The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NITEL

  • Nigeria can’t blindly sign agreements, Says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said that Nigeria is too big and too diverse to blindly sign agreements without understanding the consequences of such actions.

    Buhari made the remark while receiving representatives of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its President, Mr Babatunde Ruwase, at the Presidential Villa.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the President used the occasion of his audience with members of the LCCI to shine more light on his decision to inaugurate a Presidential Committee last Monday to assess the potential costs and impact of the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for Nigeria.

    He said ‘‘Nigeria is still assessing the impact of this agreement on its backward integration and import substitution policies.

    ‘‘Specifically, the provisions on rules of origin and transhipment were matters of concern to us.

    ‘‘Already, some of the treaties we are party to have been significantly abused resulting in massive smuggling which has crippled many of our local industries and destroyed millions of jobs.

    ‘‘To avoid these past mistakes, we conducted vast consultations across the country in which the LCCI participated. The responses have been mixed,’’ the President said.

    On the issue of the gridlock in Apapa, Lagos, President Buhari acknowledged that the situation was a major concern to all.

    Read Also: 11 people died in Benue boat mishap – NIWA

    ‘‘The work on Wharf road is in progress. We will continue to do our best to expedite the repair works at the Ijora Bridge without compromising quality.

    ‘‘We have also directed the Nigerian Railway Corporation to use their infrastructure in the ports to support the evacuation efforts, thereby further decongesting the area.

    ‘‘Be assured that the completion of these projects is a major priority of this administration,’’ he said.

    Speaking earlier, Ruwase while commending the Federal Government for the series of Executive Orders focused on promoting the ease of doing business in the country, stressed the need to improve the regulatory environment in the oil and gas industry.

    He appealed to the executive arm of the government to expeditiously consider the Petroleum Industry Bill through appropriate collaborative actions with the National Assembly.

    The LCCI president also drew the attention of the President to the numerous abandoned Federal Government properties in Lagos and the economic waste it represents.

    He urged the Federal Government to either return the property to Lagos State government which is the original owner of the land; or give them out on lease to the private sector.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the closed doors meeting, he said “We commended the government on Ease of Doing Business. We also asked the government to digitize its operations as part of measure to tackle corruption. That will reduce man to man interactions in carrying out government business. We advised government to use this all through its processes.

    “We also tasked government on the Petroleum Industry Governance BIll PIGB. We need to pass this quickly because many countries are discovering crude oil and this has made investments in the sector very competitive.

    “We are contending with other nations for investment in the sector. So we need to attract investors by reducing unnecessary bottlenecks. Instead of giving incentives, the feelers we are getting is that the NPA is going to levy $1 per barrel of crude and other such levies are going to be imposed. We urged them to quickly pass the law to make our oil and gas more competitive to investors.

    “We also talk about the Apapa gridlock. Instead of making profits, we are counting loses by the day because of demurrage , which has grounded our export drive. What the government need to do is to use pipeline to transport imported petroleum products.

    “We also mentioned to his Excellency that we shall be celebration of our 130th anniversary.

    “In the area of power, we also urged government to look into the issues. The problem we have is distribution. With what we are generating today, we cannot distribute more than 4000 megawatts. We should be thinking more of how to deal with distribution and transmission.” he said

    According to him, the President promised to do something about the Apapa issues.

    “The Central Bank of Nigeria, the Independence building, the National Assembly, the NITEL building etc.

    “We Appealed to the federal government that they either give them to the Lagos State government or put them into proper shape so that they can be put into proper use to generate money for the government. They are currently wasting away and providing abode for hoodlums, criminals and the likes.” he stated.

  • Retired NITEL/MTEL staff under siege

    For former staff members of NITEL resident in Ikorodu, an uptown district of Lagos, poverty has remained a metaphor of their existence at retirement.But that is now being further compounded by the fear of insecurity of their lives and property, no thanks to the nefarious activities of land grabbers who have since taken over the hitherto peaceful neighbourhood.

    Speaking with The Nation at the weekend some representatives of the embattled community under the aegis of NITEL/MTEL Landlord Association, Ikorodu, recounted their ordeals in the hands of hoodlums working with land grabbers and their alleged sponsors within the community.

    The residents who asked not to be named in view of the sensitive nature of the issue said they decided to cry out to the public to seek protection for their personal safety, security of their lives and property being endangered in recent times by the hoodlums and their paymasters.

    Going down memory lane, the leader of the delegation who gazed listlessly into space, recalled that trouble began for the over 300 families and residents in the neighbourhood when some land speculators encroached their property few years ago under the guise of acting under the instructions of some so-called landowners by selling some of the undeveloped plots of the over 67 hectares of land within the vicinity of the estate.

