Business

5G: Deployment won’t affect Nigerians’ health, NCC assures National Assembly

Published

3 years ago

November 8, 2021

The Executive Vice Chairman of the National Communication Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta has again assured Nigerians of the safety of their health with the proposed 5G network.

Danbatta gave the assurance when he appeared before the National Assembly joint committee on Communications to defend his commission’s 2022 budget proposal.

The NCC’s response was sequel to the fear raised by some members of the joint committee about the fears being expressed by Nigerians over the deployment of the new technology.

Danbatta said the agency proposed to generate N632.39bn in 2022 from the sale of 5G spectrum to telecommunications firms, among other revenue sources.

He said, “The revenue would be realised through the sales of 5G spectrum, fines among others.

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“Concerning the fears about the 5G spectrum, we share the same concern because it is justified and we have been sensitising Nigerians about the safety of the new technology. The 5G network we are going to launch has no harm.”

“Up till date, there is no credible evidence about the health hazard of the 5G technology, therefore it is safe.”

He added that the 5G Spectrum network was good for the economy and the nation’s social transformation.

He said, “There is no medical evidence from the World Health Organisation indicating any harmful effect of the spectrum on the health of the end users.

“NCC has enjoined Nigerians at the national level to disabuse their minds on the purported harmful effect of the spectrum and we will continue to sensitise them on the spectrum until everybody embraces the use of the 5G network,” he explained.

The Executive Vice Chairman also disclosed that with the launch of Computer Incidence Response Team, telecommunications networks across the country are secured against any form of cyber attack.

“Recently, not up to a month ago, the commission unveiled its computer incidence responsive which is a certified round protection for cyber attacks against telecommunication network.

“I am very very proud to bring this information to the knowledge of the general public, that all over the country our computers are secured from cyber attacks.

“This effort is going to be intensified in order to ensure the safety of our computers,” he noted.

For the commission’s main budget, he said a sum of N86.2bn was proposed for recurrent expenditures, N29.36bn is for Capital while N2.55bn was earmarked for Special Projects.

Danbatta, while defending his agency’s budget before the Senate MTEF/FSP panels in September, had said, the agency could generate up to N400bn from the spectrum auction next year.

Danbatta said his agency projected a budget of N162bn for 2021. He, however, added that in the first quarter of 2021, “we have exceeded that amount because we were able to generate N181bn.”

“This is because two of our mobile network operators, the MTN and Airtel, requested for spectrum and that really gave us a lot of revenue.”

The NCC boss had said, “Each slot of the 5G spectrum is going for an exact price of N75bn. However, in an auction, it can go as high as N100bn.

“The exact price for the Spectrum auction, in 2022 will give the Federal Government, N300bn. When the projected revenue is added to it, we are expecting well over N400bn because it is an auction.”

Punch

Related Topics:5G Deployment Featured Health national assembly NCC Nigerians

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PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

Published

14 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

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PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.

Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

Business

Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

Published

15 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.

This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.

The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.

The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.

He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.

The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

Business

Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

Published

19 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.

The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.

The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.

“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.

“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.

“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”

Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.

Employment rate – 76%

The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.

“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.

Self-employment – 85.6%

The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.

It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”