Interception of Communication Bill 2012

Press release


Legal and regulatory framework
Currently, Nigeria has no specific law governing the interception of private communications in Nigeria. This bill on Interception and Monitoring Bill 2012 seeks to provide the first framework for interception of private communication.

The current position on the interception of private communications is governed by:

The 1999 Nigerian Constitution

The Communications Act and

The Freedom of Information Act 2011.


1. Constitution
Section 37 of the Constitution provides for the protection of the privacy of all Nigerian citizens and their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications. Other than this general provision, the Constitution makes no provision for the manner in which citizens' privacy is to be protected or guaranteed.

However, the protection and guarantee afforded by Section 37 is not absolute, and under Section 45(1) is subject to any law enacted by the National Assembly in respect of national security, defence, public safety or public order.


2. Communications Act
Section 147 of the Communications Act provides that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) - the Nigerian telecommunications sector regulator - may determine that a licensee or class of licensees "shall implement the capability to allow authorised interception of communications and such determination may specify the technical requirements for authorised interception capability".

This means that the act recognises a situation when the NCC may direct licensees to permit the "authorised interception of communications" through their facilities. On a related note, Section 148 of the act permits the NCC to issue an order stipulating that any communication or class of communications to or from any licensee, person or the general public, relating to any specified subject, either shall not be transmitted or shall be intercepted or detained on grounds of national security or in the public interest.

Section 146(1) of the act also imposes an obligation on a licensee to use its best endeavours to prevent its network facilities or network service from being used in or in relation to the commission of any offence under any law in operation in Nigeria. At the written request of the NCC or any other authority, a licensee is required to assist the NCC or other authority:

"as far as [is] reasonably necessary in preventing the commission or attempted commission of an offence under any written law in operation in Nigeria or otherwise in enforcing the laws of Nigeria, including the protection of the public revenue and preservation of national security." (Section 146(2).)

To protect licensees from potential litigation by an affected subscriber, the act provides that a licensee shall not be liable in any criminal proceedings of any nature for any damage (including punitive damages), loss, cost or expenditure suffered or to be suffered (whether directly or indirectly) for any act or omission done in good faith in the performance of the duty imposed on it under Sections 146(1) and (2). However, it is unclear whether this protection extends to civil proceedings.

The Guidelines for the Provision of Internet Service issued by the NCC pursuant to the Communications Act require:

"All licensees providing internet services or any other related internet protocol based telecommunications service' to cooperate with 'all law enforcement and regulatory agencies investigating cybercrime or other illegal activity... [and to] provide any service related information requested by the [NCC] or other legal authority, including information regarding particular users and the content of their communications."

The NCC has engaged the services of external consultants to develop the regulatory, legal and technical framework for lawful interception in Nigeria. The framework is expected to establish rules in respect of access to private communications.


3. Freedom of Information Act
Section 1 of the act provides that:

"Notwithstanding anything contained in any other act, law or regulation, the right of any person to access or request information, whether or not contained in any written form, which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution howsoever described is established."

However, the act prohibits the disclosure of certain information, such as personal information (i.e., any official information held about any person), except in the circumstances specified under the act. The act defines 'information' to include any records, documents and information stored in any form, including written, electronic, visual images, sound and audio recordings.

With regard to the disclosure of information, Section 11(2) of the act provides that an application for information shall not be denied where the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs whatever injury that disclosure would cause.

Section 14(2) of the act allows public institutions to disclose personal information where the person to whom it relates consents to such disclosure or where it is in the interest of the public to disclose such information.

Under the act, 'public institutions' includes private bodies providing public services or performing public functions. This definition covers most limited liability companies providing public services.

The act prohibits the disclosure of certain information, such as personal information (ie, "any official information held about any person [/corporation]"), except in the circumstances specified under the act. Section 14(2) of the act allows public institutions to disclose personal information where the person to whom it relates consents to the disclosure, where the information is publicly available or where it is in the interest of the public to disclose such information.


Proposed legislation
The proposed bill if enacted, will empower various security agencies to intercept phone calls, emails and telegraphic communications, as well as prohibiting certain telecommunication services, which cannot be monitored.


