A delegation of the United Nations led by Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is visiting Nigeria and three other West African countries – Niger, Sierra Leone, and Ghana to discuss with the governments and other stakeholders on strategies to rebuild after the devastations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the visit scheduled for November 8 to 11, 2020, the delegation would meet with President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. A statement on Sunday from the UN office in Nigeria explained that Mohammed would also join Osinbajo to launch the ‘Nigeria UN Plus Offer For Socio-Economic Recovery: 2020 -2022,’ as an offer for immediate and medium-term support to the government and people of Nigeria in response to the socio-economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It s...
Liberian President George Weah on Friday inaugurated a new national carrier for the West African country, named Lone Star Air, about 30 years after the country’s previous airline went bust. Speaking at a ceremony at Liberia’s international airport, near the capital Monrovia, Weah said the new airline would “connect our country to our region and to the world”. “It is my dream, my hope and my ambition that we will very soon see Lone Star Air, the wings of Liberia, flying our flag in international skies, shining so brightly,” said the footballer-turned-president. Liberia’s flag bears resemblance to the flag of the United States but features one star instead of 50. The country was founded in the 19th century with US support as a home for freed American slaves, whose descendants have a long his...
Sourced from the Guardian Nigeria. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted MTN and 9mobile permission to trial a national roaming service. According to The Vanguard, this roaming service will allow a mobile subscriber “to automatically make and receive voice calls, send and receive data, or access other services when travelling outside the coverage of a particular network geographical area by utilising the network coverage of other networks”. “The approval requires 9mobile and MTN to configure and test their networks towards simulation for customer experience [and it] covers a few local governments, designated as the National Roaming geographic area, in Ondo State.” Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Umar Danbatta says that “the primary objective of the National Roaming Servi...
MTN has appointed Rahul De – current CMO of MTN Nigeria – to CEO of its operations in Liberia – starting 1 November. replaces Uche Ofodile who departed Lonestar Cell MTN in July to become the CEO of MTN Benin. With 23 years of experience in the telco space, ranging across multiple geographies, De has spent the last two decades in senior leadership roles driving growth and leading business transformation. “I would like to congratulate Rahul on his appointment,” says Ralph Mupita, MTN Group president and CEO. “Rahul is a seasoned leader renowned for driving innovative digital and FinTech advancement in our business and in the telecommunications industry.” De joined MTN in 2011 as Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana, a position he held for over four years before he joined MTN Nigeria in 2015...
The West African bloc ECOWAS will likely decide on Friday whether to lift potentially crippling sanctions imposed on Mali after last month’s coup, its mediator said. The mediator, Nigerian former president Goodluck Jonathan, called the 15-nation bloc’s sanctions “unfortunate” during a visit to Mali’s capital Bamako on Wednesday. West African leaders have heaped pressure on the ruling military junta to return power to civilians since the coup toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18. ECOWAS has used the sanctions, which include closing borders and restricting trade, as leverage in negotiations with the junta. Sticking points in those negotiations have included whether civilians or soldiers will run a transition government until fresh elections. The junta asked for the sanctions...