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Airtel Africa records $31m profit amid forex crisis

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Airtel Africa records $31m profit amid forex crisis

Airtel Africa Plc has reported a profit after tax of $31m for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, demonstrating resilience in the face of foreign exchange challenges.

Despite the Nigerian naira’s depreciation, which resulted in exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses of $80m, net of tax, Airtel Africa’s strong fundamentals and strategic focus helped mitigate the impact.

“Profit after tax of $31m was impacted by $80m of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax), arising from the further depreciation in the Nigerian naira during the quarter,” the report obtained by The According highlighted on Friday.

The telecom operator reported a 19 per cent growth in revenue in constant currency for the first quarter, driven by strong performances in Nigeria and East Africa.

Revenue in Nigeria grew by 33.4 per cent, while East Africa saw a 22.3 per cent increase.

However, revenues from Nigerian operations declined by 16.1 per cent to $1.16m due to currency devaluation.

Mobile services revenue grew by 17.4 per cent, while mobile money revenue was up 28.4 per cent.

Despite the revenue growth, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization margins declined to 45.3 per cent from 49.5 per cent in Q1’24 and 46.5 per cent in Q4’24, due to higher fuel prices and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the group after the naira devaluation.

The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Sunil Taldar, said, “The continued revenue growth momentum once again reflects the resilient demand for our services, with sustained growth in our customer base and usage.

“Our superior execution enables us to capture these opportunities, whilst retaining our reputation as a cost leader across the industry.”

Taldar highlighted the company’s superior execution, cost leadership, and opportunities for growth in the enterprise, fibre, and data centre businesses across Africa.

He emphasised improving customer experience through simplified customer journeys and best-in-class network experiences.

The telco CEO also announced a comprehensive cost optimisation programme, which had yielded savings in network and distribution costs.

“We will build on the strong foundation established over many years to deliver on these new business opportunities. Most importantly, our emphasis is on significantly improving customer experience by simplifying customer journeys and providing best-in-class network experience to our customers, whilst remaining focused on driving efficiencies across the business.”

Edo food palliative has no political undertone, says Obaseki

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Edo food palliative has no political undertone, says Obaseki

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Saturday said the food palliatives being distributed periodically for the vulnerable in the state has no political undertone.

He called on the federal government to take a cue from its model that gets to real people compared to what the federal government is doing.

He stated this when he flagged off the second phase of distribution of food for the vulnerable through the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Muslims groups and other associations.

Obaseki said, “There is no political undertone in this programme but a genuine interest for the poor. Thank God the people here are not politicians, I don’t have any politician here with me and I am not contesting an election.

“From what you have seen today, the way the group organised themselves, you could see the transparency with which they have run this programme compared to what the federal government claims they are spending on palliatives

“This is like drop of water in the ocean. If we do things properly in this country despite the challenges, things will work well. But with the current leadership, we are not helping ourselves, we are not helping Nigerians.”

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Ikeja Electric CEO, Soetan, siblings bury mum in style

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Ikeja Electric CEO, Soetan, siblings bury mum in style

Kofoworola Falegan, the late mother of the interim Chief Executive Officer of Ikeja Electric, Folake Soetan, who died at the age of 78 on May 29, 2024, was honoured by her family with a burial service held at the Yaba Baptist Church, Sabo-Yaba, Lagos.

At the event, family members of the deceased were dressed in matching wine and blue outfits. A member of the family was called upon to read the biography of the deceased after which, the facilitating and lead minister, Bayo Aremu, delivered the sermon. This was followed by thanksgiving and prayer sessions.

Giving the vote of thanks on behalf of the family, the son of the deceased appreciated the societies his mother belonged to before her death, thanking them for their continuous support. He also thanked all the guests present at the service.

At the end of the service, there was a private interment where the remains of the deceased were committed to the earth.

A reception followed at the Habour Point event centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. As guests were treated to good music, they were also entertained by MC Ajele, who served as the master of ceremonies.

Some of the notable guests at the event were the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; First Lady of Ogun State, Bamidele Abiodun; and the Managing Director of City 105.1 FM, Adedoja-Allen and her husband, Shola, among others

Prior to the final burial, the family had held a service of songs, and wake, which held on July 22 and 23, 2024, respectively.

Google restates commitment to empowering businesses with AI

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Google restates commitment to empowering businesses with AI

Google has reaffirmed its dedication to harnessing artificial intelligence to empower businesses at a recent AI in Action event.

According to the firm, the conference aimed to enlighten businesses about the benefits of adopting Gemini, Google’s AI model, to optimise their operations in a rapidly changing business landscape.