An Increasing Need for Lawful Interception
Due to the diverse nature of the communication medium due to expanding technologies has created significant challenges for law enforcement agencies and national security organizations responsible for battling various forms of crime and terrorism.

The sophistication of criminal enterprises in exploiting emerging communication channels has increased with the rising popularity of these channels, posing a very real challenge to organizations responsible for protecting public safety and reducing the impact of crime on communities.

Given the broad availability of communication options and the relative ease with which criminal networks and terrorist groups can exchange information across these channels - by both data and voice communication - the impetus to intercept illicit exchanges and track the operations of criminal enterprises is strong and compelling.


Regulatory Environment
An overlapping framework of international and national regulations establishes the foundation for the monitoring of telecommunications, implemented to enable law enforcement agencies to intercept messages or information being distributed for illegal use.

Section 1 of the bill provides that no one may intentionally and without warrant intercept a communication or intentionally monitor any communication by means of a monitoring device, in order to collect confidential information on any person, body or organization.

However, it goes further to empower security agencies to do so for National Security reasons.

The ambit of the omnibus provision that is vague in meaning and in content is what is scary about this law (among many other thing). As it provides that an interception may be lawfully carried out by an authorized officer whom it describes as the Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector General of Police or the director of SSS. The issue is that by the enabling Acts setting up the officers they can duly act through any of their officers. in this case the idea of getting a warrant is made of little use or moment because they can act on the pretext of National Security.

The idea of National Security has remained a thorny legal term, which is open to several interpretations, and has not been defined here under the bill.


Procedure for interception
The bill contemplates that before making an ex parte application to the judge, a person seeking to execute an interception must prove to the court that the interception is in the interest of National Security.

This provision is not in synch with the letters of section 1(2) b which creates another alternative to warrant where the issue is in the judgment of the authorized officer of National Security Interest. This is where the entire problem starts.

The whole provision on warrant is only a cotton wool over the key leeway. There is need to apply judicial review on all such interception powers for now this can then be cautiously diluted but with adequate safeguards.

The danger is that it is too open, unaccountable and unverified. This violates the intention of the constitution to protect privacy. The international best practice suggest that all such powers must be accountable, passing through various mechanism for prudence and respect the solemn right of the citizen to privacy.


Conditions for grant of direction
A judge will be permitted to issue a direction only if he or she is satisfied, on the facts alleged in the application, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that:

a serious offence has been, is being or is likely to be committed which cannot be investigated in another appropriate manner; or

Security or other compelling national interests are threatened or the gathering of information in relation to the threat is necessary.

Where these conditions are satisfied, the judge may direct that a particular communication which has been, is being or is intended to be transmitted by telephone or in any other manner over a telecommunications system be intercepted.

The application to the judge must be in writing and should contain full details of all facts and circumstances alleged by the officer or member concerned.


Duration of direction
Section 5(1) of the bill provides that a written direction may be issued for a period not exceeding three months. In cases of sufficient urgency, a judge may make an oral direction upon hearing an oral application, which must be confirmed in writing within 48 hours. A three-month extension of the period may be granted upon an application to the judge.


CONCLUSION
The purpose of this bill which is to ensure that our security agencies can gather intelligence and deal with the change face of criminality through information must be exercised in such a way that require service providers to provide subscriber and other information, without unreasonably impairing:

The privacy of individuals;

The provision of telecommunications services to Nigerian citizens; or

The security and safety of private communications generally.

House Halts Liquidation of NITEL/MTEL

By Onwuka Nzeshi

The House of Representatives Thursday directed the National Council on Privatisation to compel the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to halt the proposed liquidation of the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its subsidiary, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTEL).

The Lower chamber also reversed the sale of NECOM House, a core asset of the former telecommunications monopoly.

These came same day the House passed through the second reading stage, the N55.8 billion 2013 Appropriation of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC). The directive also coincided with the declaration of the House that the federal government has not demonstrated the political capacity to truly tackle crude oil theft in the country.

