Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu, disclosed this during a media chat in Lagos on Thursday.
Okumu, who said that the study was carried out by Spotify, added that Kenya ranked the third.
She said that artistes including WizKid, Burna Boy, Tems and Mr Eazi ranked amongst the top five exported local artistes from Nigeria on Spotify.
She said Spotify’s presence in Nigeria over the past years had seen Nigerians go on a journey of discovery.
“Interesting facts and data gathered by Spotify reveals that the average number of artistes streamed per user locally has grown by 60 per cent.
“And 20,935 songs were added to the Spotify platform by creators, since market entry, this places Nigeria as the country with the second most streams after Pakistan, with Kenya ranking third.
“Data also revealed that of the top 10 exported songs from Nigeria, nine are collaborations between local and international hitmakers, a proof that Nigerian music is attracting worldwide attention and
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Google Global Services Nigeria have expressed determination to work together toward advancing the actualisation of auspicious national targets for ubiquitous broadband access in furtherance of Nigeria’s digital transformation policy.
This aligns with and gives unambiguous expression to NCC’s strategic vision plan centering on strategic partnership and collaboration with necessary stakeholders in order to achieve regulatory objectives.
The two organisations made the commitment when a delegation from Google Global Services Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently to deliberate on viable collaborative interventions to propel digital transformation across the country and Africa.
Receiving the Google delegation, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the Commission’s expectations, initiatives, and vision towards increasing broadband penetration, quality of service, advancement of a digital economy and commitment to improving national security through technological advancement are at the front burner of its regulatory interventions.
Underscoring the importance of such synergy between the Commission and Google, Danbatta, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services (ECTS), NCC, Engr. Ubale Maska, said the Commission looked forward to making the initiatives of both parties more impactful by enhancing cooperation between the NCC and Google Nigeria for quantifiable and remarkable impact.
The EVC expressed optimism that Google’s investment in the subsea cable, Equiano, which is expected to land in Nigeria by end of April 2022, will be more impactful in driving NCC’s ongoing implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025, aimed at increasing broadband penetration to 70 per cent by 2025.
“I am hopeful that Equiano will have additional landing points in the hinterlands through collaborative efforts with the licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to reduce retail data prices significantly and thereby complementing the Commission’s efforts at ensuring affordable Internet services are available to boost the Commission’s ongoing broadband policy drive,” he said.
Earlier in her remarks, the Director, Google West Africa, Juliet Ehimuan, who led the delegation to NCC, commended the NCC for its consultative approach in formulating regulatory policies, as engine room for optimal delivery of telecommunications services that will in turn impact the digital economy drive of the government.
She particularly applauded the Commission for its seamless, fair, credible, impartial and successful auction of the 3.5 Gigahertz spectrum for the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) in Nigeria, stating that it is evident that both the NCC and Google share a common goal.
According to Ehimuan, demands for internet services have increased the need for more capacity, and sustainable collaborations with all relevant stakeholders within the public and private sectors. She asserted that Google’s commitment of $1billion across five years in various interventions will support digital transformation in Nigeria and across Africa.
Ehimuan stated that research has proven that Africa will have an additional 300 million Internet users and Nigeria will lead in that number, given its current statistics of over 141 million internet subscribers and broadband penetration of over 40.88 percent as at January 2022.
The Equiano cable system is the third private international cable owned by Google and the 14th subsea cable invested by Google. Equiano connects Portugal and South Africa, running along the West Coast of Africa, with branching units along the way that can be used to extend connectivity to more African countries. The first branch is expected to land in Nigeria by the end of April 2022.
The autopsy scheduled to have been performed on late gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, to ascertain the cause of her death has reportedly failed to take place due to the absence of some family members.
According to sources, preliminary processes for the autopsy, however, kick-started on Thursday, April 13, 2022, at the hospital pending the arrival of the required family members.
When contacted, FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adah, confirmed that the autopsy is a key necessity because it forms a part of investigations.
“You know there have been speculations about her death. Since her husband is insisting that she died due to an illness and there are other speculations, the autopsy will clear the air. The autopsy did not hold because every party that was to be represented was not here. That is why the specialists could not do it,” she explained.
It can be recalled that 42-year-old Osinachi died on Friday, last week at the National Hospital.
