NEWS
NCC urges Telcos to Simplify Tariff Plans, Promotional Activities
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecommunications operators to simplify their tariff plans, bundles, and promotional activities.The NCC gave the directive in a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, on Monday in Abuja.Muoka said that the move was aimed at providing clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost of voice, Short Messaging Service (SMS) and data services to subscribers.
“It mandates Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to publish a comprehensive table showing the features of their tariff plans and bundle offers. “The table should contain all necessary information for subscribers to make informed decisions.“It should provide details on add-ons, their prices, how consumers can opt-in or out, terms and conditions for renewal, and rollover policies,” he said.He said that the guideline was the outcome of consultations with industry stakeholders, including MNOs and Consumer Focus Groups, as well as extensive data analysis on consumer preferences and expectations.According to Muoka, the objectives of the simplification guidelines are to reduce the complexity of tariff plans and bundles, and ensure transparency and fairness of promotional elements of tariff plans.He said that it would also protect consumers’ interests by providing clear and understandable tariff information to help them make informed decisions and promote fair competition among licensees by standardising tariff structures.“Service providers are required to display all relevant information about their tariffs, such as the name of the plan and price.“They should also display information about validity period, price-per-second for on or off-network and international calls, expected data speeds, and fair usage policies.“Operators can maintain existing bonus-led tariff plans till Dec. 31, within which period they are expected to educate and migrate all subscribers to the simplified tariff plans,” he said.“Operators must offer stand-alone data bundles at fair prices to avoid tying consumers with products that they do not need,” he said.The director said that bonuses on promotions must be stated in actual value; access fees and asymmetric fee structures must be eliminated.He emphasised that while complying with the guidelines, operators must also meet also the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) standards set out in the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations. (NAN)NEWS
Customs Intercept Contraband Worth N510.92m in Two Conths
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)NEWS
APC Forum Decries Deplorable Condition of Federal Roads
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NANNEWS
Yuan Strengthens 7. 087 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)