The lawmakers halted the liquidation of NITEL and MTEL, after they considered and adopted the report of the joint committees on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Finance, Communications, Public procurement and Information Technology. Chairman, House Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Hon. Khadijat Bukar Abba Ibrahim, had laid the report on May 9, 2013.

The report urged the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to direct the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) to comply with Federal High Court judgments in favour of the 3,000 former staff of NITEL and MTEL, who were treated as casuals as well as the pensioners of both firms.

The House also said the NCP should consider the proposal for revamping the companies.

Other resolutions adopted by the House are as follows: "The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) should consider Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a privatisation strategy for the companies and maintain the National Carrier status for security reasons.

"The federal government should direct the Ministry of Finance to comply with the agreement between NITEL and the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to deduct from source the reconciled N6.2 billion and remit to NITEL for immediate settlement of outstanding staff salary arrears/other fringe benefits and resuscitation of the company

"The federal government should plead with the state governors to reconcile the N4billion NITEL debt and pay accordingly. "The federal government should direct Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) Management to determine the fees due to the new regime. "The federal government should direct Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to include the present management of NITEL and MTEL in the National Broadband Implementation Road map.

In reversing the sale of NECOM House, the lawmakers said the facility being a core asset should not have been sold given its strategic role in the operation of the NITEL and MTEL and the security implications of selling it.

The report urged the NCP to recommend to federal government to include NITEL and MTEL in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bail out intervention fund with a total sum equivalent to $1 billion USD to be refunded with interest over a period of five years.

And in a related development, the House, yesterday, also accused the federal government of lacking the political will to stop the activities of oil pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves operating in the coastal region of Nigeria.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Zakary Mohammed, who made the accusation at a media chat, charged the government to stop giving excuses over the menace of illegal oil bunkering but tackle the challenge decisively if it wanted to bring it to an end.

Mohammed urged the government to strengthen the capacity of security agencies to protect the oil pipelines and apply sanctions against anybody or agency that failed in the discharge of their responsibilities.

He blamed the current revenue shortfall and the cash crunch affecting all the three tiers of government on crude oil theft and called for a concerted effort to bring it to an end before it does more harm to the economy.

"We are sick and tired of excuses on this issue. Those involved in this illegal business are not ghosts and we know that the challenge is not insurmountable if government has the political will to fight it. We see this as economic sabotage and we should be more creative in tackling it.

Meanwhile, the House has proceeded on another short break to conclude its oversight functions on government agencies.

The House, which resumed plenary on Tuesday, would suspend sittings for two weeks and would resume plenary on October 22. Also Thursday, the House urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in conjunction with the Edo State Ministry of Environment to visit the areas affected by the recent flood in Benin City and assist the victims.



Source: Thisday

　

　

　

Nigeria's got talent returns with season two

From from: General Manager, Brand Asset, Airtel Nigeria, Obinna Aniche; Nigeria’s Got Talent Judges, Dan Foster, Kate Henshaw and Yibo Koko at the Nigeria’s Got Talent Season 2 Press conference held in Lagos.

Auditions to hold across eight cities
Chuks Udo Okonta
The Africa’s biggest talent show, Nigeria’s Got Talent (NGT) is back for another spectacular season, Inspentech can report.

Optima Media Group, NGT’s franchise owner and lead sponsor, Airtel Nigeria made the announcement in Lagos at a media event with invited guests spanning the business, media and entertainment industries. They were supported by Malta Guinness, a co-sponsor.

The show, which is sponsored by Airtel Nigeria, will hold from October 2013 till March 2014. The audition train will begin in Abuja from　October 9, followed by Calabar on October 12. The dates for Port Harcourt, Enugu, Asaba, Benin and Ibadan are　October 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23 respectively. Lagos auditions will hold　October 26 and 27, 2013.

The world famous talent show which will be hosted this year by the enigmatic Andre Blaze, garnered rave reviews with its debut and is geared for an even more impressive outing this year with the organisers promising a plethora of surprises and the usual fun-filled excitement for its loyal viewers.

Speaking about his company’s involvement with the reality show, Airtel’s Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Emeka Oparah said the company’s sponsorship of the franchise is in sync with its vision of providing credible platforms that can help people achieve their dreams.

