Technology
9mobile Speaks on Exit of Adrian Wood from Teleology
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s fourth largest telecommunications company, 9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, has reacted to news of the exit of Mr Adrian Wood, from Teleology Holdings Limited, the new owners of the telco.
Yesterday, news went viral that Mr Wood has been pushed out of the company few months after his firm was announced as the preferred bidder of debt-ridden 9mobile.
In a statement signed by the Director of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs at 9mobile, Oluseyi Osunsedo, which was made available to Business Post on Wednesday night, it was disclosed that Mr Wood “allowed the same avarice, rascality, impatience and knavery that characterized his turbulent association with, and inglorious exits from several other companies to manifest again so early in 9mobile.”
The company emphasised that having made efforts to assemble a reliable team to pursue its goals, it won’t allow any distractions to stop it from achieving its mission of remaining resolutely focused on rewarding its loyal customers and attracting new ones with the best telecom services in Nigeria.
Below is the full statement:
While remaining resolutely focused on rewarding our loyal customers and attracting new ones with the best telecom services in Nigeria, Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd. trading as 9mobile deems it necessary to respond to the myriad of false, misleading, and malicious media reports currently in circulation.
In the aftermath of the protracted mismanagement of an otherwise healthy company, and eventual default on its loans by the previous owners, 9mobile was acquired by Teleology Nigeria Limited, following an internationally competitive and exhaustive bidding process led by Barclays Africa, with participation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and thirteen Nigerian banks including GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and others.
This process, which was well covered by the Nigerian media, was concluded with the initial deposit of $50 million and a further payment of $251 million as settlement to the banks who took over the company. These payments as well as further due diligence and technical evaluations led to the clearance of the sale by the NCC, and handover of 9mobile to the new owners, who announced a Board on 12 November 2018 with His Royal Highness Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero as the new Chairman.
Teleology Nigeria Limited is a consortium including several local and foreign investors. While every partner in the consortium was delivering and meeting their obligations to the partnership in terms of financial resources, physical availability for crucial meetings and extensive network to help build the business, Mr. Adrian Wood’s Teleology Holdings Limited, which only owned a minority stake in Teleology Nigeria Limited, failed severally and wholly to meet theirs. Mr. Wood was not personally present for all the critical presentations made by the consortium during the bid process and failed abjectly with his financing arrangements with Swiss-based UBS Bank. In all these failings, other partners in the consortium filled the gap and pushed ahead until the sale was completed.
Since taking over the company, and without any assistance from Mr. Wood or Teleology Holdings, the Board has revived and enhanced relationships with key vendors and core business accounts; improved business relationships with suppliers; enhanced its core network capabilities to deliver network efficiency competitively with other operators. With the assistance of leading global consultants, the company is also undertaking a complete review of its operational, regulatory, financial and technical architecture. On these basis, 9mobile has emerged from a period of uncertainty over the past two years to attain an active subscriber base of 16 million, representing a net increase of over 1 million subscribers in the last 6 weeks alone.
The company’s core strategy in the short to medium term shall be underpinned by cost efficiency, innovative product development, network efficiency and strategic technical partnerships. We believe that this approach towards organic growth is more sustainable in building a strong Nigerian telecom operator, which taps into the deep technical expertise of the Nigerian labour force than an approach motivated by short-term financial gain advocated by Mr. Wood and his associates.
It is regrettable that Mr. Wood has allowed the same avarice, rascality, impatience and knavery that characterized his turbulent association with, and inglorious exits from several other companies to manifest again so early in 9mobile. While we wish him well in his future endeavors, we unequivocally assure our customers, suppliers, partners, regulators, and stakeholders that the Board is committed to continuing the upward mobility of 9mobile. Having invested so heavily in buying the company, and assembling a reliable team to pursue our goals, we want to categorically state that no distractions can stop us from this mission.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The founder of Interswitch, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, has been honoured for pioneering Nigeria’s digital payments revolution.
At a ceremony in Lagos on Sunday, March 1, 2026, he was bestowed with the 2025 Silverbird Special Achievement Award for shaping Africa’s financial ecosystem.
The Silverbird Special Achievement Award recognises individuals whose innovation, vision, and sustained impact have left an indelible mark on society.
Mr Elegbe described the award as both humbling and symbolic of a broader journey, saying, “This honour represents far more than a personal milestone. It reflects the courage of a team that believed, long before it was fashionable, that Nigeria and Africa could build world-class financial infrastructure.”
“When we started Interswitch, we were driven by a simple but powerful idea that technology could democratise access, unlock opportunity, and enable commerce at scale.
“This recognition by Silverbird strengthens our resolve to continue building systems that empower businesses, support governments, and expand inclusion across the continent,” he said when he received the accolade at the Silverbird Man of the Year Awards ceremony attended by several other dignitaries, whose leadership and contributions continue to shape national development and industry transformation.
In 2002, Mr Elegbe established Interswitch after he was inspired by a bold conviction that technology could fundamentally redefine how value moves within and across economies.
