Nigeria’s troubled mobile telephone operator Etisalat on Friday announced the resignation of its incumbent Chairman, Hakeem Bello-Osagie and plans to set up a new board.
In a statement on Friday, the company said Mr. Bello-Osagie’s decided to quit following “the approval of a restructuring plan for the telecommunications firm.”
“Although the Chairman had planned to leave immediately the banks made the take-over move, he opted to tarry until a road map for the company was finalised”.
The timing of the resignation was strategically delayed till now when stakeholders have agreed a plan,” the statement said.
“The development reflects Mr. Bello-Osagie’s deep commitment to protecting the interest of all stakeholders. It is now expected that Etisalat Nigeria under its new shareholding structure will navigate through its current loan repayment challenge with minimum impact.
“Over the last several months, the Chairman has worked extensively with critical stakeholders to prepare clearly articulated strategies and robust road maps that will mitigate the impact of the new shareholding restructuring and realignment on the operations and management of the 4th largest telecoms player in Nigeria,” the statement said.
The former Chairman of the United Bank for Africa, UBA, was the only surviving shareholder in the embattled mobile operator currently embroiled in a $1.2 billion (about N377.4 billion) loan repayment crisis with a consortium of 13 Nigerian banks.
He was the promoter of Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services, EMTS, which controlled 15 per cent of the equity holding of the company.
His resignation followed the withdrawal, two weeks ago, of the company’s major shareholder, Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, after its affiliate, Mubadala Development Company, had indicated its intention to withdraw from the company.