Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram went down Monday evening in an apparent outage.
The three apps – which are all owned by Facebook, and run on shared infrastructure – all completely stopped working shortly before 5pm. Other products that are part of the same family of apps, such as Facebook Workplace, also stopped working.
Visitors to the Facebook website simply saw an error page or a message that their browser could not connect.
The WhatsApp and Instagram apps continued to work, but did not show new content, including any messages sent or received during the problems.
Per Down Detector, a crowdsourced website that tracks online outages, the three social networks appeared to be having widespread issues around 11:40 a.m. ET. The company’s status tracking website was also down around noon ET.
Facebook’s outages happen relatively rarely but tend to be vast in their impact, not least because they affect three of the world’s biggest apps.
The company is often cryptic about the causes of any issues, and does not tend to explain them even after they are fixed. In 2019, for instance, it suffered its biggest outage in years – and said only that it had “triggered an issue” during “routine maintenance operations”.
In a leaked transcript published in The Verge in 2019, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg note that such outages are a “big deal”.
Any problems can often lead people to start using competitors instead, and noted that it can take “months” to win back trust and get people back on Facebook’s platforms – if they come back at all.
As is often the case with these outages, users flocked to other social networks to note that these social networks were down. By 12:06 p.m. ET “Instagram and Facebook” was the top Trending Topic on Twitter in the United States with “WhatsApp” and #instagramdown also gaining traction.
Other trends for Facebook and Instagram quickly dominated other locations in the top 30 spots on Twitter’s list.
It was not immediately clear what caused the issue for the three Facebook-owned properties or when any of the services might be restored.
… customer can now share their data plans with family members, friends
In a move that will deepen family bond and promote camaraderie amongst close friends, leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has unveiled a new data plan that will enable a customer share his data plan with five family members or close friends.
Dubbed ‘Family Plan’, Airtel says the new value offering is specifically designed to ensure that no one is left out, empowering all customers regardless of income and location to enjoy uninterrupted mobile Internet connection constantly.
Speaking on the Family Plan, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said Airtel is inspired to promote a culture of togetherness and deep bonding amongst family members and close friends.
“We care about our customers and through this plan, we are offering them both an expression and an opportunity to also demonstrate that they truly care about those in their circle and family line. At Airtel, we will continue to promote friendship, innovation just as we will always prioritize our esteemed customers,” he said.
With ‘Family Plan’, an Airtel data subscriber can share their data plan with up to five additional Airtel subscribers, giving them the liberty to allocate the volume of data each subscriber gets, with an option to also allow unlimited data limits.
The subscriber’s line, also known as the Master Line can register additional lines, known as Dependents and consequently purchase and allocate data using USSD code (*141#).
The ‘Family Plan’ comes with complimentary voice minutes and SMS that is accessible to group members, and makes a great fit for Family, SMEs, Small Office Home Office (SOHO) as well as small groups.
For every dependent line added to a Master Line, a one-time benefit of 500MB is credited to the account, with an additional flat call rate of 12k/sec to all subscribers on the plan.
The new plan offers customers various packages to pick from, including N5000, which offers data volume of 20GB; N10, 000 with 50GB; while N15, 000 offers 80GB. Other packages include N20,000 with up to 120GB data volume; N30, 000 with 200GB and N50, 000, which offers a whopping 400GB data volume.
Each package offers complimentary bonus data of 500MB per added dependent, 50 minutes call time and 100 SMS, with a maximum limit of 5 dependents per package.
As Nigerians continue to mourn the sudden demise of the late chairman of the Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria, BJAN, Princewill Oziomachukwu Ekwujuru, members of the association have concluded plans to hold a candle light procession and Night of Tributes in his honour.
The event, which holds on Friday, September 24, 2021, is expected to attract friends, family and stakeholders in the integrated marketing communications industry, as his death has left people across different divides devastated.
According to a notice by the chairman, Funeral Committee for BJAN, Goddie Ofose, the event would hold at the Archbishop Vinning Ground Oba Akinjobi Ikeja GRA Ikeja opposite Police College, Lagos at 5pm.
Attendees to the event are urged to don all-white attire as all Covid-19 protocols would be duly observed.