He said: "Airtel is extremely delighted to remain the lead sponsor of the Nigeria’s Got Talent show now in Season Two. Airtel’s association with this unique platform is hinged on our passion for celebrating and rewarding young, talented Nigerians. The Airtel brand is not just red, bold and jazzy but youthful, exciting, unique and a lot of fun.

"As a telecommunications company, there are no limits to ensuring that we provide Nigerians with impactful services and veritable platforms for empowerment and wealth creation as well as entertainment
and fun."

Managing Director, Rapid Blue Format, Rotimi Pedro, said: "It hasn’t being easy preparing for another season as all hands have been on deck to make it a blast. Gifted Nigerians, male and female of all ages with talent in acrobatics, magic display, fire eating, and others will have yet another chance to showcase their talent and a chance to walk away with the much coveted grand prize."

"It’s always inspiring to see the enormous wealth of talent here in Nigeria and how such talent is nurtured to create the stars of tomorrow," he added.

Brand Manager Malta Guinness Wole Adedeji, said: "We are committed to driving our brand passion; recognizing, celebrating and fuelling the incredible talent and energy in the Nigerian spirit. This sponsorship once again demonstrates the brand’s commitment to its target consumers; their dreams, their potentials & their talents."

The maiden edition of the Nigeria’s Got Talent was won by nine year-old, Amarachi Uyanne from Benin City who performed as a dancer all through the competition.

Asides from South Africa, Nigeria is the only African country to have　purchased　the franchise. The Got Talent franchise has produced many notable performers in the last couple of years including Diversity, Bianca Ryan and Britain’s Got Talent’s 2009 1st runner up Susan Boyle, whose debut album became the fastest selling UK debut album of all time, selling over 3 million copies in the U.S amongst others.

The franchise currently in its 9th year is one of the fastest growing international franchises, closing the gap on other successful franchises such as ‘The Weakest Link’, ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ amongst others.

For more information and regular updates, visit　http://www.gottalentnigeria.com/　and follow @naijagottalent on Twitter and like the Facebook page Nig got talent.

　

　

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Airtel Nigeria fishes rising stars in Africa

Nigerien Team, celebrating their victory as 2013 champions.

When leading telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria, came up with the ingenious idea of the ARS African Championship, not many would have envisioned the positive impact the tournament would have not only on African football but on strengthening ties, friendship and unity among the youths from the participating countries. ADEBAYO DAWODU writes that the recently concluded Championships held in Lagos, clearly signifies the potentials of tournament as a platform for promoting African unity and the hope for future African’s National teams.

Much more than medals and trophies were at stake for the 484 male and female footballers from 16 African countries who took part in the second Airtel Rising Stars Africa U-17 championship held in Lagos, Nigeria. For many of them, the competition provided tourism, music, friendship and adventure. Many also wanted so much to satisfy the yearnings to see the beautiful Nigeria they had envisioned through Nollywood and the works of her various musical artistes.

The players were drawn from Burkina Faso, Congo Brazzaville, Congo DRC, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Tchad, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. The youngsters ignored the boundaries created by language and geography as they displayed their skills and completely broke down barriers of borders and language.

In his opening speech at the Agege Township Stadium, Lagos, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, explained that ARS has provided thousands of youngsters across Africa the opportunity to exhibit their talents and crystallize the hopes of becoming future players for their respective countries.

He particularly emphasised that the championship promotes African unity with the gathering of youths across Africa, coming together to take part in the competition.

Indeed, the championship has become a reference point in youths and sports development across the African continent and it has also been predicted that it will become the benchmark for future youth tournaments in Africa.

About 75,000 boys and girls registered to participate in this year’s Airtel Rising Stars national tournament in Nigeria alone. Entries were similarly huge across the other 16 countries. Seychelles had its first national tournament in 2013 but did not send a team to the African championship. Media interest was similarly high, with DSTV and Super Sport transmitting the semi-final and final matches for both male and female categories to all of Africa and beyond.

The 2013 ARS championship provided Nigeria the opportunity to host about 600 teenagers who made up the teams as well as other officials attached to each team including the coaches, technical advisers and team chaperons.

