against the bank.

But in a counter-affidavit by Clarkson Adebayo, a legal practitioner, the bank claimed that the applicant’s email address was provided by Omotola Rashidat Quadri, a customer.

Adebayo said the bank suspended sending email transaction alerts to the applicant and contacted its customer to update her records. However, the general promotional advertisement was still being sent to the applicant because her email was still registered in the respondent’s database.

The bank insisted that it cannot be held liable for invasion of privacy for acting in compliance with the email address supplied by its customer.

While urging the court not to grant the application, the bank submitted that if it is granted, “it will open the flood gate of litigations against the respondent and other financial institutions as many customers would deliberately supply wrong information and thereafter proceed to sue the institution for infringement of their rights.”

Delivering judgment on March 16, Sonia Akinbiyi, presiding judge, resolved issues in favour of the applicant.

“The admission to sending a plethora of messages and promotional messages even in the face of several letters and petitions against the respondent to stop same violates the fundamental rights of the applicant,” the judge held.

“The application succeeds in its prayers (I) and (2), this court declare that the unsolicited email violates the applicant’s privacy, the respondent is hereby restrained from further sending such unsolicited Emails in any manner infringing the applicant’s fundamental rights.”

The judge also ordered the bank to pay N500,000 to the applicant.

The former Governor of Anambra state and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice-presidental candidate during the 2019 elections, who is now a 2023 presidential hopeful under the PDP, Mr Peter Obi on Monday says his decision to join the presidential race is rooted in his strong conviction that he has what it takes to build a better Nigeria from the present state of hopelessness.

Mr Peter Obi while meeting with the Ogun State party delegates at its state secretariat in Abeokuta said the country is already tending towards a failed state and it therefore required having a competent and time tested hands to bring it back on track of economic prosperity as a nation that we all could be proud of.

He warned Nigerians to put the future of their children into consideration before electing another president in the 2023 elections.

Mr Obi said rather than playing cards of ethnicity, the PDP delegates at the primaries should consider voting for someone like him with past records of verifiable achievements and prudent management of resources during his eight years as the governor of Anambra State.

He said that he wasn’t only paying salaries as at when due but also settled over N33bn backlog of inherited pensions and gratuities and that while leaving office, he left N75bn in the coffers of the state.

Obi said “As we approach new elections in Nigeria, it is important we reflect what we are. Unexamined life is not worth living. We need to examine where our country is today. There is agitation everywhere. We have banditry, terrorism, these are culmination of leadership failure in Nigeria. Our country never look into the future and the consequences are what we are seeing today, it is a failure of not investing in the future. We must act now so that Nigeria will not collapse.

He asked Nigerians to do a thorough background check of the candidates so as not to put the country on another journey of pains and agony.

The former Anambra governor, said the agony of North East and North West of Nigeria is more reason he is contesting for president.

His words”Do not look at money or what people are saying, let’s change the country. I have seen the pains of people in the North East and North West. All these you hear is our elites and politics leaders conspiracy. Nigerians are one and they love each other.

“Our country has 33 percent of unemployment when you add underemployment, it’s about 65 percent and 60 percent of these are youths. Our youths in their productive age are doing nothing.

"Today our country is owing retirees pensions and gratuities. We must change this situation. Our universities are closed, about 16 million students out of school, unemployment amongst our Youths is the highest in the world.

“Think about the society your children will live, Anybody who comes here and say to you that he wants to be a President, ask, where was he 25 years ago and what has he done, where is he coming from, ask questions about his achievements in the past. Where have you work? which school did he go to, let us know how he manage public money that was given to him in past.

The party’s Governorship candidate in the state, Ladi Adebutu, Described obi as a credible, outstanding and responsible individual whom he said is capable for the job.

According to him “Peter Obi is very credible and outstanding, he is a responsible  Presidential aspirant. APC is clueless, and  Aimless. Infact, the Minister of communication is even tired of lying.

Obi’s presidential campaign team was led by the former presidential Spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe. Others at the event were the Chairman of the PDP in the State, Alhaji Sikirulai Ogundele, Chief Kolapo Ogunjobi, Chairman, Ogun PDP Elders Forum, Aare Tunde Alabi and Chief Mrs Ojaronke Ogunremi among others.

Obi had on March 23rd formerly declared his interest to run the 2023 Presidential race when he met some traditional rulers in Anambra state.

The Minister of Transportation Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday, visited the Emirs of Kano and Daura over his Presidential ambition.

According to a Daily Trust report the visit was coming two days after the minister declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election.

He visited the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, and later that of Bichi, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, at their palaces.

