Economy
SIM-NIN linkage: Blocked lines rise to 40 million
No fewer than 40 million telephone lines were barred by telecommunication operators over the weekend following the expiration of the February 28, 2024 deadline issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission mandating telecom consumers to link the Subscriber Identity Module to their National Identity Numbers.
This represents a 28 million increase from the 12 million telephone lines initially planned to be deactivated by telcos, following the NCC directive.
In a December 2023 notice, the NCC had asked telcos to bar SIMs that had not been linked to their owners’ NINs by February 28, 2024.
On Thursday, the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, ruled out an extension of the deadline, warning that telcos that failed to enforce the deadline would be sanctioned.
The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, then disclosed to The PUNCH telcos would bar 12 million lines as a result of the directive.
However, on Sunday, the ALTON chair revealed that the number of barred lines had risen to 40 million, pointing out that SIMs without NIN were included in the number.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Adebayo said, “I can tell you that over 40 million lines have been blocked and the affected customers are those who didn’t submit their NIN at all. Some persons have not presented any NIN to operators. They haven’t registered their SIMs or participated in the harmonisation programme.
They simply haven’t made any presentation of the NIN number to their operators and those were the persons blocked. So why is the number so alarming despite repeated warnings? It shows many people still communicate but are not registered.”
In the December 2023 notice, the NCC had also asked the Global Satellite Mobile Communications operators to bar SIMs holders whose NINs have been submitted but not verified by March 29, 2024; and interdict those who have less than five lines linked to an unverified NIN by April 15, 2024.
The Federal Government had, on December 16, 2020, introduced the SIM-NIN synchronisation initiative meant to enable security agencies to track criminals.
The synchronisation involves validating the NIN with the National Identity Management Commission and matching the subscriber’s NIN records with the SIM registration information (verification) to ensure proper subscriber identification.
However, Nigerians have raised questions on why security agencies have not used the SIM-NIN linkage to track criminals, especially bandits and kidnappers, who often use mobile telephone lines to speak with victims’ families during ransom negotiations.
Presently, there are 224.7 million active mobile telephone lines in the country, according to the information released by the NCC on its website.
On Sunday, the ALTON chairman did not give the breakdown of subscribers or SIMs that were deactivated by telcos over the weekend.
He said, “No, we currently don’t have the breakdown of disconnected lines per network right now but I know over 40 million lines have been deactivated.”
Adebayo further hinted that another series of disconnections would be implemented by the end of the month and mid April.
Adebayo said, “The second tier of disconnections that will happen are those who have provided NIN but have more than five Mobile Subscription Identification Numbers associated with their NIN, and these have not been verified.
This is because some have differences in the order of their names, and some have differences in their date of birth.
The information provided to the operator when they did the SIM registration is different from what they provided (to NIMC) when they did their NIN. Some subscribers also have some differences in other records that are very critical to their verification process.
“So these people who have more than five MSINs attached to their NIN and haven’t been verified will be disconnected effective March 30, 2024. So we may have more disconnections happening by the end of this month.
If somebody has given a name that has not been verified and has been receiving text messages to verify and they haven’t done that, by March 30th, those people will be disconnected and the figures will further increase.”
He explained, “There are two sources of data-primary and secondary. During the first registration process, the customer’s information is on-boarded to a server when everyone did the SIM registration but the secondary record is for details given during NIN. Hence your primary record has to be uniform with the secondary data across the platforms before you can be verified.
“Furthermore, for those who have less than five MSINs, by April 15th, they will be disconnected if they don’t harmonise their records before then. So we are going to go through a series of disconnections or service suspensions over the next two months if people don’t follow the laid down regulations.”
Reacting, the President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, has said the body will seek redress in court on Thursday if the deadline is not extended.
Adeolu, who confirmed that the number of barred subscribers was above 12 million earlier indicated, asked the NCC to consider the plight of customers and grant a 31-day extension.
In an interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, he said, “We have appealed to the Nigerian Communication Commission to extend the deadline till March 31st. But if this is not done, we will observe the situation for the next three days, that is Monday to Wednesday and if this is not granted, we will have to file a case in court on Thursday.
“We have and still appealing that this deadline be extended. We understand their position concerning security issues but a 31-day extension would not harm anyone and that is why we didn’t ask for three months. The NCC boss should please give us this gift as a resumption gift and not punish subscribers.”
Economy
Petrol to sell at N935 per litre from today-IPMAN
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), says the price of petrol will drop to N935 per litre by Monday in view of Dangote Refinery’s new arrangement.
IPMAN said the new price was necessitated by the reduction in Dangote Refinery’s fuel ex-depot price and uniform arrangement, which would enable marketers to sell at N935 in their outlets nationwide.
Alhaji Maigandi Garima, IPMAN National President, who made this known on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, lauded the Dangote refinery for the development.
NAN reports that Dangote refinery recently announced a significant reduction in fuel price by 7.27 per cent from N970 per litre to N899.50 per litre at its loading gantry and provided generous credit terms to marketers.
In the bid to ensure that the price reduction gets to the end consumers, it signed a partnership with MRS to sell petrol from its retail outlets nationwide at N935.
The price reduction which is designed by Dangote refinery to alleviate transport cost during the festive period and beyond, has already commenced in Lagos, and will be offered nationwide from Monday.