The week-long competition enabled the teams to mingle with one another, learn about other cultures and particularly experience the sights and sound of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria.

It was a terrifying experience for most of the players who were flying for the first time. Narrating tales of their journey to Lagos from Democratic Republic of Congo, captain of the male team, Valao Empele, said, "We were afraid as we were flying in the air, but later we adjusted to the new experience. We have heard so much about Nigeria and so we could not wait to be here when we got to know that the 2013 ARS tournament would take place in Lagos. "

The players were quartered in the halls of residence in the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Yaba, and living together provided them the opportunity to relate and bond with one another after the activities of each day.

Wisdom Uforo, a member of the Nigerian U-17 male team, said the accommodation gave them the opportunity to interact with the other players. "Whenever we got back to the hostel after every match each day, whether we lost or won, we found it easy to relate with players from other countries. They asked us questions about Nigeria and likewise, we asked them about their countries too.

"I noticed that most of them have Nigerian songs on their phone and they amused us with tales about their love for Nigerian films and artistes. They said they loved to meet some of the musicians and actors. Especially the ones from the West African countries they are very interested in Nigerian films and music. We also asked them to teach us their language. It was fun and part of sportsmanship," he said. Uforo also added that some of the players loved the local Nigerian staples such as Melon (Egusi), Fufu and Yam Porridge.

A female Tanzanian player who eventually won the Highest Goal Scorer in the tournament, Shelda Boniface, said, "Being in this country for the first time is an experience that will linger in our memories for a long time. Apart from coming here to compete, we are also here to learn more about other African cultures and people. That is what a competition like this exposes players to. It is a good thing that Airtel is giving this opportunity to youths in Africa to blend. Right from the hostels to the pitch we relate with one another despite the healthy rivalry."

Defending champions Niger emerged victorious in the male category, they retained the crown they won in the first edition held in Nairobi, Kenya last year. They came into the competition and went about business with so much effectiveness and focus as they dispatched teams one after another. They won all their group matches, scoring a total of 12 goals and conceding just three goals in six matches.

Some players in the Nigerien team expressed their delight at participating in ARS competition saying that Niger and Nigeria "are like one because of the proximity."

Adebayon Adje disclosed that his father is actually a Nigerian and his mother a Nigerien. "I cannot actually say the part of Nigeria where exactly my father came from, but I know he is a Nigerian married to my mother. I have lived in Niger all my life. I like Nigerians and it is indeed a privilege for me to be here in Nigeria. I wish we could stay longer so as to know more about this country and see many places in the beautiful country," Adebayon said.

The surprise team of the tournament was Tanzania who clinched the first place trophy in the female category at the expense of Kenya. Alone strike from Donisia Daniel was all the Tanzanians needed to emerge winners and end their 20-year trophy draught in any international competition.

The Tanzanians had come into the competition as underdogs in a group that paired them with Sierra Leone, Malawi and Uganda. They however shocked bookmakers with their dramatic performance in the group opener when they defeated Sierra Leone 2-1. As the matches progressed, they lost 0-1 to Uganda and drew with Malawi. In the quarter-finals stage, they defeated DRC 4-2 and then mauled Uganda 8-1 to get into the finals.

The Nigerian teams were gallant in their respective semi-final defeats and they recovered to clinch the bronze medals for their effort. Both the male and female teams defeated their counterparts from Tanzania 2-0 and Uganda 4-1 respectively in the third place matches.

The love some of the foreign players have for Nigeria music could hardly go unnoticed at the venues where the matches were played.

The Lagos tournament featured 58 matches packed with exciting soccer actions, thrills and entertainment. The teams competed at four venues; Onikan Stadium on Lagos Island, National Institute for Sports pitch and Legacy Pitch, both at the National Stadium, Surulere and the Agege Township Stadium.

Music was regular spice at all the venues to the delight of the players. Both male and female players danced to the music played by the DJs at the various venues. From across Africa, the players were very familiar with the songs and artistes so they sang along and moved to the rhythm. Songs such as Terry G’s ‘Kona’, which is a remix of a South African song, thrilled the players. On some occasions, the supporters of the teams sang their local songs and displayed their dance steps to motivate the players.