He is noted for his Fante rap and freestyle and therefore known as the Fante Rap God. Apart from his rap prowess, he has grown into a very good singer taking the highlife genre by storm.
He three nomination for the upcoming VGMA23 editionin the Song writer of the category,Best highlife song and Best highlife artiste of the year.
He has dropped this amazing song titled “have mercy” click and enjoy
NPP National Youth Organizer, Henry Nana Boakye, has made a shocking revelation about the embattled Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson following a Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that he cannot act as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Assin North constituency in the Central Region.
The Apex Court by a 5:2 majority ruling said Mr Quayson, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP, can no longer perform Parliamentary duties until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court.
“The application succeeds. The MP is restrained from holding himself as MP for Assin North and restrained from attending Parliament to conduct business on behalf of the people of Assin North.
“The restriction remains until the final determination of the substantive matter. We direct that the case hearing be expedited,“ Justice Jones Dotse said.
This decision was taken in a petition brought before the Supreme Court by Michael Ankomah-Nimfa, a resident of Assin Bereku in the Central Region for the MP’s renunciation for holding a dual citizenship.
Holders of dual citizenship cannot hold certain specified offices in Ghana such as a Member of Parliament, hence it is unconstitutional and criminal for a person to hold dual nationality and be elected into such public office.
But some residents at Assin North have threatened to vote for Mr. James Quayson if he vies to be their Parliamentarian again with some also thinking the revocation of James Quayson’s MP status is a witch-hunt by the NPP.
In view of this, Nana Boakye, popularly called ‘Nana B’, has attempted to dismiss the notion that the NPP sought to deliberately harass the beleaguered MP.
He revealed that his own party, the NDC, once rejected his qualification to stand as MP on the ticket of the party for same reasons that he held dual nationality.
“They have disqualified this man two times on the same grounds when he contested to be an MP,” he said, referencing the term when Bernard Allotey Jacobs was the party’s Central Regional Chairman.
This, he said, to purportedly tell that his own party knew it was unconstitutional for him to hold dual citizenship and be an MP.
He also stressed that, “on the third time, he (James Quayson) came to tell them (NDC) that he has started the process” of renouncing his dual citizenship and that is when they accepted him to stand as Assin North MP.
Former President John Mahama has described Supreme Court’s ruling that barred the Assin North MP, Gyakye Qayson, from performing parliamentary duties as a misrepresentation of justice.
The 2020 NDC flagbearer, in a Facebook post on Thursday, said the apex court’s ruling is a deliberate display of disrespect to the country’s democracy.
“The representation of the people is at the heart of our democracy. Therefore, any decision that denies the citizenry of representation is a travesty of justice and an affront to our democracy,” Mr Mahama said.
In a majority 5-2 decision on Wednesday, April 13, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Gyakye Quayson can no longer perform parliamentary duties.
This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court
“I cannot understand how an MP can be restrained from carrying out his duties when the substantive case to give finality to the question of his legitimacy has not been determined.
“Or is it the case that the outcome of the substantive case has been predetermined against him?” John Mahama quizzed.https://2b22556ba3be22c249c4c6218b6c0599.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice said the embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, should be made to face the same fate as the former New Patriotic Party’s Adamu Sakende.
The late Adamu Sakende was sentenced to two years imprisonment for owing allegiance to Ghana and Burkina Faso when he contested the election to be Bawku Central MP, which he subsequently won.
Godfred Dame believes that the cases are the same hence similar principles must be applied, and the law ought to be equally applied in the case of James Gyakye Quayson.
”I think that there ought to be an even application of the law, the same fate that befell Adamu Sakande, who was not qualified at the time that nominations were opened, and we all know what happened to him.https://2b22556ba3be22c249c4c6218b6c0599.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
“Adamu Dramani Sakande found himself in a similar situation. As a result, he was not qualified by the time nominations were opened and was subsequently declared ineligible, and, for that matter, his seat was taken away.
“So there has to be an even application of the law. If it happened to Adamu Sakande of the NPP, it should happen to a gentleman of the NDC who finds himself in the same situation.”
However, CDD Fellow, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, is confident the Court will call for by-elections for the constituency.
