NCC, ALTON, MainOne back Oketola’s book on tech evolution
   …set to grace book launch, lecture

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida,  has confirmed his participation as the immediate past Editor of The PUNCH, Dayo Oketola,  launches a book on Information and Communications Technology evolution.

The book,  ‘The Catalyst: Nigerian Tech Evolution Through a Journalist’s Lens,’ will be launched on September 17, 2024, at an exaugural lecture to mark the end of Oketola’s time as Editor, The PUNCH and celebrate his nearly 20 years in journalism and leadership practice.

The Head, Media Relations at the NCC, Dr Omoniyi Ibietan, who communicated NCC’s support to the author, said, “It is a consequential work. Congratulations.”

Similarly, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, and the CEO, MainOne, an Equinix Company, Ms. Funke Opeke, have also thrown their weight behind the book launch and exaugural lecture while congratulating the author.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the invitation to your upcoming exaugural lecture and book launch. Congratulations on reaching this significant milestone,” MainOne said in a letter. 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, will be the Special Guest Speaker at the event. 

Oketola said the evolution of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, which began with the introduction of GSM in 2001 by Obasanjo, had attracted over $70bn in investments and created over 500,000 jobs in the country.

He highlighted the bold initiatives that opened the sector to private investment, from 450,000 telephone lines before 2001 to a vibrant market today, and also charts a path through which Nigeria can maximise its digital economic potential.

Oketola, now a senior member of the PUNCH Editorial Board, left as Editor of The PUNCH  in June.

While serving as editor, he won the Editor of the Year prize at the Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA) in December 2023. He also led the organisation to win the Newspaper of the Year at the same award ceremony. Oketola, a consistent journalism prizeman, also won  Editor of the Year Award at The Industry Awards 2022. He is a two-time winner of the Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards in Johannesburg 2015 and Nairobi 2016, among numerous awards during his illustrious journalism career.

In a statement, Oketola said, “I am excited to announce the upcoming launch of my book, The Catalyst: Nigerian Tech Evolution Through A Journalist’s Lens, scheduled for September 17, 2024.

“On the same day, I will also be hosting an exaugural lecture to celebrate my tenure as Editor of The PUNCH and nearly 20 years in journalism.”

Speaking further, the former editor described his years in journalism as one that had driven advocacy and impacted different sectors of the economy.

“My 20 remarkable years of stewardship to the nation via media and leadership practices have driven advocacy and impacted areas such as business and economy, ICT, energy, agriculture, social inclusion, anti-corruption, drug trafficking prevention, and nation-building, a testament to the power of journalism in shaping our society,” Oketola remarked.

Other influential guests hosted at the media event are a former Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki, who will chair the occasion, and the Convener of the Centre for Social Media Research, Dr Akin Olaniyan, who will be the book reviewer.  The Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, will grace the occasion as the Chief Host.

Similarly, the Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief of PUNCH Nigeria Limited, Mr Adeyeye Joseph, is the host, while the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr Eze Anaba,  is the co-host.

Many filling stations in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, have shut down due to high cost of sourcing petroleum products from third party marketers other than the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Investigation reveals that some filling stations in the city that sell petrol to the people at prices between N1300 and N1350 were the ones that lifted the products at costs more than NNPC control prices.

In an interview, the Executive Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Aba branch, Mazi Oliver Okolo, said that the NNPC had not supplied petroleum products to their members in the past three months.

He said the NNPC had been selling the products to some suppliers, who indirectly sell the product to the IPMAN members at exorbitant prices.

Mazi Okolo said, “Our members now lift petrol at high costs and sell to motorists and other users at high cost,” adding that if the refineries were working, people would buy petrol at an affordable prices.

He therefore called on the federal government to make the 21 NNPC refineries in the country functional to reduce the sufferings of the people.

In his reactions, a member of the National Executive, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Godfrey Chukwunyere, said NNPC sell petrol to mega stations, major marketers and the independent petroleum marketers at different high rates in addition to the inexperienced personnel handling the affairs of the corporation.

Chief Chukwunyere who called for the total over haul of the petroleum sector, appealed to the federal government to prevail on the NNPC to sell the petroleum products at uniform prices to make things easier for the people.

The local currency exceeded the N1,160 threshold against the US dollar despite a significant decline in the dollar index during the week’s last trading session.

The naira was valued as low as N1,670 against the haven currency on the black market in major Nigerian cities.

Market fundamentals attribute such fluctuation to seasonality. The Nigerian upper class typically travels during this time of year or needs to pay for their children’s education abroad.

The naira gained 4.8% on Wednesday after the government successfully raised $900 million in its first domestic dollar bond; however, the loss reversed this gain. Dollar shortages were cited as the reason for the 48% decline in domestic dollar liquidity.

President Bola Tinubu removed regulations last year that kept the currency artificially overvalued in the hopes of attracting foreign investment.

However, the currency has lost more than two-thirds of its value relative to the dollar. According to a CBN poll, Nigerian firms anticipate that the naira will fall further between now and December, but they expect it to strengthen next year.

Additionally, the local currency’s present situation defies the forecasts of analysts at Renaissance Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Financial Derivatives Company, who all predicted that the naira would settle at N1,000 or less.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was down on Friday as markets continued to digest this week’s inflation data. By the end of the week, expectations increased slightly that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 50 basis points during its upcoming meeting.

Technical indicators for the DXY index have turned negative and started to decline again. Notably, the index crossed below its 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and above the 101.2 support line, signaling a shift in momentum to the downside.

Media sources suggest that the Federal Reserve may announce a substantial 50 basis point interest rate decrease at its policy meeting next week. This caused the value of the US dollar to plummet on Friday to its lowest level in almost nine months against the Japanese yen.

Market expectations reportedly shifted after a former Fed official advocated for a significant rate cut and reports indicated that a 50-basis point reduction remains possible. The likelihood of a 50-basis point easing by the Fed at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday is priced into the U.S. rate futures market at 51%, up from roughly 15% early on Thursday. Additionally, futures traders have increased their 2024 rate cut projections from 107 basis points to 117 basis points.

The greenback recovered some of its losses after data showed that consumer confidence in the United States rose in September despite declining inflation. The University of Michigan’s preliminary estimate of the overall consumer sentiment index for this month was 69.0, up from the final reading of 67.9 in August. Economists surveyed by Reuters had projected an initial score of 68.5.

U.S. economic data released this week indicated that the measure of consumer price inflation—which excludes volatile food and energy prices—rose more than expected in August, suggesting that the standard 25-basis point decrease is still expected next week.

However, on Friday, Bill Dudley, the former president of the New York Fed, fueled further speculation about a possible 50-basis point cut in interest rates. He stated that rates were currently 150–200 basis points above the so-called neutral rate, which is the threshold at which policy is neither accommodating nor restrictive for the U.S. economy, making a strong case for lowering them.