However, many have testified to the late Vanguard’s Brands and Marketing reporter’s humility, simplicity and affinity with his roots.
Born Princewill Oziomachukwu Ekwujuru on June 24, 1965, the late Brand Journalist veteran was a Mass Communications graduate of the Abia State University.
Ekwujuru is survived by his wife and children.
It would be recalled that Ekwujuru suffered a fatal injuries as a result of bike accident on July 6th, which left him in coma for over two weeks but eventually, lost the battle on July 23rd at the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Ojo, Lagos.
The late BJAN chairman’s remains will be interred in his native home, Njaba, Imo State on September 30th, 2021.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has said that the state needs ₦140 billion for 14 ranches to fully settle herders and their families in the state.
He stated this on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat in Abuja, arguing that the measure is the most sustainable means to boost livestock production.
“It is not a matter of populist legislation or saying that tomorrow this or that; it is not the solution. We have taken a position as northern states governors and we are implementing that,” he said.
“We cannot do it overnight. We need billions of naira. This is just one ranch that is costing N10 billion. I have 14 grazing reserves in Kaduna State and I would like to convince them into ranching. Do I have 14 times N10 billion? I don’t have.”
“In my state for instance, we are developing a huge ranch at Damao to centralise the herders and that is the solution (on the) long term. But can it be done overnight? No. This project that we are doing will cost us about ₦10 billion. The CBN is supporting us with about ₦7.5 billion and [it] will take about two years to do.”
While El-Rufai maintained that ranching remains the recipe for the recurring farmer-herder conflict in the country, he described the anti-grazing law enacted by some of his colleagues as unrealistic.
According to him, although ranching is the ideal solution to the problem, it cannot be done overnight. He urged those pushing for the immediate ban on open grazing to exercise patience as time and resources are required to have ranches across the country.
“We will be settling about 1,500 Fulani herders’ families and [I] hope they will see that there are alternative ways of producing livestock instead of running up and down with cattle and going to people’s farms and causing all kinds of problems,” Governor El-Rufai added.
El-Rufai is among the latest high-profile personalities to have voiced concerns over the ban on open-grazing by governors – mostly those from the southern region.
The governors had met earlier in the year and banned the open grazing of livestock, giving a September 1 deadline for members to enact the anti-open grazing law.
While a good number of the states have enacted the law and others still in the process, the move has caused ripples across the nation. It has also been criticised by several government officials.
One of such persons who has faulted the Southern Governors’ Forum’s move is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) who said the development is unconstitutional.
“For example, it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the north,” he said.
“Does it hold water? Does it hold water for a northern governor to come and state expressly that he now prohibits spare parts trading in the north?”
According to him, the governors should first amend the Constitution to prohibit open grazing before going ahead with their decision.
“If you are talking of constitutionally guaranteed rights, the better approach to it is to, perhaps, go back to ensure the Constitution is amended,” he added.
Despite Malami’s stance, the governors maintain that there is no going back on the ban, insisting it will be enforced to the fullest extent in the region.
“Mr Malami is advised to approach the court to challenge the legality of the laws of the respective states banning open grazing and the decision of the Southern Governors’ Forum taken in the interest of their people. We shall be most willing to meet him in court,” the Chairman of the forum and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said.
“The decision to ban open grazing stays. It will be enforced with vigour.”
In the face of the effects of global COVID-19 pandemic, Wragby Business Solutions and Technologies Limited supported by its Partner Microsoft has recently taken the bull by the horns to equip women, young graduates with little or no technical knowledge in the 21st century on Data Analytics.
Women, most especially, are believed to have suffered the largest economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wragby Business Solutions and Technologies Limited, a technology company situated in Lekki recently announced the graduation of eight participants from the 2021 Microsoft LEAP program.
This 12-week intensive training was focused on Data Analytics and Engineering.
For the first week, participants were taken through soft skills like conflict resolutions, time management among others.
The next three weeks of the training covers Foundation data analytics, SQL, and Power BI.
The next 11 weeks see participants undergo training and development, in the acquisition of about three Microsoft certifications covering Azure cloud computing basics and associate level of data analysis with Power Bi.