As result, he has advised the Assin North MP to officially resign and run for the bye-election.https://2b22556ba3be22c249c4c6218b6c0599.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
He further urged the legislator to try and win the election to “show us how wrong we do things and how inconsistent, and how incoherent our jurisprudence has become.”
Skyy FC coach Abdul Malik Mohammed expressed his disappointment after his team was eliminated from the MTN FA Cup on Thursday.
The second-tier side were hoping for a huge upset, but Hearts of Oak demonstrated a great display and won 1-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
“I was a little bit disappointed with the performance especially in the first half because what we planned to do somewhere along the line, the boys failed to do it.”
“Sincerely speaking we could have done better in the first half like what we did in the second half. Unfortunately, the goal we conceded is something that we worked on, but a slight loss of concentration cost us,” he told StarTimes.
Patrick Razak scored the decisive goal in the second half after receiving an intelligent pass from Gladson Awako.
As a result, the Phobians are still on track to successfully defend the trophy they won last season and end the current campaign with a trophy.
Razak, the hero in the President’s Cup victory over Asante Kotoko, finished brilliantly 24 minutes from time.
It was a fantastic team move that resulted in the goal, which the Phobians deserved having dominated the game from the start.
Skyy FC’s home ground in Daboase has been closed due to hooliganism, so the match was played at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The second-tier team struggled in a new environment.
Hearts of Oak join other top-flight clubs Bechem United, Aduana Stars and Dreams FC in the semi-finals.
The Phobians will face Dreams FC while Bechem take on Aduana in a regional derby.
The FA Cup final will be played at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyapong is succeeding as a businessman today because a sitting President under the NDC, John Evans Atta Mills, chose to save his business instead of collapsing it as his party people were urging him to.
Dr. Agyepong made this disclosure himself when he spoke at the 6th John Evans Atta Mills Memorial Lecture at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho, the regional capital of the Volta region over the weekend.
Established in 2006, and with NPP leaving power in 2008, there was pressure on the new NDC government led by Atta Mills to “retaliate” by collapsing companies perceived to be backers of the NPP.
But President Atta Mills, known for his “father-for-all” and “asomdwee” policy refused.
Atta Mills himself approached Jospong to confess to him that there is pressure on him to kill his business but he should rest assured he won’t.
Jospong was speaking at the 6th Memorial Lecture for Mills.
“One day during the launch of one of our subsidiaries, we received a call that the late former President was coming but we didn’t know what to do and expect, but he came and told me I won’t collapse your business, although calls have been made to collapse it because you were established during the reigns of the previous administration,” Jospong told the gathering.
Not only did Mills not touch his business, but the late former President also helped him to grow more by facilitating an $80 million loan in 2012 to start the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant which now processes 1,200 tonnes of waste daily in Medie Kokoku area.
The theme for the lecture was “Sustaining Environmental Sanitation Gains Through Specialized Education” and was delivered by Dr Siaw Agyepong.
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin who is now cooperating with the government in the conduct of business has seen concerns being raised about his new looks after he underwent a first, second and third medical review in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The exact nature of what sickness ails Mr. Speaker Alban Bagbin is not public knowledge, but it is noted that he has lost considerable weight, looking emaciated and tired compared to his looks on in early 2021 when he was elected.
Attention was drawn to the health of the Speaker of Parliament after he left Ghana on November 27, 2021, to Dubai to undergo what was said to be a routine medical review. He returns two weeks later in December 2021 only to return for a second on January 7, 2022.
After returning from his second medical checkup on January 23, he was expected to Jet off again in March 2022 for a third review that now raised eyebrows.
During his first trip, Mr. Bagbin was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Alice Adjua Yornas, Head of Parliamentary clinic, Dr. Prince Kofi Pambo, the Speaker’s Secretary, and his aide.
He embarked on his first medical trip a day after he presided over Parliament’s chaotic developments that saw the Members of the Majority side of Parliament staging a walkout during processes to approve the 2022 budget and the House’s subsequent rejection of the same.
This led to Members of the Majority Caucus expressing worry about what they say is the ‘frequent absence’ of the Speaker from the House, especially when the Electronic Transactions Levy Bill (E-levy) was expected to be re-submitted for discussion.
A Supreme Court ruling eventually provided a way out even after the government found a conduit to convince the Speaker to cooperate with the government in parliament.
