According to a statement on Sunday by the company, the acquisition, approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, allows a new board to take over the struggling telecom operator.

Although the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed, the company indicated that the takeover is subject to regulatory approvals.

“The investment, approved by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), the senior lender to 9mobile in May 2023, has resulted in a change in control of 9mobile in favour of the new investor by the issuance of new shares amounting to 95.5 per cent of 9mobile to the new investor in consideration for the injection of fresh capital into the company,” the board said.

The new ownership structure is expected to bring stability and fresh investment to the company, enabling it to compete more effectively in Nigeria’s highly competitive telecom market.

The new board will be chaired by Thomas Etuh, with Nahim Ibraheem and Femi Edun joining as new members.

Additionally, the UK firm has nominated diverse individuals to the board, including a former senator, Daisy Danjuma, Michael Ikpoki, Ibrahim Puri, Gloria Danjuma, and Emmanuel Etuh.

Obafemi Banigbe was appointed the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer to lead the company through its transition phase and drive its recovery.

The new CEO, Banigbe, whose appointment was previously announced a few weeks ago, is expected to bring his extensive experience at the C-suite level and a profound understanding of the African business landscape.

9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, was acquired by Teleology Holdings with high hopes of turning it around but has continued to struggle in the Nigerian market.

The operator has faced customer attrition, losing subscribers from its peak of 22 million in October 2016 to just over 15 million in November 2018.

Six years later, the operator trails behind with 11.7 million voice subscribers and 3.3 million internet users, according to the National Bureau of Statistics Telecoms Data released early this month.

According to a statement issued by the association and signed by Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, recently, the authorisation to disconnect Deposit Money Banks is due to the refusal to pay the debt owed to operators for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services, to the tune of N120bn.

“Members of the public will recall that MNOs and DMBs have had protracted disagreements concerning the appropriate USSD pricing model for financial transactions, transparency of charges, mode of collection, and liability for payment of the outstanding and continuous service fees due to the MNOs (which currently stand at over N120 billion).”

The operators under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria said that with the NCC’s approval, banks will be disconnected if they fail to pay up.

Following the debt problem ALTON explained that despite stakeholder efforts to resolve this situation and prevent any impact on services, led by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, and including the NCC, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and MNOs and DMBs.

The banks refused to cooperate with the telecom operators over the payment of the debt. It noted that The DMBs have continually incurred debt, without efforts to settle previous payments.

Prior to making this decision, ALTON said in 2021 DMBs incurred a N42bn debt which the MNOs planned to take action on.

However, interventions from the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Pantami, discouraged the MNOs stating that the action would negatively impact the Digital and Financial Inclusion policy of the Federal Government.

“The Nigerian Communications Commission, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria and Deposit Money Banks represented by the Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs subsequently met on 15 March 2021 to discuss indebtedness of DMBs to MNOs for USSD services.

In that regard, CBN and NCC issued a joint press statement on the agreement reached by all stakeholders.

“The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and the NCC have made several efforts to get the banks to show good faith and sign an agreement, in the national interest, based on the resolutions reached that meeting.

“Unfortunately, the patriotic intervention of the Minister and the NCC have been taken for granted by the DMBs, as two years after, the banks have failed to sign a final agreement,” ALTON explained.

“It is pertinent to note that the contract between MNOs and DMBs on the use of USSDs for banking transactions is strictly commercial and MNOs are at liberty to withdraw the services if it is established that the transaction is unprofitable to them.

ALTON highlighted that the MNOs had invested billions of naira in expanding its systems to accommodate the USSD needs of DMBs over the years.

Which has allowed Nigerians seamless access to banking services,” in addition to enabling banks to trim costs by requiring fewer branches to service their growing customers. Unfortunately, MNOs are not getting paid for their services, and the debt that stood at N42bn in 2021 has now risen to over N120bn,” the telcos added.

Operators opined that the current debt level was exorbitant taking into consideration of ongoing upgrades and operation of the systems and infrastructure dedicated to supporting USSD transactions for DMBs

The company said the process will be effortlessly and free of any charges.

The centres, according a press statement by the telecom company include the 43, Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island; 31, Marina Road, Marina and 23 Road by 402 junction, Festac Town, all in Lagos. The two Abuja Experience Centres are 8, Kikuyu close, off Aminu Kano, and Plot 1774, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, both in Wuse 2.

With this development, subscribers don’t need to queue endlessly for their NIN registration or expose themselves to the risk of the ongoing pandemic.

Commenting on the development, Chief Commercial Officer, 9mobile, Stjepan Udovicic said the telco was concerned about the large number of people clustering at NIMC Centres. He added that the Company is happy to be of assistance to its esteemed subscribers and Nigerians in general.

“As Nigeria’s customer-centric telco, we understand the pressures Nigerians are going through in trying to obtain a valid NIN and link it to their SIMs and the possible exposure to Covid-19 in the process. So, we took this opportunity to collaborate with regulators in making the exercise easier and safer for our customers,” Udovicic said.