Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, says Federal Government has stepped into the crisis presently faced by Etisalat to save Nigerian employees and subscribers.
A statement by Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, Deputy Director, Press, the minister spoke when members of the new management of 9Mobile network provider visited him yesterday in Abuja.
He tasked the management to work hard to revive the company, adding that government would not fold its hand and allow the company to die, in view of its economic importance to the nation.
He said about 20 million Nigerians subscribed to the network, many employed by it, Nigerian banks were stakeholders, hence the government’s quick intervention to rescue the company from creditors determined to take over the company.
The minister assured the management that the Federal Government would always support the telecommunication sector by providing an enabling environment for the industry to thrive.
Mr. Boye Olusanya, leader of the team, requested the minister to also intervene in the areas of Multiple Taxation, Foreign Exchange, Right of Way (RoW) and security of infrastructure that would ease operations in the sector.
Etisalat, Nigeria’s fourth largest telecommunication firm, had been facing financial crisis since Mubadala Development Company of United Arab Emirates, the company’s largest shareholder pulled out its investment from the country.