Chams News

The topic of a National Identity Management System for the federation which for over 3 years was questioned by a plethora of concerns bordering on fraud and an anticipated slipshod of implementation has finally received endorsement as the Board of the National Identity Management Commission signed an agreement with two private firms - Chams Consortium and One SecureCard Consortium to provide data capture and related services for the programme.

Speaking at the signing of the new deal with representatives of the two consortia, the Chairman of the NIMC Board at the weekend, Prince Uche Secondus, said that government has put everything in place to ensure the sustainability of the project.
He said the planning of the project had taken three years for the agreement to be reached, adding that nothing good comes easy.

Chams Consortium is made up of Chams Plc and Nextzon Communications while One SecureCard Consortium is made up of Interswitch Nigeria Limited, SecureID and Iris Technologies.
Speaking on behalf of the consortia, the Managing Director of Chams Plc, Mr. Demola Aladekomo, noted that for a country the size of Nigeria not to have a robust and viable National Identity Management system was scandalous.
According to him, “for a country with over 150 million people, and immense resources like Nigeria not to have a sound, secure and sustainable identity system that will stand the test of time, is a scandal. Therefore, we are committed towards creating this new beginning that would lead the way in the image and identity management for the people of this country.”

“We are grateful to government for this opportunity; it is going to be a major challenge for us and our partners, and we would require a lot of money to execute this successfully. However, we believe that this ceremony will introduce a breath of new and fresh air in the identity management system for Nigerians,” he added.

The NIMC chairman observed that signing of the contract marks the “beginning of the process to deliver a National Identity Database of 100 million enrollments over the next 30 months.”

He said the board has ensured that there will be no job losses for those who have integrity and the right mindset for the operation of a national identity management system in Nigeria.

“This giant step is a necessary commitment that signifies Federal government’s resolve to partner with the private sector to deliver important social infrastructure that would enable government to deliver on its important responsibilities – securing lives and property, access to consumer credit and a host of other services that would touch the lives of the poor amongst us and improve our image as a nation.”  he said.

According to Secondus, the task ahead would be more challenging - that of sourcing for funds to finance the roll-out plans and instituting the necessary security control and protocol as well as the need for technology transfer.
He assured the consortia of the support and cooperation of the board towards the successful completion of the project.

Secondus observed that in putting the agreement in place, government has learnt from mistakes of the past, and has put everything in place to ensure the sustainability of the project.

“Above all, we have ensured that there will be no job losses for those who have integrity and the right mindset for the operation of a National Identity Management system in Nigeria,” he added.
He nonetheless assured the consortia of the support and cooperation of the Board towards the successful completion of the project.

The Managing Director of Interswitch Nigeria Limited and head of the One SecureCard Consortium Mr. Mitchell Elegbe added that the task of creating the national identity management system is a huge task but having being chosen were committed to deliver an effective, efficient, secure and transparent identity management system.

Rural Dwellers itching to enjoy the benefits of wide growing technological exploits of Nigeria like their counterparts in the urban areas, finally received a reprieve at last as Chams Access, a subsidiary of Chams Plc charged with the responsibility of the deployment of multi-transactional self- service terminals and Automated Teller Machines concluded plans to launch rural-based mobile internet units across Nigeria.

According to the firm, the project is made possible with the partnership of National Information Development Agency (NITDA).

Speaking to the Project Manager from ChamsAccess - Mr. Biodun Ademoye, he said that the project when completed, is expected to help improve access of rural dwellers to IT-based transactions and communications facilities. He further explained that the deployment of ChamsAccess booths and kiosks would provide facilities for internet browsing, Automated Teller Machines, point of Transaction terminals and complementary services such as telephony, e-ticketing, recharge card vending, bill payments among others.

He added that the ChamsAccess/NITDA initiative is a strategic partnership which aims to enhance universal access to information and communication technologies in the rural areas of Nigeria and improve quality of lives of people through the Rural Information Technology Centres that government would be helping to establish across the country.
“We believe that technology can help improve the quality of lives of people and in Nigeria, the rural areas are often the places that are not easily reached. We have therefore taken this challenge to bring technology tools closer to the rural dwellers so that they too can be part of the global IT revolution,” Ademoye stated.

The firm is also set to inaugurate the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Rural Information Technology Centre (RITC) in a formal ceremony to be held at the Guard Brigade headquarters in Abuja . However, the event according to Ademoye, would be a prelude to other centres, spread across rural communities in 85 Local Government Areas of the Federation.

He added that with this project, Nigeria would achieve an improved e-readiness status and effectively implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework for Rural Information Technology Centres.  It will also contribute significantly to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Index.

