Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Governor of the Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that the country’s fourth largest telecommunication firm, 9Mobile, which recently changed its name from Etisalat Nigeria, has continued to wax stronger despite the initial fears nursed by some people when its former parent company, Etisalat Group, pulled out of the business.
While addressing journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, the apex bank chief said contrary to opinion, 9Mobile recorded a growth in revenue last month.
He described the intervention of the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as necessary, saying it has been “positive.”
“The intervention has been positive, and Etisalat has retained its subscriber base. Its 4,000 staff have continued their work and, indeed, the revenue for the month of June has remained stable at not less than N16 billion.
“A lot of people, who were watching from the sidelines thought Etisalat’s revenue was going to drop drastically and that there was going to be slide to subscriber base, but that was not the case,” the CBN boss said.
However, Mr Emefiele emphasised that the newly constituted board would quit maximum in six months’ time.
“The intervention through the institutionalisations of an interim board, headed by the regulators, I must say here is temporary and our plan is that it should not take more than maximum 90 to 180 days,” he informed newsmen.
He explained that, “We only came in to say, ‘please gentlemen, we understand all your interests in this company either you are a creditor or stakeholder, let’s take things easily so that we do not hurt the interest of others who also have interest in this company.”
Giving more insight into the roles of the CBN and the NCC, Mr Emefiele said, “The issue is that, whereas the regulators, the NCC and the CBN, in this case, businesses and companies that operate in the telecoms market, should operate profitably, but we also expected that whatever decision they take should not be such that would affect other stakeholders in that industry.
“We all know that Etisalat is one of the four biggest telecommunication firms in Nigeria, with a subscriber base of over 20 million; and of course, we also know that the revenue base of the company is also very robust.
“It is important that we should not just allow any creditor who feels disadvantaged, to take a decision that hurts other important stakeholders that operate within Etisalat.
“That was what the NCC and the CBN observed that the activities and the attempt by some creditors were going to leave a dismemberment of that company and we could not allow the millions of subscribers to be running helter-skelter without services, and that we could not allow 4,000 or more employees of this company to just run in disarray because something wrong has happened.”
He added that, “The company’s Advisers have been appointed to provide a process for major investors to intervene in the company and take it over.
“Potential investors have shown interest, so what would happen is that, these interests would be made opened; the advisers would advertise for RSP, everybody can conduct their due diligence after that. The best will win. Therefore, we are not moved at all for the change.”
