The report that Nigeria spent $2.35bn on telephone importation in three years, according to data from the International Trade Centre is one of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that Nigeria spent $2.35bn on telephone importation in three years, according to data from the International Trade Centre.
The nation spent $807.95m on importation of phone sets in 2019, $765.57m in 2020 and $772.25m in 2021, the ITC, which is an international body that focuses on trade, said.
The body explained that the imported telephone sets included: smartphones, facsimile machines for line telephony, teleprinters, parts of telephone sets, and more.
The data further revealed that most of the phone sets coming into the country were from China ($1.71bn in the time under review). The nation also imports from other nations such as Hong Kong, Sweden, the United States, Netherlands, Vietnam, Mexico, and others.
The Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, recently revealed that about 63 million technology devices were sold in Nigeria every year, quoting data from Original Equipment Manufacturers.
The commission revealed that there were about 132 million unique devices on the nation’s telecommunication network in 2020 with the average owner changing a device every six months.
The newspaper says that President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, said the Federal Government has so far disbursed N100bn to indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare investors as loans to expand their capital base and boost local production of medicines and consumables.
He also revealed that FG was addressing the ‘brain drain’ in the health sector caused by the massive exodus of medical practitioners from Nigeria to other countries.
The PUNCH reports that over 727 medical doctors trained in Nigeria relocated to the United Kingdom between December 2021 and May 2022.
President Buhari said he had directed the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, to turn the “brain drain” to “brain gain” by engaging top Nigerian medical experts in the Diaspora in knowledge and skills repatriation.
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said this when he received the new executive members of Nigerian Medical Association, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The statement was entitled ‘President Buhari hosts new NMA Exco, says FG disburses N100b to indigenous pharma manufacturers.’
According to him, the loan was extended through the Central Bank of Nigeria to the private pharmaceutical sector. Although the statement did not specify the duration or timing of the loan disbursement, it is believed to be part of the FG’s intervention fund to various sectors of the economy at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Guardian reports that Nigeria’s broadband usage has continued to rise, moving up from 40.9 per cent in February 2022 to 44.5 per cent in July 2022, a figure considered hopeful for achieving the national broadband target of 70 per cent in 2025.
Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed this, yesterday, at the beginning of a three-day public inquiry on five telecom regulations and guidelines in Abuja.
He said emerging technologies and advancements in the sector require the commission’s preparedness to match the developments with appropriate regulations and guidelines.
“With the technological advancements anticipated in the coming years, it is expected that there will be a proliferation of devices in the industry. It is, therefore, essential for the commission to ensure that the right regulatory frameworks can accommodate such eventualities,” he said.
At the event, which was attended by the entire Board of Commissioners, led by its Chairman, Prof. Adeolu Akande, the commission’s boss listed the instruments under review as: Type Approval Regulations, Guidelines on Short Code Operation in Nigeria, Guidelines on Technical Specifications for the Deployment of Communications Infrastructure, Guidelines on Advertisements and Promotions and Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
He said focus areas were already articulated in some important documents guiding operations of the commission.
These include: the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, NCC’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 and its Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVIP) 2021-2025.
While stating that these strides are results of the commission’s regulatory efficiency and focused implementation of policies and strategies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Danbatta said the inquiry is in tandem with the strategy of consulting stakeholders in all regulatory interventions.
Earlier, Head, Telecoms Laws and Regulations at NCC, Helen Obi, said the public inquiry allows the commission to incorporate comments and suggestions of industry stakeholders in the development of regulatory instruments.
The newspaper says that the Federal Government, in collaboration with the World Bank, has embarked on a $700m Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project against environmental degradation in Nigeria.
The project followed successes recorded in the Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) in mitigating adverse effects of soil and land degradation and environmental sustainability.
Among the objectives, ACReSAL is to increase the implementation of sustainable landscape management practices in targeted watersheds in northern Nigeria and strengthen Nigeria’s long-term enabling environment for an integrated climate-resilient landscape.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, who spoke during the ongoing ACReSAL Project Technical Work Plan Workshop, in Lagos State, said the project is one of the central components of President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategy in ensuring environmental sustainability and improving community livelihoods towards lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
The workshop, which started on August 4 and ends on August 13, would prepare the participating states on what to expect prior to disbursement.
The minister enjoined Nigerians to avoid degradation of the environment, which has been causing climate change.
According to him, the project will also provide food security through motivated agricultural activities in the areas of concentration.
Also, the Senior Environmental Specialist from the World Bank, Joy Iganya Agene, said the four-year project will target 3.1 million beneficiaries and restore one million hectares.
She said: “The most important part of the project is about building institutions, sustaining issues around land degradation, livelihood and others.
“The component of the project is totally dedicated to institutional support and management.”
She said the World Bank will fund the project and urged beneficiaries not to allow their political and personal interests to override the project.
Director-General, National Council on Climate Change, Dr Salisu Dahiru, said the project is aimed at reversing land degradation in semi-arid land of Nigeria as well as address the farmers-herders clashes.
He stressed that the project is not only covering the extreme Northern states, where there is desert encroachment, but also covers the central region of the country where you have states like Kogi, Kwara, FCT, Nasarawa and Benue.
The Acting National Project Coordinator, Anda Yalaks, said the outcome of the workshop would be passed to the steering committee for deliberations.
GIK/APA