In his words, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Wragby Business Solution and Technologies Limited, Dr. Yomi Alarape, mused that “this is in accordance with one of the company’s core values.
‘’The company has strongly demonstrated this with the support and sponsorship of Microsoft; the training is aimed at empowering young graduates with on-demands – technical and soft skills to create jobs in the technology industry for self-reliance and economic development.
This initiative would help them stand out among their counterparts.
This program prepares participants for positions in the technology industry and helps them become self-sufficient.’’
The General Manager, New Business, Partnership, Adewale Adeyemi also said, ‘’the LEAP programme has provided great opportunities for ladies to develop themselves into the Technology space. This is the second cohort Wragby has participated in and I can say that I have since not less than 15 ladies develop great skills in Software Engineering and Data Analytics. I have no doubt these ladies will turn out to be captains of this industry in the nearest future.
‘’Adewale further said, Wragby’s mission is to make the world a better place through technology. We believe this process starts with the young ones. Allowing them to express themselves through technology gives them opportunities beyond their foundational training.
Toyin while responding to question during the training session Wragby Business Solutions 1
Wragby’s Head of Datazone Department, Olanna Ogbenna, who was one of the trainers while describing the program and its impact on participants said, ‘’the program gives young women from all works of life just beginning their career in tech, the opportunity to learn and work with experienced professionals in the field that they have chosen.
‘’This has greatly impacted the participants who joined the team, I must confess; they have not only developed their skills in Analytics, but they have also gained real work experience which has given them independence in task delivery as well as the respect of co-workers.
‘’Olanna further said, ‘’the program is intentional about growth and development because this is also something I am committed to, I like that the participants took advantage of the opportunity, put in their very best, and are still working to be a better version every single day.’’
A cross section of the young graduates trained in Data Analytics by Wragby Business Solutions and Technologies Ltd 1
On the project executed by these young graduates, Olanna said, ‘’the team of participants with little supervision was able to deliver some BI products and services which is now available in the Microsoft Azure marketplace. This Power BI apps enable in-depth analytics for Retail, Manufacturing, and HR which are all offered on the Microsoft app source. We can only urge you to keep your fingers crossed because the team will soon be publishing our BI add-ins to AppSource for the Wragby’swBizManager product (an ERP for Corporates and SMEs).
‘’I am super proud of our achievements and look forward to doing more with this amazing Wragby team.’’
In a chat with Oluwakiite Koiki, one of the successful participants who now works as a Data Analyst with Wragby Business Solutions and Technologies Limited, she noted; ‘’Learning on the job has helped improve my mental framework for critical thinking and I can proffer solutions to issues much quicker than I could before the program”
Another participant, Rebecca Ogunyemi said, “This program has helped in building a cordial and good working relationship with brilliant mentors within the organization. It exposed me to multiple projects, learning platforms, and personal development workshops. It inculcated teamwork and a good work ethic.
Head, Software Engineering Dept at Wragby Business Solutions in a session with LEAP Participants
“I now have a great idea of (Software Testing/Quality Assurance) which has further built my technical skills in Test Strategy of User Products.
“I have four (4) Microsoft certifications which have elevated my career in Data Science. I now work with Wragby Business Solutions and Technologies Limited.’’
Interestingly, all participants have been offered jobs in the technology company as Data Analysts.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has stated that the e-naira which will be launched on October 1, is a legal tender equal to the naira and must be accepted as a form of payment by all merchants and business establishments.
Mr. Musa Jimoh, the CBN Director of Payment System Management, stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s “Business Morning.”
Jimoh said, “Today, anywhere you present naira to pay, compulsorily it must be accepted because that is our fiat currency. So, the same way naira is accepted that you can’t reject it, is the same way e-naira must be accepted. Anywhere in this country where e-naira is presented, it must be accepted. So, merchants must accept e-naira as a means of payment.”
He recommended that Nigerians should open e-naira wallets, which can be downloaded on mobile phones starting October 1, and said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was responsible for all liabilities.
“The liability of the e-naira money is directly on CBN which is similar to the cash you hold. The liability of the cash you hold today rests with the CBN. So, it gives Nigerians the opportunity to bank with CBN,” Jimoh said.
