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Internet disruption: Fixing damaged undersea cable may take weeks
Internet disruption: Fixing damaged undersea cable may take weeks
It will take some time for full and regular Internet services to return to Nigeria and other West African countries, MainOne, a digital infrastructure service provider in the region, has said.
This is as it disclosed that repairing its undersea submarine cables might take weeks.
On Thursday, subsea cable providers were affected by major cuts to undersea submarine cables owing to the alleged activities of houthis rebels in the red sea.
The development greatly hampered internet traffic in major parts of the continent with services of financial institutions and telecommunications companies in Nigeria disrupted.
An additional two to three weeks of transit time may be need for a vessel to pick up the spares of submarine cables and travel from Europe to West Africa, the company disclosed in a statement on Friday.
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Speaking on the cause of the network outage, MainOne said preliminary findings and further investigations showed “the fault occurred due to an external incident that resulted in a cut on its submarine cable system, in the Atlantic Ocean offshore Cote D’Ivoire, along the coast of West Africa”.
“We have a maintenance agreement with Atlantic Cable Maintenance and Repair Agreement (ACMA) to provide repair services for the submarine cable,” the company said.
“First identify and assign a vessel, the vessel has to retrieve the necessary spares required for repair, and then sail to the fault location to conduct the repair work.
“Next, in order to complete the repair, the affected section of the submarine cable will have to be pulled from the seabed onto the ship where it will be spliced by skilled technicians.”
According to MainOne, after repair, joints will be inspected and tested for any defects and subsequently, the submarine cable will be lowered back to the seabed and placed in a good position.
“This process might take 1-2 weeks for repairs while about 2-3 weeks of transit time may be required for the vessel to pick up the spares and travel from Europe to West Africa once the vessel is mobilised,” MainOne said.
In another update on Friday, the company said it is working with cable systems not affected by the incident or previous outages to secure restoration capacity.
MainOne said its technical team is working relentlessly to restore services, subject to availability of capacity and service configuration specifics.
“We will also provide incremental updates on the root cause and efforts to repair the submarine cable as soon as those details become available,” the company said
Internet disruption: Fixing damaged undersea cable may take weeks
News
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.
The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.
He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.
This is coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.
The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.
It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.
News
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has announced the immediate suspension of two commissioners with a permanent secretary among others for gross misconduct.
Those suspended are the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori, and the Commissioner for Health, Moses Ekuma, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The suspension followed an incident on Saturday night, when the governor reportedly visited the Ministry of Health’s premises and was said to have found six officials diverting government materials.
Others suspended for three months are the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency
The suspension order was announced by the state Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, who cited alleged misconduct and dereliction of duties as the reasons for the disciplinary actions.
Okpor made the disclosure on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcomes of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.
“Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, respectively
“In view of the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended commissioner.
Governor Nwifuru directed the suspended government officials to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government.
News
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
The Federal Government has defended its decision to borrow to address budget deficits, despite surpassing revenue targets in 2024.
Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu clarified this position during a session with the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance, Budget, and National Planning. The meeting focused on the 2025–2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
Last week, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 budget partially.
During the session, key agency heads, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) CEO Mele Kyari, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji, presented their revenue reports.
The agencies reported exceeding their 2024 targets.
- Customs Service: Generated ₦5.352 trillion by September 30, surpassing its ₦5.09 trillion target for the year. For 2025, the agency projects ₦6.3 trillion, with a 10% increase planned for 2026.
- NNPCL: Achieved ₦13.1 trillion in revenue, exceeding the ₦12.3 trillion projection for 2024. Kyari announced a ₦23.7 trillion revenue target for 2025.
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- FIRS: Surpassed multiple tax collection goals, including ₦5.7 trillion from company income tax against a ₦4 trillion target. Education tax collections also exceeded expectations, reaching ₦1.5 trillion compared to a ₦70 billion target.
Overall, ₦18.5 trillion of the ₦19.4 trillion 2024 revenue target had been achieved by September, indicating the goal will be exceeded by year-end.
Despite these surpluses, the government insists borrowing remains essential to cover budget gaps and support vulnerable populations.
Bagudu explained, “Even with agencies exceeding revenue targets, borrowing is necessary to address deficits and boost productivity, particularly for the poorest. This aligns with Agenda 2050, which aims for a GDP per capita of $33,000.”
Edun also reiterated that loans were critical for adequately funding the budget.
The committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, questioned the rationale behind the borrowing and demanded further transparency. The Immigration Service was specifically asked to provide documents regarding an “unacceptable PPP arrangement” before the end of the week.
The session underscored the government’s balancing act between increased revenues and fiscal challenges requiring external borrowing.
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
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