Starlink suspends new orders across Nigeria

Elon Musk’s Starlink says it has suspended orders for its residential kits across Nigeria with a note that the suspension will be lifted after securing approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its recently announced price increment.

The company, however, allows orders for its high-end Business Plan, in which it is allowed to charge N159,000 for a monthly subscription compared with the Residential Plan which costs N38,000 per month.

“We’re committed to providing high-speed internet in Nigeria and are working closely with regulators to make adjustments that will improve the customer experience.

“Until these changes are approved, we are placing new Residential orders on hold,” the company stated in response to an attempt to order its kits.

Starlink sold out in some cities

Earlier, Starlink had stopped new orders in five major cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Benin City and Warri because it was at capacity in those areas.

However, the current suspension cuts across Nigeria and it is hinged on the need to increase prices; a move that the regulator had frowned at.

Demand for Starlink services in Nigeria has soared since the Space X-linked company officially launched in the country in January last year.

Starlink had on the last day of September announced a 97% price increase for its monthly subscription from N38,000 to N75,000.

For new users, the company also increased the Starlink kits (hardware) by 34% from N440,000 to N590,000.

The company in a message to its customers in Nigeria cited “excessive inflation” as the reason for the increment.

The announcement had sparked controversy in the Nigerian telecom sector as local operators accused the NCC of double standard for allowing Starlink to increase price, which they are not allowed to do despite years of appeal to the regulator.

The NCC, however, responded saying it did not approve Starlink’s price increment.

The telecom regulator pointed out that Starlink’s action contravened sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, and its license conditions regarding tariffs.

NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, later announced that the commission had commenced pre-enforcement actions against Starlink for implementing price increments without the approval of the regulator.

With the rebuttal from the telecoms regulator, Starlink suspended the announced increment with a warning that “without these approvals, our ability to continue delivering service is at risk.”

The company noted that while it is committed to providing high-speed internet in Nigeria, it would need regulatory support to make the improvements necessary for a better customer experience.

By Philip Shimnom Clement, Daily Trust

At least 50 insurgents killed, seven Nigerian officers missing after convoy attack

At least 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed on Tuesday and seven members of Nigeria's infrastructure security force were missing following an insurgent ambush on a convoy monitoring the country's power grid installations, a spokesperson said.

Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency for 15 years mainly in the northeast, has been weakened by the military and internal fighting but remains a threat as it makes deadly attacks against civilians and government targets.

Babawale Afolabi, spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Defence Corp, a government agency set up to protect infrastructure, said security operatives were ambushed by about 200 Boko Haram fighters during the patrol mission.

Afolabi said more than 50 insurgents were killed in the fighting but seven operatives were missing, adding that efforts are underway to find them in the bush. He said "a few others" of the security force were wounded.

Although Boko Haram mainly operates in the northeast, Nigerian authorities say the group has cells in the largely Muslim Niger state, where they have previously carried attacks against the military and civilians.
In a separate attack in northeast Borno state, a military spokesperson said five soldiers were killed by suspected insurgents last Saturday. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Dangote Plant Buys US Oil for First Time in 3 Months

Nigeria’s giant Dangote refinery purchased its first shipment of US oil after a hiatus of three months as the site continues to ramp up production.

The plant purchased about two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp., according to people with knowledge of the transaction who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The cargo is due to be delivered to the refinery near Lagos next month.

Earlier this year, Dangote was typically receiving one or two supertankers of US crude every month alongside domestic supplies. But the flows waned in the summer as the refinery switched to taking more local output, amid an agreement to take up to 400,000 barrels a day of Nigerian crude paid for in local currency.

Dangote is taking a growing role in US and European oil markets, after gradually raising purchases of crude from Nigeria and the US. The plant’s pull on those barrels increases the competition for the oil faced by traditional buyers in Europe.

Chevron booked the supertanker Azure Nova to load crude from the US Gulf around Dec. 5 to Dangote, according to tanker fixtures seen by Bloomberg. It wasn’t clear why the refinery had returned to purchasing US barrels. Earlier this week though, Sparta Commodities said in a note that cheaper shipping costs were the main factor in WTI Midland landing cheaply into Europe recently.

The refinery is also beginning to shake up regional fuel markets, hauling gasoline beyond Nigeria’s borders to Togo earlier this month. 

By Sherry Su and Bill Lehane, Bloomberg

Mining Week sharpens focus on long-neglected sector in Nigeria

Nigeria concluded a three-day conference Wednesday to mark National Mining Week. Authorities in the West African nation have been seeking to expand investments in the mining industry in a bid to diversify the economy, amid the global surge in demand for minerals.

The conference, attended by government officials, mining industry players and international investors, was part of the Nigerian government's campaign to boost not only mining, but also local processing of the minerals extracted.

Earlier this year, the Nigerian government said new investors will be required to set up local processing plants if they want to obtain a mining license.

Mary Ogbe, permanent secretary of the mining and solid minerals industry, spoke about the impending changes.

"Before now, people will come in, cart away our minerals and go and refine [them] and bring [them] back and then we're paying so much on what belongs to us,” she said. “Now, with the local value addition, no one is allowed to legally carry out our products without adding value. Now, this is creating jobs.”

Nigeria has rich deposits of more than 40 minerals, including tin, iron ore, lead, zinc and gold. The country is also a new source of lithium, a metal used in batteries and electric vehicles.

But the country's minerals are often illegally exploited and exported without generating much revenue locally.

At the summit authorities pledged to address the problem by investing in mining technologies, surveillance, data gathering, community enlightenment and enforcement of mining laws.

In March, authorities deployed 2,500 agents to police unauthorized mining activities.
This week, the government said the “Mining Marshal Corps” has arrested more than 300 illegal miners, including foreign nationals.

But economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice Eze Onyekpere said authorities are still not doing enough to boost income from the mining sector.

"It's been a mantra of successive governments to improve government revenue by diversifying into the solid minerals sector, but we're getting very infinitesimal sum of money from solid minerals mining,” he said. “And it's not as if we don't have enough solid minerals or that mining is not taking place, it is because solid minerals mining has been converted to a criminal activity especially in those areas where there's security threats and crisis but the federal government has not taken it seriously."

Despite the government's lofty goals, the mining sector contributed only about 0.77% of Nigeria’s GDP last year.

Onyekpere says until the government gets more serious, Nigeria's mining industry will not be able to reach its potential.

By Timothy Obiezu, VOA 

Related story: Nigeria government cracks down on illegal Lithium mining operations

Video - Health workers relieved as mpox vaccination campaign starts in Nigeria

The government started the long-delayed program on Monday. The effort targets medics and those with low immunity. Now fully protected, many health workers say they feel confident they can help curb the spread of the virus.

CGTN