Winding his waist, graceful switch from one dance step to the other with a wide grin, 15 year old Zambian, Shadrick Kambwili was equal to the task of gyrating. A first-timer in Nigeria, he felt very much at home and confessed that he was dancing for his team.

It was also not a particularly difficult task for Anglophone players to relate with their French-speaking counterparts as most of them were bilingual. After matches the players, in the spirit of fair play exchanged jerseys and tracksuits. Many of them exchanged phone numbers, Facebook contacts and emails in order to remain in touch.

At the semi-final stage when most of the teams were out of the tournament, majority of the boys and girls had time to watch other countries play, dance and interact with other players extensively.

For some players whose teams crashed out of the tournament after the group stage, it was an opportunity to savour the full glory of Lagos. Teams like the male DR Congo team, who suffered three straight losses in the group stage, spend the rest of the days before the finals to tour the city of Lagos and meet players from other African countries.

Kabaka Mbotama, the coach of DRC confessed that it was not all about being in Nigeria to win the tournament but the visit also offered them to see Lagos. "It is a beautiful and warm city, and we enjoyed our stay. We are happy to have been in Nigeria for the competition."

For the Rwandan male team, who suffered a similar fate in the competition like their DRC counterparts, they used the remaining days of the competition to watch other teams and learn how to improve on their skills. They also went on a sight-seeing tour of Lagos.

As if their stay could be elongated, some of the players were already getting used to the Nigerian weather, music and food towards the last days of the competition. Their ease and familiarity with their surroundings could be seen by the way they moved about and patronised the local traders at the respective venues.

However, some members of the Kenyan female team confessed to missing the traditional fresh cow milk local delicacy. 16 year old midfielder, Mary Wanjiru says she’s been consuming powdered milk which she isn’t used to. "May be that is why we are a bit weak she quickly added. Again, you like a lot of spices in your food," she claimed.

Wanjiru also revealed that she had a frightening flying experience while travelling to Nigeria for the tournament. "I have never travelled by air before. That was my first time and it was very frightening for me. I was afraid all through because that was my first time of travelling by plane," she said.

The student of Olympic High School, Nairobi and her teammate, Lucy Awino, however confessed they’re in love with Nigeria and Nollywood movies, saying they will not hesitate to return to the West African nation if given another opportunity as they will surely miss their new found friends in Lagos.

The high point for the teenagers was when multiple award-winning hip-hop artiste Tuface Idibia, set the Agege Township Stadium ablaze with hits from his impressive repertoire of music. The crowd sang along with him each song he rendered at the final ceremony. This again confirmed the appeal of Nigerian music and artistes across the continent.

The Lagos State government also showed support for the tournament which is dubbed the ‘Biggest grassroots youth football tournament in Africa". Just before the competition officially commenced, the State Commissioner of Sports, Barrister Wahid Enitan-Oshodi pledged the support of the state government. He said that, "the Championship is an international event and we are committed to it. Airtel is an international brand, a good corporate citizen with strong governance structure and we are always there to provide the needed support for the international event."

Participating countries, coaches and players had good words for the host country, Nigeria. Zambian Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Capt. Seleman Banda Phangula said, "The organisation of the event was excellent in every way. Airtel is really commended for this beautiful and praiseworthy initiative. The idea of encouraging football in Africa is good. They have been raising the standard of African football and bridging the gap in African football"

Dr Ogwel Benard Patrick, Vice President, Youth Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) also praised Airtel Nigeria for the quality of players, level of discipline and impressive organisation of this year’s tournament, saying that the it was very competitive and has set a benchmark for future tournaments.

Dr Patrick, who accompanied the Uganda male and female teams, said, "I was in Nairobi, Kenya last year and I saw the entire competition, but this year Nigeria has set a commendable benchmark as regards ARS tournament. Therefore, all African teams that are sleeping are roused from their slumber. They can see the level of skills and talents being developed through the Airtel Rising Stars so they have to wake up to the challenge in order to meet up with other African countries".