What you should know
Nigeria’s Central Bank planned to own a stake in Bitt Inc. It was stated that one of the conditions being considered for accepting Bitt Inc was for the company to register in Nigeria as a Limited Liability company allowing the central bank to own shares in its Nigerian entity.
Bitt is a financial technology business that uses blockchain and distributed ledger technology to enable safe peer-to-peer transactions with seamless mobile money across Bitt’s software and mobile apps.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has stated that Bitt Inc, the company developing the country’s digital currency, eNaira, is not his company.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that the Nigerian International Financial Centre (NIFC) will be established to act as a gateway for funds and investments into the country.
…. Rewards Customers with 250MB data bundle, 20 SMS
As part of activities commemorating its 20th anniversary in Nigeria, leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the commencement of Recharge and Blow promo, a new offer that empowers customers to earn cash reward of up to N100m when they increase their weekly recharge.
Airtel is also rewarding all its customers with a gift of 250mb of data and 20 SMS as part of the anniversary celebrations.
Airtel says the promo is in line with its commitment to reward, excite and delight customers across the country in commemoration of its 20 years of providing telecommunication services in Nigeria.
Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said the Recharge and Blow offer underscores the company’s pledge to creating exciting opportunities and platforms to reward and empower Nigerians as well as serve as a testimony to Airtel’s commitment of always putting customers first and ensuring their expectations are constantly exceeded.
“At Airtel, we always hold all our customers in high esteem and the Recharge and Blow promo as well as the data/SMS reward is an expression of our deepest appreciation to our customers across the country. We thank our customers for their loyalty and patronage even as we wish to assure them that we will not relent in providing them with the best and most relevant products, services and reward opportunities,” he said.
To participate in the promo, customers are required to dial 4444# to view details of the campaign including preset target, recharge progress and cash token wallet.
In line with the terms of the promo, customers weekly target is set every Sunday and customers are to achieve their preset target before Saturday.
As part of the promo, a draw is conducted weekly and preset target is based on customers’ previous recharge patterns. Upon meeting the preset target, customers stand the chance to win guaranteed cashback as well as win up to N100m in the weekly draw.
To redeem the 250mb data bundle and 20 SMS gift, customers are required to dial 4444#.
While customers will be able to redeem their reward when they dial the string, they can only utilize the reward on the Gift Redemption Day, which will be on September 26th and October 3rd, respectively. The gift is valid till mid-night on each of the aforementioned Gift Redemption Day.
The Recharge and Blow offer puts the customer in the driver’s seat as it offers freedom and opportunity to enjoy an amazing variety of mouth-watering rewards and win as many times as possible, as long as a preset target is achieved.
The dollar rose to between N572 and N575 in different parts of the country on Monday barely two days after online platform, Aboki FX, stopped providing updates on the exchange rate.
A visit to the ever-busy Wuse Zone 4 which is the hub of bureau de change operators in Abuja, discovered that the dollar was sold for N574 as opposed to the N570 it was sold for on Friday.
In Lagos, the dollar was sold at N572 while in Kano it was N575 as of 3pm on Monday.
The pound was sold for N780 as opposed to N770 last Friday.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, had accused the online foreign exchange update platform, Aboxi FX, of manipulating the forex market.
Emefiele, had said the bank would shut down the operations of Aboki FX which it described as illegal.
Subsequently, Aboki FX said in a statement on Friday that it would no longer publish exchange rates for now and hoped that the naira would stabilise.
It further stated that it usually gets its information from bureau de change operators in Lagos.
Results from NNPC Retail Limited, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s state oil corporation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), revealed that the company generated over ₦200 billion from its 544 stations in the country.
NNPC Retail Limited, which is principally engaged in the marketing and sale of refined petroleum, liquified petroleum gas and allied products, was established in 2002 as a corporate strategic unit of NNPC.
It was incorporated as a limited liability company in 2009 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NNPC.
In 2020, the company generated a revenue of ₦200.3 billion which comprised of revenue from 5 petroleum products which are Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Lubricants.
PMS accounted for the lion share of the revenue generated. It represented approximately 79% of the total revenue generated to the tune of ₦158.2 billion. Compared to 2019, the revenue generated from PMS increased by 7.07%.
