Etisalat has announced pull-out from Nigeria, giving a 3-week ultimatum to phase out of the country completely, after loan restructuring talks collapsed, according to a Reuters report.
The Abu Dhabi’s telecoms firm operating in Nigeria as Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited (EMTS), otherwise known as Etisalat Nigeria, terminated its management agreement and gave the business time to phase out the brand in the country completely, the chief executive of Etisalat International told Reuters on Monday.
The Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have intervened on several occasions in talks with the telecoms firms’ lender banks to renegotiate the $1.2 billion loan in order to save the firm from the collapse to no avail.
“All UAE shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria have exited the company and have left the board and management,” Hatem Dowidar told Reuters in an interview.
He said discussions were ongoing with Etisalat Nigeria to provide technical support, adding that it can use the brand for another three weeks before phasing it out completely.
>>Also read: Etisalat Group willingness to release brand name conditional
>>Also read: Etisalat going down, down: CBN, NCC intervention not enough rescue
Key changes had been on-going at the telecoms firm — that included restructuring of the management board, changes to its shareholding and trading name — before this recent development.
The operator had said operations and services would remain normal and would in no way be affected, as it pledged to continue to deliver quality services to the subscribers.
“We will continue to tap into the rich, creative and innovative resources within our workforce to build a stronger business upon the stable foundation we have laid in our 9yrs of operations,” Etisalat Nigeria said in a press release.
Also, telecoms regulators, NCC, had in June assured that the network’s integrity of Etisalat Nigeria would not be compromised amid the loan disagreements, with NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo saying the commission was fully aware of the situation and that the commission is doing all it could to salvage it.
But as it stands, the direction Etisalat Nigeria is headed is verily verily unknown.