NCC Harps on Clean Energy Usage Fraudsters Becoming More Creative — NDIC Warns Bank Customers
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated commitment to clean energy usage as it sets to host an event in Abuja spotlighting its regulatory initiatives on clean energy usage in the telecoms sector. The event is to mark the 2023 World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD).
As contained in a press release by its Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the Commission has continued to promote consumer protection and enlightenment.
This is what has become a tradition in the Commission since when it declared 2017 as “Year of the Telecom Consumers” when it honoured telecom consumers by connecting with the global theme for the commemoration to celebrate the Day with landmark activities.
The theme of the 2023 edition of the Day is “Empowering Consumers through Clean Energy Transitions.”
NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Barrister Adeleke Adewolu, said the theme provided opportunity for NCC to share with beloved telecom consumers and other stakeholders, as well as the public, policies it has instituted, and other actions taken to encourage operators in the sector to transition to environmentally-friendly and renewable energy sources in their operations.
Adewolu represented the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, at the inauguration of the committee to organisation the event.
He said NCC was committed to reducing the impact that telecommunications operation has on climate change and the environment.
He also noted that the peculiarities of Nigeria’s electricity supply have resulted in the telecommunications sector being a contributor to carbon emissions.
Danbatta, a Fellow of the Renewable Alternative Energy Society (FRAES), stated that studies have shown that renewables and energy efficiency, boosted by substantial electrification, can provide over 90 per cent of the necessary reductions in energy-related carbon emissions.
He said increasing the use of electricity sourced from renewables presents the best opportunity to accelerate the world's energy transformation.
“The theme is very apt this year, as we know the implication of the climate change disaster facing the world. So, as a Commission, we are committed to reducing the impact of climate change.
“The telecoms sector contributes to global emissions, particularly when you realise that there are over 54,000 base transmitter stations powered, in some cases, 24 hours seven days a week, by generators. You can just imagine the emissions from these,” Danbatta said.
He explained that NCCg was already looking at introducing a policy to encourage ethical energy source, as part of the Commission’s commitment to safeguarding the environment for consumers and other users of telecom services.
The move, he noted, was also in tandem with the process of actualising some of the key items of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The EVC further stated that, in recent years, the Commission has introduced a regulatory framework on infrastructure sharing and collocation among the licensees.
The regulatory framework, he said, has been encouraging operators to fully maximise their already-deployed infrastructure.
“By sharing infrastructure, some operators do not need to entirely build a telecoms site in an area where another operator had deployed one.
“With the challenge of inadequate public electricity supply in Nigeria, telecom companies rely on dieselpowered generators to keep their telecom sites live round-the-clock.
“But a regulatory framework such as infrastructure sharing and collocation is helping in this regard,” the EVC said.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has warned bank customers and the public against displaying their bank details saying fraudsters were becoming more creative.
The NDIC in its official website on Friday gave out four tips for bank customers to safeguard their accounts.
The Corporation said that customers should ensure that their phones had password and they must not share their bank mobile application password with anyone.
NDIC also warned bank customers to ensure that their token were secured and other parties did not have access to it.
The Corporation also urged customers to ensure that their debit card numbers and Card Verification Value (CVV) were not exposed to people.
The warning is coming on the backdrop of increased bank fraud as reported by the Financial Institute Training Centre (FITC) in its report for the second quarter of 2022.
The FITC received a total of 68 returns on cases of fraud and forgery from twenty-24 deposit money institutions¹ in the second quarter of 2022. An analysis show that 22 returns were received in April, while 24 returns were received in May, and 22 returns were received in June.
“For the second quarter of 2022 under review, a total of 27,356 incidents of Frauds and Forgeries were reported, compared to 40,522 reported cases in the first quarter of 2022, representing a 32.49 per cent decrease between the periods.
“The trend shows that mobile fraud which includes fraud activities through USSD transactions had the highest occurrence followed by computer/web fraud and POS fraud. Appendices I and II present the various fraud activities that occurred throughout the period.
“For Q2 2022, the data analysis show that the total sum reported to be involved in fraud cases decreased notably by 40.05 per cent, from N14.65 billion in Q1 2022 to N8.78 billion in Q2 2022. Likewise, for the total amount lost due to fraud incidences, there was a slight decrease of 23.66 per cent from N1.54 billion in the first quarter of 2022 to N1.17 billion in the second quarter of 2022,” the report stated.
The bad state of Imo economy which has suffered tremendous set-back over insecurity attacks is set to worsen as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state has embarked on strike. The state leadership of the NLC said the strike is to protest the use of thugs and police to disrupt the conduct of its elections in Imo.
The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, disclosed this in a statement in which he also declared the group’s indefinite industrial action in the state.
Mr Ajaero said the NLC had instructed its State Councils across Nigeria to prepare for the State Delegates’ Conference for the election of new leadership in all the council areas of the country.
Some NLC officials were deployed to various states to act as returning officers in the elections billed for last Tuesday, he said.
The NLC president alleged that the Imo State Government “sought to influence the outcome of the elections in the state,” by offering gratifications to the delegates to vote for their “chosen candidates.”
“This meddlesomeness was resisted by the delegates who refused the unholy offerings and baits to vote for their chosen candidates,” he said.
Mr Ajaero claimed that the state government was enraged by the delegates’ rejection of their offerings and resorted to violence ostensibly to disrupt the exercise.
“When it was obvious to the government and their goons that their stooges were going to overwhelmingly lose in the elections, thugs who were armed to the teeth descended on the Delegates inflicting various degrees of injuries on them, chasing them away and carting away materials meant for the conduct of the elections that was supposed to be at the heart of the conference.
“As if that was not enough, security agents led by the police and the so-called State Investigative Bureau invaded the venue and completed the sordid episode,” he stated, insisting that the “blood cuddling” and act of violence on people who gathered for a democratic election was inexcusable.
Continuing, he said, “NLC considers this the height of irresponsibility thus unacceptable and falls far below accepted standards of behaviour by individuals who occupy high offices in Nigeria, especially the government of states.
“It truly does demonstrate the level of decay that has continued to fester in leadership circles in the country. It does also show the level of militarisation that pervades the state from one end to another and we also feel that it may be a serious pointer to the source of the violence in the state which has made the state the epicentre of killings and brigandage in the South-east.”
The NLC president called on “well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the government of Imo State to mind its business and focus more on rendering good governance to the people and allow us continue setting good examples on how transition of power ought to be”, stressing that the government cannot choose leaders for the NLC.
“The NLC holds the governor and his government responsible for any loss of life in this wanton display of hooliganism against unarmed Nigerian workers who were going about their lawful business of organising a statutory delegates’ conference.