Etisalat Nigeria on Thursday, July 13, changed its name after weeks of reported crises. The management of the company at the end of a management meeting in Lagos adopted the name 9Mobile as the new brand name.
Akonuche gathered that the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has directed Etisalat Nigeria to stop using its brand name within the next three weeks. ETC, the largest shareholder in the firm, had since terminated its management agreement with its Nigerian arm.
The implication of the directive is that the new management must decide within the next 21 days on the options before it, which are either an outright sale of the company or merger with an existing operator in the country.
A few weeks ago, Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, pulled out of Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator, due to a N541 billion debt.
On July 4, 2017, a new board was appointed at Etisalat Nigeria, to handle the smooth transition of the telecommunications company after a reallocation of shares.
Boye Olusanya, former deputy managing director of Celtel Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), was appointed as the chief executive officer of Etisalat Nigeria to over see the transition.
TheCable understands that Olusanya was appointed to oversee the transition of the company due to his experience in the smooth transition of Celtel to Airtel.
The transition of the telcom, with 21 million subscribers, was brokered with the aid of the Central Bank of NIGERIA (CBN) and National Communications Commission (NCC).
NCC has warned the creditors that the licence awarded to Etisalat Nigeria is not transferable, effectively stopping the banks from taking ownership of the company.
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