NEWS
Court Grants Interim Order Halting DSO Process
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja has restrained the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from issuing licence to any new Set-Top Box manufacturer in the Digital Switch Over (DSO) processes.The court presided over by a vacation judge, Justice Mustapha Adamu also restrained NBC from changing the existing STB specifications as approved by the Digiteam or issuing new STB type approval certificate.
The order of interim injunctions were granted in a ruling in a Motion Ex-parte in suit No:- FCT/HC/CV/442/2024, filed against NBC and Inview Technology Ltd. The plaintiffs in the suit are, Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Licensed Set Top Boxes Manufacturers of Nigeria, Gospell Digital Technology Ltd, Digitune Media Technologies, I-Box Engineering, Trefonics Electronics and Tve-RLG Limited.They had alleged a breach of contract against the respondents in the DSO programme – process of transiting from analogue to digital television broadcasting.The plaintiffs predicated their application on the ground that NBC initiated DSO process in Nigeria in 2012 and that they were granted licences to participate in the programme upon payment of N50 million to the commission.They asserted that they were to be given two years of exclusive rights to recoup their investments from the date of the switch-off of analogue broadcasting by NBC.The Claimants stated that they were authorised to manufacture one million set-top boxes specifically designed to switch off analogue to digital terrestrial television in Nigeria,They, however, claimed that on Aug. 22, 2024, NBC issued a press statement with the National Communication Commission that the federal government had approved the sum of N10 billion for the take-off of the switch over.They alleged that the NBC Director General announced the jettisoning of the set-top boxes they manufactured in favour of Hybrid Android DTH Set Top Boxes with data connectivity functionalities, thereby terminating their subsisting contract.Arguing the motion ex-parte of the plaintiff, Dr Ruben Atabo prayed for an order of the court to restrain NBC from interfering or terminating the contract pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit before the court.The Claimants also sought for an order stopping NBC from advertising the bid for licence to transit from analogue to digital terrestrial television.Furthermore, the claimants urged the court to stop the granting of licences to any company or individual to manufacture set- top boxes for the transition of switch-off of analogue to digital until their case is fully disposed of.After listening to the submissions of the claimants’ counsel, the vacation judge ordered status quo to be maintained by all the parties.He directed the claimants to serve the defendants with a motion on notice with respect to the injunctions. (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)