“Dangote refinery has brought another new arrangement of loading and pricing by which marketers would pay a fixed ex-depot price of N899. 50k.
“The refinery is running a programme whereby it wants the fuel consumption across the country to be at the same rate. We are expecting the new arrangement to kick-start on Monday.
“We have been loading from the Dangote refinery and the refinery is saving us in this festive period,’’ he said.
The IPMAN president said previously it was loading at N970 per litre at Dangote refinery, but based on the arrangement and promise from Dangote, by Monday fuel price will drop to N935.
Garima said the downstream sector competition being witnessed currently was expected by marketers since due to deregulation, adding that it would see the price of fuel dropping continuously.
“That is the reason why we have been asking the government to allow private sectors to participate in the refinery business.
“Very soon more refineries are coming up and the country will see a lot of price reduction in the downstream sector,’’ he said.
He recalled that during the 2023 yuletide, per litre of fuel was sold at N2, 000 in the Northern and Eastern part of the country because fuel was being imported at that period.
He added that the highest price of which fuel could be sold there currently is N1, 100 because refineries are running in the country.
“By the time Warri and Kaduna resume production, one can buy products at cheaper rates and it is good for the economy,’’ he added.
He however commended the Naira for the crude swap deal, adding that it is a good development for the growth of the economy.
The NNPC Ltd. had also slashed fuel ex-depot price from N1, 020 to N899.
The fuel price reduction reflects response to deregulation and increased industry competition.
(NAN)
Economy
SEC orders public companies to publish financial statements online by Jan 2025
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a new directive requiring all publicly listed companies in Nigeria to publish their financial statements on their official websites, effective January 2025.
This was disclosed in a circular issued by the Commission on Thursday, stressing the importance of the move for investor confidence and regulatory compliance.
The SEC warned that non-compliance with this directive would attract strict sanctions, demonstrating its commitment to improving transparency and accessibility in the Nigerian equities market.
According to the SEC, “The Securities and Exchange Commission (‘the Commission’) has observed that public companies file their periodic returns with the Commission and relevant securities exchanges without simultaneously publishing the same on their websites. This omission contravenes Rules 39 and 41 of the Commission’s Rules and Regulations.”
The Commission noted that while publicly listed companies routinely file periodic returns with it and relevant securities exchanges, many fail to make these financial statements accessible to the investing public on their websites. This practice, it noted, violates the requirement to ensure that financial disclosures are readily available to guide investors in making informed decisions.
SEC explained the rationale for the directive, stating that publishing financial statements online provides seamless access for the investing public. This ease of access, the Commission said, is essential for encouraging sound investment decisions and ensuring investor confidence in the market.
“Timely disclosures remain a key component of shareholder engagement,” the Commission stated. “The publication of periodic returns on their websites is aimed at providing seamless access by the public to such information, which would serve as a guide to making sound investment decisions.”
The Commission further noted that effective from January 2025, any public company that fails to simultaneously file its periodic returns with the SEC and relevant securities exchanges and publish them on its website will face penalties.
Economy
Dangote Refinery, NNPCL resume fight over $1bn loan
Dangote Group, owners of Dangote Refinery, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, have clashed over a $1 billion crude oil-backed loan.
Recall that barely 24 hours ago, in a statement credited to NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye, the state-owned oil firm said it secured a $1 billion loan backed by crude to support the Dangote Refinery during liquidity challenges.
However, Dangote Group spokesperson, Anthony Chijiena, has described NNPCL’s claim as ‘misinformation’.
The company clarified that the $1 billion crude backed loan is about five percent of the total investment that went into building the 650,000 barrels per day refinery.
According to him, it is inaccurate to say NNPCL facilitated $1 billion for Dangote Refinery amid liquidity challenges.
Chijiena explained that NNPCL had proposed a 20 percent stake investment valued at $2.76 billion in the Dangote Refinery, but that didn’t materialise.
He noted that NNPCL was able to invest $1 billion, which amounts to 7.24 percent equity value.
“Our decision to enter into a partnership with NNPCL was based on recognition of their strategic position in the industry as the largest offtaker of Nigerian crude and, at the time, the sole supplier of gasoline into Nigeria.
“We agreed on the sale of a 20 percent stake at a value of $2.76 billion. Of this, we agreed that they will only pay $1 billion while the balance will be recovered over a period of 5 years through deductions on crude oil that they supply to us and from dividends due to them.
“If we were struggling with liquidity challenges, we wouldn’t have given them such generous payment terms.
“As of 2021, when the agreement was signed, the refinery was at the pre-commission stage. In addition, if we were struggling with liquidity issues, this agreement would have been cash-based rather than credit-driven.
“Unfortunately, NNPCL was later unable to supply the agreed 300 thousand barrels a day of crude, given that they had committed a greater part of their crude cargoes to financiers with the expectation of higher production, which they were unable to achieve.
“We subsequently gave them a 12-month period for them to pay cash for the balance of their equity given their
inability to supply the agreed crude oil volume.
“NNPCL failed to meet this deadline, which expired on June 30th, 2024. As a result, their equity share was revised down to 7.24 percent. These events have been widely reported by both parties.
“It is, therefore, inaccurate to claim that NNPCL facilitated a $1 billion investment amid liquidity challenges.
“Like all business partners, NNPCL invested $1 billion in the refinery to acquire an ownership stake of 7.24 percent. That is beneficial to its interests,” the Dangote Group statement said.
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