The Director General of the Agency, Prof. Cleopus Angave stated that the RITC project was aimed at creating massive information Technology awareness and providing access to undeserved communities in Nigeria.
He observed that the penetration of ICT in Nigeria was more concerntrated in the urban areas, which consequently affects the nation’s desire to join the global trend of building an all inclusive information society. He therefore stressed the need to concretize efforts in surmounting major challenges of the digital divide between the urban centres and the rural settlement.

He also noted that under public private partnership with Chams Access, the ICT gap in the nation would be bridged in order to establish an integral new global economy driven by ICT.

As part of efforts to improve the quality and security of lives in Anambra State, the state government has engaged Chams Plc, as consultants to pilot its Identity Management Programme (IMP), which will enable it bring governance closer to the teeming populace through the availability of demographic data which will aid planning at State and Local Government levels. 

The Identity Management Programme (IMP) is in line with the commitment of the Anambra State Government to meet all set millennium development goals, while enthroning fiscal responsibility as matter of necessity, given the strategic economic significance of Anambra State to the South East, and Nigeria, at large.

Speaking on the project, The Project Manager, Michael Oglegba says the scheme will improve security of lives, aid the close monitoring of the growth pace of the population, and would  entail the development, management and maintenance of an automated and centralized database of all taxpaying persons in Anambra State, with the aim of improving the Internally generated revenue of the state.

Oglegba further explained that the exercise would involve filling of personal data while facilities would be made available to capture the individual’s photograph and biometrics. He said that the successful implementation of the project would extensively contribute to the state’s multi sectoral development strategy and further highlighted on the viable likely hood of notable success upon implementation as all existing revenue collection platforms were to be centralized via the Pay collect platform which represents the improved version of pay direct, a solution produced by ChamsSwitch Limited- a subsidiary of Chams Plc

Also speaking was the Special Adviser to the Governor on IGR- Mrs. Victoria Obinwa. She said that the programme was for the good of everybody as it would facilitate town planning and called on the organized private sector to support it.

The Commissioner of finance Mr. Eze Echesi, indicate that the scheme would help extensively in the easy identification of people in the state and said it was a commendable decision made by the Anambra state Government whilst expressing hope that the revolutionary innovation would be deployed in other states of the federation.

Chams Plc remains Nigeria’s leading ICT firm established in 1985 and has many firsts to its name. Chams was recently listed in the Guinness world records having erected the World’s largest Digital mall- ChamsCity equipped with over 1000 fully networked PC’s. A conspicuous contribution to the promotion of ICT in the country.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria has successfully used an electronic voting application developed by Naira.com, a business unit of Nigeria's leading ICT firm, Chams Plc.

Naira.com, formerly known as Chams.Net, as a technology partner to the Institute, developed the e-voting application to facilitate the conduct of a transparent, cost-effective and efficient voting exercise.

The application afforded the members of the Institute the chance to vote electronically at the April election of new council members during the Institute's annual general meeting held on Thursday in Lagos using the high-end all-in-one Mac Computers provided by Naira.com. 

According to the Registrar of the Institute, Mallam Musa Rabiu, the decision to adopt an e-Voting application is in line with the Institute's vision to be the foremost people management Institute in Africa, respected across the world. He said he was very convinced that application of Information Technology could simplify a lot of things that are currently done manually. “I am a convert of electronic voting and wish that it is deployed in other elections in the country. It has really made things easier and transparent for all to see,” he said.

The General Manager, Naira.com, Ms. Juliet Ehimuan, said it was gladdening that a professional body as CIPM had taken the lead in terms of use of e-Voting to handle its election. She said that the application, which had many rich features, is the effort of her firm's in-house software developers.

Speaking about Naira.com, Ehimuan said its flagship platform, www.naira.com , is a one-stop portal, with a payment gateway that accepts international cards such as Visa and all local payment cards in circulation.

Prior to the actual elections, the decision to use the e-Voting application by CIPM during its AGM elicited some concerns from members. However, after they experienced the use of the application, they exuded full satisfaction at the ease it had brought into their elections; since the results were announced immediately.

Head of Operations, Naira.com, Miss Lape Mobolaji-Lawal, said the application is just one part of the solution being delivered by Naira.com to CIPM, noting that the firm was helping to automate the entire internal processes of the Institute.

She said the application is a world-class online voting system, very user friendly and can be customised to suit any organisation's similar needs. CIPM members, who used the application, expressed delight at the fact that electronic voting has been allowed and used by professional bodies.