"You can see that ARS is raising best stars when it comes to African football in the U-17 category. The initiative has been motivating countries to produce quality players that will represent them. I want to commend Airtel for giving both the boys and girls this opportunity to participate," he said.

The 2013 ARS African tournament attracted high-ranking individuals not only in government circles in Nigeria but also from other African countries and beyond. Representatives of the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdulahi and the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina led the Federal Government delegation to declare the event open at the Agege Township Stadium.

Dignitaries who graced the opening ceremony include Director of Global Partnership and Business Strategy, Arsenal Football Club, Vinai Venkatesham; Director of Women Rehabilitation, Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Mercy Daodu who represented Women Affairs Minister Hajia Zainab Maina; Big Brother Africa, The Chase, Nigerian Housemates, Beverly Osu and Melvin Oduah; Commissioner of Youth & Sports, Osun State, Steven Kola Balogun; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs Nike Animashaun were some of the From other African countries came delegations, ambassadors and Presidents of Football Associations.

Arsenal legend and former France International Robert Pires led the Arsenal delegation to the U-17 African Championship, giving it additional prominence.

Google Announces Web Designer Beta As Free Download

By Peter Suciu

Search engine giant Google announced that’s its new HTML5 development tool – Google Web Designer — is available as a free download. The tool, which is now in beta, will reportedly appeal to both seasoned coders and web design novices.

"Now available: Google Web Designer! Build beautiful HTML5 content with ease," the company posted on its Google+ feed. "Google Web Designer is a new professional-quality design tool that makes HTML5 creative accessible to everyone from the professional designer to the Photoshop dabbler. Download the beta for free."

Response to the Google+ message was mostly positive, although some comments called for a Linux version. At present only a PC and Mac version has been released in the open beta.

Google’s tool is apparently designed to be a one-stop shop for creation and publishing of ads, but these don’t have to be limited to those on Google’s own DoubleClick or AdMob. While Google will make money when these ads run on its sites, it does provide the option to publish ads on "any other ad network."

The Google Web Designer app will allow users to have a complete stage for building ads, with visual editing tools as well as code view that more technically-proficient users can access. To help streamline the process users can build the HTML5 and CSS that drives an animation or have the tool build it instead.

"In Quick mode, build your animations scene by scene and we’ll take care of the frames in between. In Advanced mode, animate individual elements using layers, easily changing the location of elements within the stack," Google noted on the Web Designer site.

There is also a middle-ground option that allows users to build two scenes, where the tool can create on-the-fly animation while letting the more experienced designers animate individual layers and elements independently of one another.

There is reportedly also a 3D authoring tool that allows ad designers to rotate objects along any axis.

As noted there is both the design and code view, with the ability to flip back and forth to immediately see any changes and how these may reflect back in the designs.

While the ads can be created on a PC or Mac with Google Web Designer, the finished ads can also be viewed across a number of platforms.

"It’s evident that multi-screen consumption is the way of the future; mobile and tablet devices are becoming consumers’ first screens, so the content that is developed needs to work seamlessly across these screens," Google engineer Sean Kranzberg posted on Monday via the Double Click Advertisers Blog. "There are already more end-users in HTML5-compatible environments than there are in Flash-compatible environments, and HTML5 ad spend is expected to overtake Flash spend within the next two years."

"HTML5 is a universal language for building beautiful, engaging content that can run across desktops, smartphones, and tablets," added Kranzberg. "We think that Google Web Designer will be the key to making HTML5 accessible to people throughout the industry, getting us closer to the goal of "build once, run anywhere."

Google Web Designer is currently available in beta.

Source: Peter Suciu for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online




　

FG to Announce Framework for Broadband Implementation

By Dele Ogbodo
The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Eugene Juwah, has said arrangements have been concluded for the rollout of the framework for the implementation of the National Broadband policy before the end of October.

Juwah made the disclosure in Abuja, while briefing the media on Nigeria's preparedness to host the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) 2013 Forum and Council Meeting next week in Abuja.