Under his leadership, the company has evolved into one of Africa’s foremost integrated payments and digital commerce companies, powering financial transactions for governments, banks, businesses, and millions of consumers.
Today, much of Nigeria’s electronic payments ecosystem traces its foundational architecture to the systems and rails established under his leadership.
“Mitchell’s journey is inseparable from Nigeria’s digital payments evolution. His foresight and resilience helped establish foundational infrastructure at a time when the ecosystem was still nascent.
“This recognition affirms not only his personal legacy, but the broader impact of Interswitch in enabling commerce and strengthening financial systems across Africa,” the Executive Vice President and Group Marketing and Communications for Interswitch, Ms Cherry Eromosele, commented.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to urgently investigate major global technology companies over alleged abuses affecting Nigeria’s digital economy, media freedom, privacy rights and democratic integrity.
In a complaint addressed to the chief executive of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, the group accused Google, Meta (Facebook), Apple, Microsoft (Bing), X, TikTok, Amazon and YouTube of deploying opaque algorithms and leveraging market dominance in ways that allegedly undermine Nigerian media organisations, businesses, and citizens’ rights.
The complaint, signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, urged the commission to take measures necessary to urgently prevent further unfair market practices, algorithmic influence, consumer harm and abuses of media freedom, freedom of expression, privacy, and access to information.”
SERAP also asked the FCCPC to convene a public hearing to investigate allegations of algorithmic discrimination, data exploitation, revenue diversion, and anti-competitive conduct involving the tech giants.
According to the organisation, dominant digital platforms now act as private gatekeepers of Nigeria’s information and business ecosystem, wielding enormous influence over public discourse and market competition without sufficient transparency or regulatory oversight.
“Millions of Nigerians rely on these platforms for news, information and business opportunities,” SERAP stated, warning that opaque algorithms and offshore revenue extraction models pose both economic and human rights concerns.
The group argued that the alleged practices threaten media plurality, consumer protection, privacy rights, and the integrity of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections.
SERAP pointed to actions taken by the South African Competition Commission, which investigated Google over alleged bias against local media content, adding that the South African probe reportedly resulted in measures including algorithmic transparency requirements, compliance monitoring and financial remedies.
SERAP urged the FCCPC to take similar steps to safeguard Nigerian media and businesses.
The organisation maintained that if established, the allegations could amount to violations of Sections 17 and 18 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), which prohibit abuse of market dominance and anti-competitive conduct.
SERAP stressed that the FCCPC has statutory authority to investigate and sanction conduct that substantially prevents, restricts or distorts competition in Nigeria.
It also warned that failure by the Commission to act promptly could prompt the organisation to pursue legal action to compel regulatory intervention.
Citing concerns reportedly raised by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), SERAP said big tech companies have fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment, creating what it described as a structural imbalance of power that threatens the sustainability of professional journalism.
Among the allegations listed are: Algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determining content visibility, monetisation of Nigerian news content without proportionate reinvestment, offshore extraction of advertising revenues, limited discoverability of Nigerian websites and platforms, and lack of transparency in ranking and recommendation systems.
SERAP argued that declining revenues in the Nigerian media industry have led to shrinking newsrooms, closure of bureaus, and the emergence of news deserts, weakening journalism’s constitutional role in democratic accountability.
The organisation further warned that algorithmic opacity and data-driven micro-targeting could influence voter exposure to information ahead of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, raising concerns about electoral fairness and transparency.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The leading global communications platform, Truecaller, now has a strategic direct sales reseller partnership with AnyMind Group, a Business-Process-as-a-Service company for marketing, e-commerce and digital transformation.
Under this partnership, AnyMind Group will serve as the exclusive intermediary for Truecaller’s advertising inventory across Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
The scope of the partnership is focused specifically on enabling brands and agencies to leverage Truecaller’s premium ad formats to reach highly engaged, high-intent users through relevant, data-driven advertising solutions.
Through this collaboration, Truecaller will accelerate its direct advertising business across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) regions.
With a strong on-ground presence and established relationships with leading advertisers and agencies across MENA and SEA markets, AnyMind Group brings deep regional expertise that will support the scaling of Truecaller’s advertising footprint locally.
The partnership is designed to empower brands with impactful placements on Truecaller’s trusted communications platform, helping drive meaningful engagement with users in these fast-growing digital economies.
“As Truecaller continues to expand its global advertising business, partnerships with strong regional players like AnyMind Group are critical to delivering localised expertise and measurable outcomes for advertisers.
“MENA and Southeast Asia represent high-growth markets with evolving digital maturity, and through this collaboration, we aim to bring brands closer to consumers via trusted and contextual communication experiences on our platform,” the Vice President and Global Head for Truecaller Ads Business, Hemant Arora, said.
Also, the Managing Director for Growth Markets at AnyMind Group, Aditya Aima, said, “We are excited to partner with Truecaller to open its inventory to brands across MENA and Southeast Asia. With Truecaller’s scale and trusted user ecosystem, combined with our market depth and networks, we see strong potential to drive more relevant, high-impact advertising outcomes for advertisers looking to deepen engagement in these dynamic markets.”
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