With Gemini, business owners gain access to a collaborative creative partner that accelerates decision-making processes and enhances performance, the search engine giant said in a statement obtained by Sunday According.

According to Google, what sets Gemini apart is its intuitive interaction through prompts, which differs from traditional search queries.

The tech company stated that this advanced model processed prompts with a unique blend of science and artistry, generating responses that could include visuals, sounds, images, and videos.

Google’s Business Strategist for AI, Yvette Baez, noted, “AI has swiftly transformed from an intriguing concept into a powerful asset for businesses. Its capacity to stimulate economic growth and create unprecedented opportunities is undeniable.

“No longer confined to text-based interactions, AI now offers a multisensory experience, delivering information through visual, auditory, and even video formats. As such, our work in this area has focused on responsibly building helpful products and platforms that can assist businesses to improve and overcome their most pressing challenges—making otherwise static information useful.”

Google revealed that it had expanded access to its AI models, like Gemini 1.5 Pro in Vertex AI  for cloud customers and developers and Open Model Gemma, designed to assist customers with various types of code.

It added that the upgrading of Gemini Code Assist would also help customers code more efficiently, and identify and resolve security threats.

Nigeria cannot escape revolution, says Charly Boy

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Nigeria cannot escape revolution, says Charly Boy

Veteran singer and activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, has stated that Nigeria could not escape revolution.

Oputa, in an interview with Sunday According, said the revolution would put an end to the current hardship and injustice.

The singer cautioned the Nigerian youths to be peaceful on the ‘End bad governance’ protest starting on August 1, just as he warned the security agents against crackdown on the protesters.

He said, “This frustration and hopelessness are too much. There is no way out of this quagmire we find ourselves in than a revolution. You can’t have peace without war.

“Whether the Federal Government wants or not, something must give. The sooner it gives, the better for everybody. I understand the government is jittery but you cannot subject the masses to hardship and think that they would not react.

“But the youths should do whatever they want to do peacefully. We don’t have guns, we don’t have weapons, it is the government that has all the weapons.

“However, I will advocate that the coming protest should be peaceful because you cannot be mad at people with guns. I don’t want any of my street children to get hurt or killed.

“There are more superior ways that they can bring this government to its knees without engaging in violence. Already, you can see that the government is shaking because we are in a very precarious situation. It is like putting fuel everywhere, so any small spark will result in a blast. That is what they are afraid of, but that day will surely come.”

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Dangote dismisses report on crude oil sales

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Dangote dismisses report on crude oil sales

The Dangote Oil Refinery has said it is not reselling crude oil to other traders as reported by a media organisation.

The refinery, in a statement by the Group Chief, Branding and Communication Officer, Anthony Chiejina, on Saturday, dismissed the claim that its crude distillation units had issues.

Reuters had reported that the refinery was reselling crude oil cargoes from both the United States and Nigeria as a result of technical challenges.

But the spokesperson for the refinery, Chiejina said, “Our attention has been drawn to a misleading report suggesting that our refinery’s crude distillation unit (CDU) is experiencing issues and that we are reselling crude oil.

“We categorically deny these claims. The Dangote refinery is not authorised to sell crude oil purchased from Nigeria, and our CDU is fully operational and functioning optimally.

“We advise the public to disregard these false narratives, which are likely driven by interests opposed to the local refining of fuels.”

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NIS mounts surveillance at borders over hardship protest

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NIS mounts surveillance at borders over hardship protest

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap, has directed all Zonal Heads, State Command Comptrollers, and Divisional Immigration Officers nationwide to intensify surveillance at the borders.

She also announced the “temporary suspension of all leave applications.”

The directives were contained in a statement titled, ‘Planned protest: CGIS expresses readiness to secure Nigeria’s borders’, signed by the service public relations officer, Kenneth Udo.

Sunday According learned that the directives were in response to the planned nationwide protest.

The statement read, “In keeping with the responsibility of safeguarding the nation’s gateways placed on the shoulders of the Service, officers, especially Heads of Border Commands.”

She urged personnel to “rise to the occasion by ensuring that no foreign element can take advantage of the protest to destabilize the country.”

Apply properly – Wike

Meanwhile, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has directed protesters who applied to use Eagles Square to apply properly and pay security costs for their scheduled demonstration. He stated this at a Town Hall Meeting held at the Conference Room of the Federal Capital Development Authority in Abuja, on Saturday.

The ‘Take It Back Movement,’ through its Director of Mobilization, Damilare Adenola, had written to Wike, requesting to use the facility for its protest and also asked for the provision of security and utilities for the duration of the exercise.