While welcoming him to the palace, the emir of Kano thank the minister for choosing Kano state for his first consultation visit.

“I know him since when he was speaker to the time he became governor and now a minister. People are also aware of the roles he played then and now. All these make him to qualify to contest the seat of president of Nigeria,” the emir said.

On his part, the emir of Bichi said he had a long-standing relationship with the minister and prayed for good leadership in the country.

He urged all contestants and the present leaders to always put the country first in any situation.

“We welcome the honorable minister to Bichi emirate and we wish him the best of luck. We are always praying for good leadership and also for the coming elections to be peaceful in the country.”

On his part, the minister thanked the two emirs for their warm reception, kind words and blessings towards his candidature.

In Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s hometown in Katsina, the minister inspected construction facilities at the permanent site of the University of Transportation.

He said the university will commence operations by September, adding that construction work had reached an advanced stage.

“On the University,  the CCECC said just seven buildings are left. But I have told the Permanent Secretary to invite them to a meeting.  We can start functioning by September 2022,” he said.

At the Emir of Daura’s place, HRH, Alhaji Faruk Umar Faruk,  the Minister also told him of the enormous benefits the University will bring to his kingdom.

He said a lot of the Daura citizens will be trained and also employed in the University.

He also sought the Emir’s blessings on his presidential quest, which the Emir granted.

Claimants have prayed a Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCPC) Tribunal to commit the Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd, John Ugbe, to prison for alleged disregard to its order.

According to a vanguard report the claimants filed a suit filed against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited over its recent decision to increase its tariffs and cost of products from April 1.

The applicants; Festus Onifade, a legal practitioner, and Coalition of Nigeria Consumers, also prayed the tribunal to direct the firm’s directors to come and show cause why they should not be committed to a correctional centre.

They had sued the company and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) as 1st and 2nd respondents respectively before the Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The tribunal had, on March 30, ordered MultiChoice to maintain a status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice.

This followed a motion ex-parte filed by the claimants to restrain it from increasing the prices of DStv and Gotv subscription.

The claimants, in a motion on notice marked: CCPT/OP/1/2022 dated and filed April 8 by Onifade on others, asked the three-member tribunal headed by Thomas Okosun for an order directing the managing director and the directors of the 1st defendant/respondent to appear before the Tribunal and show cause why they should not be committed to prison for willful disobedience of the order of this Honourable Tribunal granted on the March 30.

They sought for an order of the Tribunal, directing the managing director and directors of the Multi-choice to pay 10 per cent of its annual turnover for contravention or failure to comply with the order.

The applicants, who also asked the tribunal for alternative prayer, urged the panel for an order commanding and mandating MultiChoice to revert the price of all its products and services back to the price being charge before April 1.

They said the application was brought pursuant to Section 51 (1) and 2 of the FCCPC Act, 2018 and under the in here my jurisdiction of the tribunal.

The lawyer said he was a loyal and long time customer of MultiChoice with DStv account number: 41353565835.

But MultiChoice, through its lawyer, Jamiu Agoro, in a motion on notice, argued that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Agoro urged the tribunal to make an order for stay of execution of the March 30 order, pending the hearing and determination of the matter.

The firm prayed for an “order setting aside and discharging the order of the FCCPC made on March 30 in this present suit.

The lawyer, who indicated intention to file a counter affidavit against the contempt motion, argued that where the jurisction of a court was challenged, the court was bound to hear it first before other pending motions.

The tribunal adjourned the matter until May 5 for hearing of the motions.

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) mock examinations conducted on April 9 according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

Announcing the results in its weekly bulletin released on Monday in Abuja, the board said that candidates could now visit the board’s site to check their results.

It said, “Candidates, who sat for the mock examination should visit https://www.jamb.gov.ng, click on “2022 Mock Result Checking” and input their UTME Registration Number to access their results.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 175,000 candidates participated in the mock examination, ahead of the 2022 UTME, scheduled to hold between May 6 and May 16.

After months of speculation and consultation, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday joined the presidential race ahead of the primary of the All Progressives Congress which comes up next month, this is contained in a Punch report.

Osinbajo at a dinner he hosted at the Presidential Villa for the breaking of Ramadan fast (Iftar), the Vice-President informed the APC governors of his plan to succeed his boss, Muhammadu Buhari, whose tenure as President ends in 13 months’ time.

It was learnt that no fewer than 12 APC governors out of the 23 were present at the meeting.

Some of the governors present include: Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Babagana Zulum (Borno) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos).

