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By Prince Osuagwu  Indication yesterday emerged that a looming telecom blackout which threatened about 13 states, including some parts of Abuja, might have been averted following the intervention of Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.  The commission said its intervention in the dispute between telecom operators and Kogi State government led to the unsealing of telecom operators’ infrastructure in the state.  NCC said Governor Yahaya Bello had on Wednesday ordered the unsealing of telecom Base Transceiver Stations, BTS, restoring services to over 120 sites after a meeting between the governor and NCC (regulator) in Lokoja, the state capital. The governor was also said to have directed that court cases instituted by the state be withdrawn and amicable settlement reached between the telcomms and Kogi State government.  Penultimate week, the state shut down the BTSs following a standoff with telecom operators over revenue-related contention, which led the tel...

By Mohammed Ahmed Yabagi Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State is set to receive the Old Students of one of the oldest secondary schools in the ancient city; Crowther Memorial College, who would storm the town for a reunion. The event which is schedule to hold from Thursday, 29th November, 2018, is expected to host old students of the college from far back as the 1970s. Secretary of the planning committee and head boy of the 1988 set, Igiku Shadrack Edward, told our reporter that the event is aimed at making efforts to bring back the lost glory of the institution which was a reference point for academic prowess and discipline in the past.  He added that the reunion would also serve as an avenue to help suggest ways of raising funds to put back to shape some dilapidated structures in the school and give it its deserved look.  "Old friends who have last seen each other several decades ago would also have the opportunity of reconnecting and having positive rapport while catching u...

By Itodo Daniel Sule Mixed reactions have trailed the shutting down of some telecommunications base stations by the Kogi State government over alleged tax defaults. An Airtel subscriber in Lokoja, Omale James, said he had been unable to make calls, receive calls and access internet services with his line since the facilities were sealed. On his part, an MTN subscriber, Ogbole Moses said he had been experiencing fluctuating network services on his line in the past few weeks following the development. He called on the telecommunications service providers and the state government to urgently find ways of resolving the impasse so as to enable subscribers make use of their services. In the same, those in the banking sector and security agencies in the state have also raised concerns over the negative impacts of the development on their services. This is just as the Association of of Licensed Telecommunications Operators (ALTON) had raised alarm that 10 states and parts of Federal Capi...

By Yekini Jimoh  The facilities of MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Forte Oil and Bank of Agriculture have been sealed off by Kogi State Internal Revenue Service over their alleged refusal to pay N470 million tax to the state government. The Director in charge of Legal Services and Enforcement at the agency, Mr. Jamil Isah, who led his team yesterday to seal off the critical facilities of the two telecom service providers at Mount Patti, Obajana and other places in Lokoja, disclosed that Airtel owed over N321 million while MTN also refused to meet its obligation of over N140 million to Kogi State Government. He added that Forte Oil and Bank of Agriculture are owing N5 million and N3 million, respectively. According to him “For quite some time , we have diligently approached the two telecom service providers the MTN and Airtel to pay some of their tax liabilities to the state government and they refused to cooperate with us. “We then proceeded to the state High Court of Justice , and the...

Motorists and commuters travelling from Lokoja towards the South East/South South parts of the country were yesterday stranded for hours following the flooding of some portions of the Ajaokuta-Lokoja highway. Reports state that the River Niger overflowed its bank onto the busy Ajaokuta-Lokoja highway around Ganaja Village axis, thus causing heavy traffic. Our correspondent reports that men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and those of the Nigerian Police were on ground to control the ensuing chaotic traffic situation. It was observed that youths in the area were making a brisk business from the situation by helping motorists whose vehicles got stuck to wade through the flood. Credit: The Nigerian Voice