Chams Plc, Nigeria’s home grown ICT firm with pioneer status in identity management, payment and transactional services has unveiled yet another strategic business unit- ChamsVarsity. A decision made to fulfill its promise of providing world class information technology education.
The setting up of ChamsVarsity is an extension of the company’s vision of creating a strong army of well equipped and knowledgeable ICT professionals who will champion Nigeria’s emergence as an ICT super power.
Dean of ChamsVarsity, Mrs. Omoyemi Oluleye, affirmed this by saying that ChamsVarsity has presently designed a curriculum that extends beyond the technical aspect of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), but comprises techno-management courses for industry requirements.
Chams Varsity would boost training modules mapped out to cater for ICT training needs of individual students seeking basic computer knowledge and ICT professionals desirous of filling knowledge gaps or updating ICT skills of their staff especially in the core areas where Chams Plc has core competence, which is identity management, payment and transactional systems, card technology and software development. She noted that this follows on the heels of its pioneering ChamsVarsity management trainee programme; a 5-year old management course with a vast and multi-faceted curriculum.
“We have been training our staff as well as staff from other companies requiring our expertise for years and we finally realized that with our purpose built ChamsCity complexes across Nigeria, over 4,000 internet ready workstations and a corps of well qualified ICT facilitators, we could provide Nigerians with a world class ICT training facility comparable to the best anywhere in the world,” she said.
She pointed out that the institution located inside the multi-purpose ChamsCity buildings in Abuja, Lagos, Benin and Port Harcourt, boasts of a world class faculty with staff drawn from premier ICT universities in the world as well as curriculum that will prepare its students for excellent rich and rewarding career especially in areas of networking, project management, management information systems, amongst others.
Chams Plc with this forte adds another feather to its innovative and pioneering hat.

THE Board of Directors of Supercard Limited has announced the voluntary retirement of the pioneer chairman of the company, Prof. Adebayo Dada Akinde.

In the same token, the board has announced the appointment of Mr. Demola Aladekomo as the new chairman.

Akinde is a renowned professor of Computer Science from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife (OAU). He is reputed to have propelled the company through extensive research and development (R&D), sound leadership and corporate governance culture from a financial loss-making position to profitability.

The professor said he "had to leave the stage for a young, energetic and dynamic successor to lead the company to even greater heights and profitability, increased market share and relevance in world Technologies"

Aladekomo, referred to as a genius with irrepressible appetite for birthing and adapting technologies with a burning desire to make Nigeria the technological hub of the world, is a versatile and successful Computer Engineer with over 25 years experience.

He is the pioneer Managing Director of Chams Plc, a company that is reputed to have contributed immensely to the technological advancement of Nigeria.

Chams Plc under Aladekomo is responsible for developing several groundbreaking technologies in Nigeria, the conceptualization and formation of Valucard Plc, the first electronic card payment firm, that involved several banks in Nigeria. Chams is reputed to have set up the largest card personalization plant in the world in its Abuja office with the capacity to produce 1.75 million cards per day. Chams Plc recently placed Nigeria on the world map when two of its Chams Cities (digital mall and online transaction centres) in Lagos and Abuja were certified by the Guinness Book of World records as the largest centres in the world.

Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of Supercard Ltd. Mr. Femi Williams was full of glowing appreciation to the outgoing chairman whom he described as having led the company to such enviable heights. Williams also said with an air of assurance that, he had no doubt about the quality of leadership that Aladekomo, the new chairman, would be bringing to the firm.

Supercard Limited, a member of Chams Plc group of companies, has grown over the years to become an active player in the identification and electronic-payment space. The company is reputed to possess the best skills and competence in biometrics technology in Nigeria. These skills have been deployed successfully to assist many state governments, educational institutions and embassies in Nigeria.

Supercard is known to have pioneered the issuance of multi- application cards in Nigeria while also in the advanced stage of launching what promises to be a revolutionary new card scheme to be called SmartID. SmartID will be the first real multi-application smart card with several solutions on one card.