“The VP invited all the governors to the meeting and has informed them of his plan to contest. He is also seeking their support ahead of the primary. Of course, the Vice-President has also informed Buhari of his intention to contest. He will be formally announcing his candidacy on Monday (today),” said a top source.

The Vice-President is expected to release a video of his formal declaration on Monday on all social media platforms wherein he will seek the support of all Nigerians for his ambition.

Already, Osinbajo support groups have opened a campaign and strategy office for him in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja.

Attempts to get a response from the Spokesman for the Vice-President, Laolu Akande, proved abortive as he neither responded to calls nor a text message on Sunday.

Osinbajo, who turned 65 last month, is a senior advocate of Nigeria and a former lecturer at the University of Lagos. He is also a senior pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

He began his public office career in 1988 as an Adviser (legal advice and litigation) to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ajibola, a position he held for four years.

The Vice-President was appointed Attorney-General of Lagos State in 1999 by then Governor, Bola Tinubu, and held the position till 2007, implementing several judicial reforms.

He was nominated as Buhari’s running mate in 2014 and was elected alongside Buhari in 2015. During his seven-year tenure as Vice-President, Osinbajo served as acting President for more than 120 non-consecutive days while his principal was on medical leave in London between 2016 and 2018

Osinbajo will be contesting the APC Presidential primary against Tinubu, his former boss; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

Others in the APC who are rumoured to be nursing Presidential ambitions include: Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi; Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige. Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, is also considered a contender.

A newly installed community leader in Kaduna was killed in the early hours of Sunday by gunmen.

The community leader, Isiaku Madaki was murdered in his residence in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State.

Kakura, a community predominantly inhabited by the gbagi tribe have other tribes with  few Fulani settlers who have lived together in the community for decades.

However, it was gathered that 14 other persons were killed following alleged reprisal attacks on neighbouring settlement by aggrieved natives.

A resident of the area, Baban David disclosed that the deceased was on Saturday  installed as the Head of the community.

“We all gathered in his residence earlier in the day (Saturday) to rejoice with him over his appointment. However, we were shocked when in the early hours of today (Sunday), we began to hear gunshots.

“We were  afraid we could not come out of our homes. Later we were told that the gunmen had killed the community leader in the presence of his wife and family.

“We found his dead body laying on the ground. His wife told us the gunmen broke into  their residence and shot him. They did not take anything, neither did they abduct anybody.

Another resident, Buhari explained that early in the morning, the natives surrounded their settlement and asked them to leave, accusing them of hypocrisy.

He noted that while they were leaving they were attacked and some of them killed, saying, on our way out to the village, we counted four corpses. Later on the bush path there were bodies of ten others littered on the ground.

As at the time of filing the report, police was said to have deployed officers and men to the community to ensure law and order.

It was gathered that even though, normalcy had returned to the embattled settlement, most people have deserted the area for fear of the unknown.

Meanwhile, the police and the State government were yet to react to the incident as at the time of filing this report.

Adamu Aliyu, chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Gwagwalada council area of the federal capital territory (FCT), has been reportedly killed by gunmen.

Baba Ngelzarma, national secretary of MACBAN, in a statement on Sunday, said Aliyu and four others were killed by bandits at Dako area near Dobi village in Gwagwalada.

Ngelzarma said MACBAN has lost two state chairmen and five local government chairmen as a result of the activities of cattle rustlers and bandits.

“Adamu was said to have been trailed by the bandits from Izom cattle market in Niger State. Four other people in the same vehicle with him were kidnapped and the bandits are asking for N100 million as ransom,” the statement reads.

“MACBAN views the increasing cases of activities of bandits in Niger and now the FCT as a great threat to the thriving livestock industry in the two states.”

When contacted, Josephine Adeh, spokesperson of the FCT police command, said the command was yet to confirm the incident.

Meanwhile, the development comes months after gunmen killed Abubakar Abdullahi, chairman of the Lere LGA chapter of the MACBAN in Kaduna.

During the attack which occurred in September 2021, the gunmen were said to have invaded Abdullahi’s home in Kaduna, and forced him to raise N250,000 from some butchers in his community, before he was killed.

Armed robbers in the early hours of Sunday attacked Ibadan-based radio station Fresh FM, owned by popular gospel singer, Yinka Ayefele, and stole valuables worth millions of naira.

One of the station’s directors, Abolade Salami disclosed this during his programme, ‘Agbo Oselu’, on Sunday.

He said the men of the underworld came around 6am with fire arms and stole from members of staff on duty.

It was gathered that parts of the things stolen were cash, phones and other valuables not mentioned.

Details soon ..