AGO accounted for the second largest as it generated approximately ₦40 billion in 2020. It accounted for approximately 20% of the total revenue. Compared to 2019, the revenue generated from AGO increased by 9.16%.
DPK accounted for 0.65% of the total revenue as it generated ₦1.3 billion. The company did not generate any revenue from DPK in 2019.
LPG accounted for 0.28% of the total revenue as it generated ₦558.2 million. Compared to 2019, this revenue line increased by 19.29%.
Lubricants accounted for 0.13% of the total revenue as it generated the least of all the revenue lines. It brought in approximately ₦255 million. NNPC retail did not generate any revenue from lubricants in 2019 according to the report.
After deducting the cost of sale, the company ended up with a gross profit of ₦17.8 billion. This represents a 15% increase from the gross profit of ₦15.5 billion generated in 2019. Ultimately, NNPC retail limited posted a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₦1.48 billion which when compared to the ₦2.82 billion generated in 2019, represents a 47.33% decline. This is majorly attributable to the income tax charged in the year 2020 which when compared to 2019, increased by approximately 139%, from ₦1.72 billion charged in 2019 to ₦4.11 billion charged in 2020.
The total comprehensive income posted a negative return of ₦934.8 million in 2020 compared to the gain of ₦2.62 billion made in 2019. This was majorly attributable to the loss on re-measurement of defined benefit obligations which stood at ₦2.42 billion. In 2019, this line item stood at ₦201.6 million. This puts NNPC retail’s Earnings Per Share at negative 9.35 in 2020.
The company owns 544 filling stations as of 2020 and comparing that to the 555 it owned in 2019, the company has reduced its number of filing stations by 11 or approximately 2%. From the data provided, the 544 filing stations comprises 465 affiliates, 37 mega stations, 6 standard stations, 21 leased stations, 3 ultra-modern stations and 12 floating mega stations.
Compared to 2019, NNPC reduced its affiliates stations by 16 from 481 affiliates, representing a 3.32% decline, increased its standard stations by 2 from 4 standard stations, representing a 50% increase and increased its leased stations by 3 from 18 leased stations, representing a 16.67% increase.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) group posted a profit after tax of ₦287.23 billion in 2020, representing a significant growth compared to a loss of ₦1.76 billion recorded in the previous year.
According to the result, NNPC recorded profit growth despite a 20% decline in its revenue for the year. Specifically, its revenue declined from ₦4.63 trillion recorded in 2019 to ₦3.72 trillion in 2020. This could be attributed to the downturn caused by the covid-19 pandemic, which affected global crude oil prices.
A breakdown of the revenue from customers shows that a total of ₦2.28 trillion was made from the sales of petroleum products, accounting for 61.2% of the recorded revenue. NNPC generated ₦828.13 billion from the sales of crude oil, representing 22.3% of the total revenue.
In his capacity as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, in a bid to prepare the Federal Government for the Petroleum Industry Act.
The President also approved the board of the new company.
This was disclosed in a statement by Garba Shehu, the President’s Spokesman on Sunday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The Presidency said the move is in line with Section 53(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which requires the Minister of Petroleum Resources to call for the incorporation of the NNPC Limited within six months of the commencement of the Act.
The President said, “The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Mele Kolo Kyari, has, therefore, been directed to take necessary steps to ensure that the incorporation of the NNPC Limited is consistent with the provisions of the PIA 2021.”
The President also added that it has approved the appointment of the board and management of the NNPC Limited, with effect from the date of the incorporation of the company, in line with Section 59(2) of the PIA 2021.
Sen. Ifeanyi Ararume will serve as the Chairman of the board, while Mele Kolo Kyari and Umar I. Ajiya are Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively.
Other board members are Dr Tajudeen Umar (North- East), Mrs Lami O. Ahmed (North-Central), Mallam Mohammed Lawal (North-West), Sen. Margaret Chuba- Okadigbo (South-East), Barrister Constance Harry Marshal (South-South) and Chief Pius Akinyelure.
Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the committee to immediately commence the implementation of the newly passed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The steering committee which will drive the implementation process is to be headed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and will have a duration of 12 months for the completion of the assignment.