(The Guardian, January 13, 2010 )             

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted two Nigerian firms, Chams Access Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Chams Plc, and Cooperative Support Services, licenses to operate Independent Automated Teller Machine consortium services.
 A statement from the firm described the development as a continuation of plans by the apex bank to remove the ownership and control of ATMs located outside banking premises (off-site ATMs) from commercial banks and hand them over to independent firms.
The CBN, in a circular issued on April 8, 2009, had set the deadline for June 30, 2009 for banks to hands-off control of the off-site ATMs and invited bids from interested firms to take over control of the machines.
However, it became apparent to the apex bank that this date was not feasible and subsequently moved the deadline to March 31, 2010. The CBN, through another circular issued on August 27, 2009, subsequently stated that the extension of the deadline became necessary in order to ensure success of the exercise and proper commencement of operations of the emerging consortia.
The circular said the apex bank was taking appropriate steps to facilitate the appointment of a number of ATM consortia to effect the current policy of redeploying offsite ATMs, adding that it had received applications from some registered financial companies in this regard.
Besides Chams and CSS, other firms that applied include Nigeria‘s leading transaction switching firm, Interswitch Nigeria Limited, Computer Warehouse Group, Value card Nigeria and XL Management Nigeria Limited. Others are International Payment Devices Limited, Infotech Nigeria and Joe Hans Technologies Limited.
A copy of the license issued by the CBN, dated December 14, 2009, said the firms, Chams and CSS, had been granted Approval-in-Principle to each of the firms to operate as ATM consortium in Nigeria. It added that it would, however, conduct a post-Approval-in-Principle visit to the firms in April 2010 to ensure their readiness and compliance with our requirements.
The statement added that a major reason for the issuance of the new licenses was the failure of ATM-Consortium Limited to effectively deploy machines in sufficient numbers across the country for use. Out of the 8,567 ATMs installed in Nigeria so far, ATM Consortium accounts for just 145, which translates to 1.7 per cent.
So far, United Bank for Africa Plc leads in ATM deployment with 1,577 and is followed by Intercontinental Bank Plc with 1,327 and First Bank with 1,065. Given the fact that approximately 60 per cent of ATMs installed are at non-banking locations, ATM Consortium still accounts for a meagre eight per cent of installed ATMs, a situation that means that banks are still in-charge of over 97 per cent of non-banking site machines.
The Head, Cooperate Affairs, Chams Plc, Mr. Idowu Logile, confirmed the issuance of the license to he firm by CBN, noting that the development represented a major accomplishment for the firm. He added that the firm had been in the forefront of electronic payment in Nigeria and that it had planned to deploy over 5,000ATMs across the country within a short period.
He added that besides the ATM machines, Chams had also secured $26m funding for the deployment of additional 40,000 points of transaction terminals across Nigeria. He said these new additions would make electronic payment machines much closer to Nigerians in the country.

(Daily Champion, January 3, 2010.)

 

Chams PLC , the Information and Communication Technology firm, has been assigned a ”Bbb”rating  by Agusto & Co, the world acclaimed research and credit rating company. Agusto says the triple B rating reflects strong attributes of Chams PLC including adequate working capital, low leverage and stable management. The rating also takes into account Chams’ declining but satisfactory profitability and weak operating cash flows resulting from high trade debts because of delays in payments on public sector contracts, which however suggest a stable outlook for Chams.

Incorporated on September 10, 1985 as Chams Nigeria Limited and operating in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, Chams converted to a public limited company in 2007.  The Nigerian Stock Exchange listed its shares on its main board on September 2, 2008, creating a new division to accommodate the new entrant.The Company successfully raised N7.8billion capital in 2008 to fund its expansion plans. With the fresh injection of capital, Chams has floated two new subsidiaries, invested in new infrastructure and equipment across its business units and subsidiaries.  Moving ahead, the company plans to set up 30 digital malls with a combined capacity of 30,000 units of networked Apple PCs in its world acclaimed Chamscity Digital malls. Two ChamsCity Digital Malls are already functional in Lagos and Abuja.

Operations at Chams have evolved over the years from computer maintenance and networking services to the supply and provision of card based technology products and services. Chams’ business is structured into five business units comprising Public Sector and Projects; Terminals & Printers; Chams.net and ChamsCity plus the Data Centre. The Company has six subsidiaries namely; Supercard Nigeria Limited, CardCentre Nigeria Limited, ChamsAccess Limited, Chams Mobile Limited, and ChamsSwitch Limited. PayMaster Nigeria Limited is also affiliated to Chams Plc.

The rating of Chams Plc (“Chams” or “the Company”) reflects the Company’s adequate working capital, low leverage and stable management. The rating also takes into account the Company’s declining but satisfactory profitability and weak operating cash flows resulting from high trade debts on account of delays in payments by the public sector contractees. We believe that outlook for Chams is stable.

In 2008, the Company successfully raised ₦7.8 billion capital to fund its expansion plans. With the fresh injection of capital, Chams has floated two new subsidiaries; invested in new infrastructure and equipment across its business units and subsidiaries. Going forward, the Company plans to set up thirty digital malls with a combined capacity of 30,000 networked Apple computer units. As at December 2009, two digital malls have been established in Lagos and Abuja. The Company was incorporated on 10 September, 1985 as Chams Nigeria Limited operating in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. Chams converted to a public limited liability company in 2007 and its shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on 2 September 2008.

