Nigeria: Press spotlights new rating of Nigeria in global Internet penetration, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report by the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission on Thursday that Nigeria was rated eleventh in terms of Internet penetration and seventh in terms of mobile phone usage worldwide is one of the leading stories in Nigerian neewspapers on Friday.
The Punch reports that the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission on Thursday disclosed that Nigeria was rated eleventh in terms of Internet penetration and seventh in terms of mobile phone usage worldwide.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Danbatta, said this at the opening ceremony of the two-day Emerging Technology Forum for the Telecommunications Industry in Abuja.
The EVC, who spoke through the Head, Spectrum Database Management, NCC, Abraham Oshadami, stated that the worldwide data gathered by the NRI team demonstrated that digital transformation was a global need in order to optimise the social and economic effects of the digital era.
He added that the NRI examined the performance of 131 economies across four categories: technology (infrastructure), governance, people, and effect.
He said, “Nigeria is a telecommunications powerhouse, accounting for 82 per cent of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29 per cent of the continent’s internet consumption.”
“Our country ranks eleventh in the world for Internet penetration and seventh in mobile phone usage.
“The NRI team’s global data shows that digital transformation is a global imperative for maximising the social and economic effects of the digital era. Despite these remarkable metrics, our Network Readiness Index (NRI) ranking for 2022 of 109th out of 131 countries is both humbling and challenging.”
The newspaper says that Google, Netflix, Facebook and other foreign companies operating in Nigeria have paid over N1.98tn in taxes to the account of the Federal Government in 15 months.
According to findings by the Punch newspaper, the figure includes both Company Income Tax and Value Added Tax, and is based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
It noted that by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, CIT is a 30 per cent tax imposed on the profit of companies, and VAT is a 7.5 per cent consumption tax paid when goods are purchased, and services rendered and borne by the final consumer.
Earlier in 2020, it was reported that the Federal Government planned to tax foreign digital service providers offering services to Nigerians and earning revenue in naira.
Some of these service providers, which are video streaming sites, social media platforms, and companies that offer downloads of digital content are expected to pay digital tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The former Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had issued the Companies Income Tax (Significant Economic Presence) Order, 2020 as an amendment of the Finance Act 2019.
Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, among others, are some of these foreign companies that offer digital video and advertising services to Nigerians.
Others, like Alibaba and Amazon, generate revenue from Nigeria by processing and transmitting data collected about users in Nigeria, provision of goods or services directly or through a digital platform, or offering intermediate services that link suppliers and customers in Nigeria.
The Guardian reports that President Bola Tinubu has approved the return of a delegation of Islamic leaders (Ulama) to Niger Republic for fresh round of dialogue with the coup leaders.
The President gave the approval on Thursday after a meeting with top clerics, led by Sheikh Bala Lau, at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
Recall that President Tinubu on August 9 received the Islamic leaders in Abuja and approved their request to intervene in the face-off between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Niger Republic over the coup that ousted the Mohamed Bazoum-led democratic administration.
Their intervention move, which followed an earlier move by ECOWAS, which already sent a mission, led by former Nigerian military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, was successful as the Ulama became the first interface between the regional bloc and head of the junta, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
However, at the meeting on Thursday, President Tinubu, who is also the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS, encouraged the clerics to continue with their dialogue with the junta, expressing his preference for a peaceful resolution of the, noting though that all options are still on the table.
Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the President had urged the Ulama to intensify dialogue, saying he (Tinubu) is interested in exploring peaceful options.
“The Council of Ulamas has returned to the President for the second time, to give a report on their ongoing dialogue with the military junta and other stakeholders in Niger They have briefed Mr President on the situation and the effort is ongoing.
“Mr President has listened to them and will continue this dialogue. He is interested in exploring peaceful options, but nothing is off the table.”
He has asked the Ulamas to continue with their dialogue and they will continue to
The newspaper says that there are worries over the acquisition of vessels and upgrading of Certificate of Competence (CoC) to engage Nigerian seafarers in international trade as well as the adoption of decarbonisation in the maritime industry.
These were the subject of discussion yesterday when the management of NLNG Shipping and Marine Services Limited (NSML) engaged maritime journalists in Lagos.
The Managing Director of the NLNG Shipping and Marine Services Limited (NSML), Abdulkadir Ahmed, said although, the company is supervising the construction of a new LPG vessel for an entity in South Korea, managing the vessel after completion will provide opportunities to engage and employ Nigerian seafarers to run the vessel.
He said NSML has been engaging with various entities including NNPCL with regards to the acquisition of vessels to provide more opportunities for Nigerian seafarers to manage those vessels that are involved in international trade.
Ahmed noted that having vessels for Nigerians to sail, work and train will boost the (CoC) of the country’s seafarers and enlist Nigeria among the countries that generate revenue from export of seafarers for international trade.
“With regards to the acceptance of Nigerian CoC internationally, NIMASA is doing a lot with regards to ensuring the CoCs are accepted. The key element comes down to the comfort we can provide to other regulatory bodies internationally about the standards.
“NSML is available to support NIMASA with regards to pushing that because it also works in our favour. If the Nigerian CoCs are accepted internationally, it makes life easier for our seafarers to want to renew their CoCs. It also creates a large pool of resources from which we can generate revenue.
“For the acceptance of CoCs, there are some fundamentals towards the bilateral element, which means that the other party must be comfortable that the quality of the CoCs is at the level that is sustainable and the one way we can ensure that is the process of assuring quality is standardised and assured by everybody.
“We are confident that in a very short while, we will achieve that because supporting the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime industry starts from the fundamentals of building capacity and ensuring competence in capacity,” he said.
GIK/APA