News
FG to blacklist 18 banks owing telcos N200bn on USSD
There are indications that the Federal government will tomorrow list out names of 18 banks owing almost N200 billion to Nigerian telecom operators on Unstructured Suplementary Service Data, USSD, and remained adamant towards settling it for several years.
The reason for the public disgrace seems to be for the telcos to stop offering them services that enable their customers to conveniently do online banking.
Vanguard gathered that the telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has been given the nod to publish the names and approve that telcos withdraw services to them if after two weeks they fail to settle the debts.
Recall that the issue of banks’ multi billion naira USSD debt to telcos has lingered since 2020, rising from below N40 billion to N57 billion by the end of 2021 and N80 billion in 2022.
But now, the telcos claim the debt has risen above N250 billion and accused the banks of not complying with the repayment plan.
The recent development, cannot be unconnected with a December joint meeting between the two regulators, NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria which resolved that the banks pay part of the money by December 31, last year and defray the remaining gradually.
However, Vanguard gathered authoritatively that only four banks complied with the directive, while 18 others are still adamant.
Similarly, when the matter brewed heavily a few years ago, the National Assembly, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, waded in and also generated such a gentleman’s agreement, which gave the banks leverage to defray the debts gradually.
However, that did not also happen as the banks allegedly reneged.
A few weeks ago the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, accused the banks of deliberately frustrating any move to resolve the issue and threatened that the only option, since the banks have consistently failed to honour the agreements, would be to withdraw the support that gives the USSD platform life.
USSD, commonly known as ‘bank transfers’, is done through short codes on mobile phones.
The support is provided by the telcos.
If the latest approval Vanguard gathered that telcos will be given, to blacklist the 18 banks is carried out, it means that in the next two weeks all the short code services to such banks may be suspended and users will not be able to carry out some online banking services from the comfort of their homes.
.. declare enough is enough
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has given herdsmen in Enugu State a 48-hour ultimatum to leave the area declaring that enough is enough.
The coalition, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its President-General, Goodluck Ibem, expressed concerns over alleged killings and rapes by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo LGA of the state.
Ibem described the activities of the alleged herdsmen as wicked, nefarious, and satanic, saying the coalition “condemns it in its entirety.”
According to him, the so-called Fulani herdsmen are not herdsmen but terrorists who are on a land-grabbing mission,” stressing that there is no correlation between the rearing of cattle and “the killing of innocent human beings in their own town.”
“For these terrorists to be raping our women and inserting sticks into their private parts after raping them is the worst wickedness against humanity, and it must not go unpunished.
“The good people of Enugu have complained enough about these killings and rapes, and it is time for the governor, Chief Peter Mbah, who is the Chief Security Officer of the State, and the Chief of Defence Staff to arrest these perpetrators and prosecute them accordingly.
“We call on the youths of Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo LGA, and other communities in Enugu State and the South East states to wake up from their slumber and sack killer Fulani terrorists parading as herdsmen from their communities
By Gloria Ikibah
First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Jibrin Barau, has reiterated the bloc’s determination to achieve regional economic integration and a single currency, despite recent challenges, including the withdrawal of three Sahelian nations.
Addressing journalists at the 1st Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS for 2025 in Lagos, Barau emphasised that uniting the region economically remains a top priority.
He dismissed colonial-era borders as artificial divisions, insisting that West Africans have always been one people. He highlighted the region’s shared linguistic and cultural ties as a natural foundation for economic unification.
Barau pointed to existing infrastructure projects facilitating regional economic integration, such as cross-border highways, healthcare systems, and aviation connections.
Drawing parallels with Europe’s economic model, he expressed confidence that the single currency initiative would eventually become a reality.
Chidebe Ibeakuzie (aka Mighty), a youth leader in Obosi community, Idemili North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, has been shot dead.
Multiple sources said he was shot dead by security agents in a tussle over the ownership and control of a tricycle park near the military cantonment in Onitsha.
During the clash, two Obosi youths were reportedly abducted, others injured, while an unspecified number of Keke Operators and passersby sustained gunshot injuries.
The unrest stemmed from a heated dispute between the families of late Tochukwu Anyaoku, an Obosi native, and Edward Ibuzo, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Onitsha North 1 Constituency.
The late Anyaoku had leased the tricycle park before his death last year, with his wife taking over its management after his demise.
However, Ibuzo allegedly laid claim to the land, sparking a bitter standoff.
Obosi youths accused Ibuzo of orchestrating the attack by engaging operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), who they claim were responsible for the fatal shooting of Mighty.
In response, Ibuzo denied any involvement, stating via a WhatsApp call to journalists that he was in Germany at the time of the incident, while he also has a court judgement authorizing him to take over the park.
He alleged that DSS operatives had intervened after witnessing a suspected kidnapping, which led to an exchange of gunfire.
A prominent Obosi stakeholder, Omezie Chukwurah, also known as “Governor Obosi,” lamented the escalating violence, revealing that previous police interventions had led to another Obosi youth being shot in the head.
Immediate Avonex
He further alleged that the operatives who killed Mighty arrived in vehicles linked to Ibuzo.
The Sun
Angry South-East Youths Give Fulani Herdsmen 48 Hours To Vacate Enugu
ECOWAS Integration Unstoppable: Barau Reaffirms Commitment to Single Currency
Popular Youth Leader Shot Dead Over Tricycle Park Dispute By Security Operatives
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