Expressing delight at the attraction of investors on the broadband rollout, he said: "We have number of international consultants working on it and I can tell you that we have had a great deal of interests from the United Kingdom (UK), Europe, United States of America (USA) and China about the work we are doing but nothing comes out until the framework are well prepared by the consultants and the rules of the game for investments announced.

"This I can assure you is going to start towards the end of October this year. "You are again going to be summoned to another public forum in which all this will be discussed in details."

Juwah stated that the federal government was fully involved and was actually leading the initiative for the broadband penetration. "As you may know there is a government broadband plan, which was produced by a committee that was inaugurated by the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, recently, which was presented and approved by President Goodluck Jonathan. "NCC plays a lot of role in this plan and our earlier initiative has been keyed into this plan. The ministry and the agency of government are involved in the spade work." he said.

The EVC stated that the theme for the 2013 CTO forum which is: Innovation through Broadband has attracted well over 225 foreign delegates and experts and 20 ministers responsible for communications technology in their various countries. He said: "You know that I mentioned our excitement especially towards the theme of the forum, which is innovation through broadband . The primary objective for the implementation of broadband initiative to us are quite clear, for example, the forum will highlight regional solution to broadband which we will gain from, issues of revenue management, security challenges, which we are facing through cyber, child online protection issues.

"The forum will further demonstrate what have accrued from broadband implementation, it will highlight the benefits of social media e-governance, all of this we are working at current time and you will see that there will be contributions from all over the world. We are going to get a lot of experience apart from playing part in which Nigeria should do as member of the committee of nation."

The issue of broadband penetration according to him is transformational, adding: "That is why the federal government is involved in it. It requires a great deal of planning and funding. "And our outings in international arena have been to prepare the international audience to the opportunities that exist in Nigeria and intimate them of the plan that we have."

"The NCC initiative is actually to enable broadband implementation that would be at affordable price and its evenly distribution within Nigeria and the framework for this is not something that is done overnight." Juwah stressed.

Source: Thisday

Microsoft Investors Want Bill Gates Out as Chairman

By Kevin Parrish

Three investors want Gates out as chairman of the board, and are making waves.

Reuters reports that three of the top twenty Microsoft investors want Bill Gates to step down as chairman of the board, and are lobbying other board members to put pressure on the Microsoft co-founder. However sources claim that there's no indication the company board will actually heed the wishes of these three investors.

The news isn't all that surprising given the company is entering into a new era of devices and services. The news also arrives after CEO Steve Ballmer said last month that he is taking an early retirement within the next twelve months. Gates has been one of Ballmer's biggest supporters since he handed the CEO reigns to Ballmer back in 2000.

According to the sources, the three investors are concerned that the presence of Bill Gates, who co-founded the company 38 years ago, could block the adoption of new strategies, and limit the new CEO's power to make substantial changes. They're also worried about Gates' role on the special committee for seeking out a new CEO.

Currently Gates is the company's largest individual shareholder, owning about 4.5 percent of the $277 billion company. He owned 49 percent of Microsoft before it went public in 1986, and is now selling about 80 million Microsoft shares a year under a pre-set plan. By 2018, he is expected to have no financial stake in the company.

That said, shareholders are worried that Gates currently wields too much power, that this power is out of proportion to his declining shareholding. Of course, he is a co-founder, chairman of the board and former CEO, but sources point to his philanthropic foundation that consumes most of his time. Maybe it's time for Gates to let go and let the company flourish or wither and die on its own.

While Microsoft searches for a replacement for Ballmer, the company is gearing up to launch Windows 8.1 later this month, followed by the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets and the highly-anticipated Xbox One. Windows Phone 8.1 is expected to arrive in the spring along with another Windows 8 update, Modern UI apps for Office, and the Surface 2 LTE model.

Microsoft's shift to a devices and services company is in response to losing ground in the mobile arena to Google and Apple. The decline in the desktop market also pushed the company to design a platform that fits both the desktop and mobile form factors, and a Windows platform that works on the two leading architectures: ARM and x86. Sources claim that the Windows platform will become more unified across all devices this spring.

The Microsoft insiders told Reuters that although Bill Gates is one of the technology industry's greatest pioneers, he was more effective as a CEO than as the chairman of the board.

Source: Reuters