Over the years, the Company’s operations have evolved from computer maintenance and networking services to the supply and provision of card based technology products and services. Chams’ business is structured into five business units comprising Public sector and Projects; Terminals & Printers; Chams.net and ChamsCity and the Data Centre. The Company has six subsidiaries namely Supercard Nigeria Limited (88%), Card Centre Nigeria Limited (99%), ChamsAccess Limited (100%), Chams Mobile Limited (100%) and Chams Switch Limited (100%). Chams Plc is also affiliated to Paymaster Nigeria Limited (38%).

Unlike the first edition of the Chams Theatre Series where English and Yoruba adaptations of D.O. Fagunwa's ‘Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole' by dramatists Femi Osofisan and Akinwumi Isola ran once in four cities, this year's edition will have an extended run.

‘Ireke Onibudo: The Fabulous Adventures of A Sugarcane Man' and ‘Agbara Ife', the English and Yoruba adaptations of Fagunwa's ‘Ireke Onibudo' by the same playwrights, will be unveiled in 11 performances times in four cities.

Osofisan's adaptation, directed by Tunde Awosanmi, will premiere at the National Theatre, Lagos, on Saturday, November 7 while Isola's adaptation, directed Kola Oyewo, will premiere the following day at the same venue.

Computer Hardware and Maintenance Services (Chams) Plc, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT), company came up with the initiative last year, in a bid to revive live theatre and promote cultural values in Nigeria.

‘Ogboju Ode...' the first offering, toured Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Lagos and Abuja. Akure is replacing Ile-Ife on the production itinerary this year; and the Yoruba adaptation will only show in Lagos, Ibadan and Akure (in Fagunwa's home state of Ondo).

Similarly, there will be special screenings for students in all the four cities to allow them to experience live theatre and share in its appeals and tradition.

A strategic intervention

In a speech read on his behalf by Idowu Logile, ahead of a preview of the play on Friday, October 16 at the University of Ibadan, Chams managing director Demola Aladekomo, explained that promoting positive values is still the focus of the intervention.

"We are glad to restate that the Chams Theatre Series is a strategic intervention and contribution to the rejuvenation of the arts and stage culture in Nigeria. It is also a means of promoting our culture and re-orientating Nigerians to the values that we hold dear. We believe those values should propel action in our society," Aladekomo said.

Onerous task

Osofisan, the consultant to Chams on the series, disclosed that it was not easy translating and adapting the story for the stage.

For those who might have expected ‘Igbo Olodumare' to be adapted this year, Osofisan explained that he and Isola chose ‘Ireke Onibudo' because ‘Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole...' and its sequel, ‘Igbo Olodumare', are about a hunter- soldier, unlike ‘Ireke Onibudo' which is about a normal person.

The renowned playwright also explained how he settled for the title of his adaptation. "Literarily it could mean the ‘The Sugarcane of the Camp Guardian, or of the Camp Settler, or of the Head of the House', etc. These translations, however, would not make sense in the context in which Fagunwa employs it.

So I had to look further than this. And I found out, from Yoruba scholars such as Pa Faleti and my collaborator Akinwumi Isola that the more familiar use of this term is in ‘Kiniun Onibudo', which is to be found in the oriki of the famous war General of Ibadan, Balogun Ogunmola.

"The more I thought about this, therefore, the more convinced I became, that Fagunwa must have had this oriki in mind, in deciding on the title of his book.

Since kiniun (lion) refers to a warrior, and the main topic of his own book is not war but love, I believe it was just logical (and brilliant) for him to look for substitute for ‘kiniun', and so came to the equivalent in ‘ireke' (sugarcane)".

Osofisan commended Chams for choosing to sustain public interest in Fagunwa's works and reviving cultural heritage. "This is very unique, and boldly unusual, in Nigeria's experience of art sponsorship... [Chams] offers, free to live audiences, a vivid experience of theatre that our people yearn for everywhere, but which for various reasons has become very rare to see these days in our cities," he said.

Do your own

The respected Isola also acknowledged Fagunwa's creativity and echoed Osofisan by stating that doing the adaptation was no tea party. "Fagunwa was not constrained by time and convention in the novel form. He could have gone on and on! But stage performance is incredibly constrained by time, space, and the law of gravity."

He added, "You must have read the novel to be able to appreciate the adaptation. These are two adaptations from one source material. I hope that you find it interesting. If you are not happy with the adaptation, do your own." (Akintayo Abodunrin, next Newspaper)