However, the minister said, “I’m just reading on social media that they have applied to grant the Eagle Square to me. Do you apply to me through social media? You will write a letter to the Minister, I will see you, who are you, what do you want to do, how many days will you spend, how much will you pay?

“I watched them on Channels TV news telling the IG I have applied. You don’t apply to me through Channels; you must apply properly. You must pay what we call security cost, so that if there’s any damage to the facility, we will take that security cost and repair it. We don’t just give people just because they have applied; you’ll fulfil the conditions.”

Lawmakers move to strengthen identity management

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Lawmakers move to strengthen identity management

Nigeria’s National Assembly has begun the process of repealing and re-enacting the NIMC Act No. 23, to strengthen the regulatory function of the National Identity Management Commission.

This development was revealed in a statement signed by the NIMC’s Head of Communications, Kayode Adegoke, on Friday.

The proposed NIMC Bill aims to enhance the efficacy and inclusivity of the National Identity Management System by expanding the scope of registrable persons.

According to the commission, the overhaul is expected to yield benefits, including enhanced national security, efficient service delivery, and the promotion of financial inclusion.

“The amendments seek to fortify the foundational framework of the NIMC and its operations by expanding the scope of registrable persons.” The benefit to the country is a more comprehensive and inclusive identification system, which enhances national security, facilitates efficient service delivery, and promotes financial inclusion,” the statement read.

According to NIMC, the bill will streamline the sharing of personal data, incorporating robust data protection measures to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of individuals’ data and foster trust among citizens in the handling of their information.

It added that the proposed amendment would enhance its administrative enforcement power to ensure timely and accurate compliance with ID registration requirements.

The NIMC repeal and enactment bill, when passed into law, would lead to a more streamlined registration process, reducing bureaucratic hurdles and enhancing the reliability of the Nigeria ID System.

Despite the milestone of enrolling about 107 million Nigerians for the National Identity Number, the Commission faces allegations of privacy violations as the custodian of the country’s database.

NIMC has denied any data breaches and insisted that the national identity registry under its custody has not been compromised.

However, digital rights advocates have argued that NIMC failed to secure the data entrusted to it by Nigerians.

They believed NIMC needed to take responsibility, acknowledge the data leaks, and ensure they did not happen again.

The World Bank is sponsoring Nigeria’s NIN project through the Digital Identification for Development project.

The bank initially set a target for Nigeria to enrol 148 million Nigerians in NIN by June 2024.

However, Nigeria missed the deadline.

Consequently, the World Bank has restructured the $430m ID4D project to avoid truncation, extending the project closure date beyond the initial June 30, 2024, deadline by two years.

Police CP assures citizens of security

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Police CP assures citizens of security

Ahead of the planned hunger protest across the country, the Rivers State Police Command has said its men are prepared to contain any situation that may arise in the state.

The state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, stated this while interacting with journalists in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

Disu said the command has held meetings with various stakeholder groups to ensure that the peace in the state is sustained.

He said, “That is of concern to us. It is information that is everywhere for everybody to see. We have been having meetings with a lot of our stakeholders, very important stakeholders in the communities.

“And more meetings have been slated for tomorrow and then Monday. On the side of the police, our men are prepared. We have talked to them. Most importantly we don’t want it to be a situation of we versus them. We are all in this together.

“The officers have been told what to do. We have withdrawn our men from essential duties and have talked to them. They have been trained again and again. We are ready to hold any situation that presents itself to us in the state.”

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Acting beyond having good looks— Femi Branch

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Acting beyond having good looks— Femi Branch

Popular actor, Femi Branch, has said that in Nollywood, talent should be prioritised above good looks when casting actors for roles.

Branch also emphasised the importance of training for actors, especially the new entrants into the industry.

He told Sunday Scoop, “The growth indices in Nollywood have been ‘pandemic’. The influx of new talents (or lack of it) into the industry has always been on a steady rise. This is not entirely a bad thing as we have been blessed by a plethora of amazing talents, even in recent times. However, my worry is in the area of professional conduct, which is where one differentiates between the trained and untrained. By training, I mean formal or informal. We should start giving recognition and opportunities to those who are talented and trained, rather than those who can only boast of good looks and loose morals.”

Asked about the challenges he faced while interpreting his role in the recently released movie titled, House of Ga’a, he said, “One of them was playing the role of a real life character. That is usually harder for an actor. The person lived and had a family, friends, acquaintances, and enemies. There are many people who not only knew the person’s story, but they know how the person walked, talked, loved, hated, worked, played, and did basically every other thing. In that case, an actor needs to do a lot more work in order to make their interpretation believable, especially for people who knew the person in question. So, Femi Branch had to ‘die’ for about two months for Basorun Ga’a to come back to life.”

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