    “The place we’re currently occupying was NITEL staff quarters. We all lived here during our years of active service over 30-40years ago. The place was subsequently leased to us by the federal government in 2007 as former staff of NITEL in liquidation. Everything was gazetted. Few of us were able to develop our plots and moved in with our families while others were doing theirs gradually.

    “However, we noticed that few years ago, some parts of the estate not yet developed had been encroached by land grabbers called Ajagungbale in local parlance. These evil men have become our daily source of nightmare. They have practically made our lives miserable and insecure. They come anytime of day even wee hours of the night to torment us. Most times they brandish dangerous weapons, arms and ammunition and even barricade everywhere with their fetishes and charms with the intent to maim, destroy and kill anyone who challenges their activities. We don’t feel safe living in our homes anymore. As retired men and women no longer in active service we don’t have anywhere else to go. Our lives and that of our loved ones is in grave danger. As law-abiding citizens we can’t take the laws into our hands and that’s why we have decided to cry out to the public to save our soul. We need help fast.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, another resident confirmed that the land grabbers have been selling off the undeveloped plots to unsuspecting members of the public at ridiculously cheap prices with the intent to defraud them, warning that such acquisitions were not genuine.

    More worrisome, the embittered residents observed, is the fact that the core assets and facilities belonging to NITEL including fibre optic cables and allied equipment used for communication interchange across the country were being vandalised by the hoodlum without let or hindrance.

    “Without fear of contradiction I can tell you matter-of-factly that the core assets such as fibre optic cables, route masts and all, valued at severally billions of naira and built with taxpayers money have all been destroyed by these hoodlums.

    “We now live like refugees in our own house for fear of attack by these hoodlums. Unfortunately for most of us, we don’t have anywhere else to go. We just want the concerned authorities to be aware of the nefarious activities being perpetrated by these gang of robbers and help us nip it in the bud before it’s too late. We’re worried.”

  • Man dies after falling from a pole in Osun

    A 48-year-old man, Kabiru Salami, has lost his life in Ile-Ife, Osun, after he fell from NITEL pole while trying to disconnect cable wires.

    Mrs Folashade Odoro, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), for the Police Command in the state said this in a statement she issued in Osogbo on Tuesday.

    She further said that the incident happened on Sunday at about 4.48p.m.

    “The deceased, working with Ismoly Multipurpose Company, Osogbo, was disconnecting NITEL cable wires when he fell from the pole.

    “The police in Ile-Ife were alerted about the incident and the deceased was rushed to OAU Teaching Hospital where he was confirmed dead,” she said.

    The police image maker also said the corpse had been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.

     

  • Senate grills NCC, telecom operator over data price hike

    Senate grills NCC, telecom operator over data price hike

    The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Tuesday said that it intervened with an interim price floor for data services to avert a looming price war in the telecommunications sector.

    The explanation of the NCC is coming even as the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, asked Nigerians to face reality.

    The regulatory commission said that it feared that the price war could eventually lead to a monopoly in the telecom industry that would force small operators to shut down.

    It said that monopoly in the telecom sector could also push the country back to the days of NITEL to the detriment of small operators in the sector.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Dambatta stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Communications.

    The committee was mandated to investigate the proposed hike in the price of data tariff said to have been ordered by the NCC.

    Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, who presided, noted that there was a public outcry over the proposed data price increase.

    Adeola said that Nigerians were united in their opposition that the proposed increase in the price of data should be stopped.

    He said that the position of Nigerians was that the idea of hike in data price was ill- advised especially with the biting economic situation in the country.

    Professor Dambatta told the committee that the intervention of the NCC was not designed to undermine the consumers.

    He noted that if cheap prices were introduced, they may end up undermining the telecom service operators.

    He said that if the situation arose where the operators could no longer cope, the consequences could be better imagined.

    Prof. Dambatta also said that the need to avert crisis in the telecom industry informed their decision to introduce interim price floor for data services at N0.90k per BM.

    He said, “We wanted to protect the Nigerian consumer from unhealthy price war in what may lead to a monopoly that may lead us to the days of NITEL. We did not increase any price but merely provided a regulatory standard to protect small telecom operators.”

    Dambatta said that there were some telecom operators that lacked the capacity to compete with the big operators in the field.

    He said that the N0.90k price floor for purchase of data was a benchmark below which no operator could sell.

    “We said in the interim directive measure that no operator should sell below 90k per megabite. There was a price war in the market; that was why we issued the interim directive.

    “A situation where a dominant operator provides services far below what is obtainable in the sector in order to attract more customers may lead to a situation where smaller operators will be forced to shut down,” he said.

    Dambatta who said there was a mix up of the interim directive they gave noted that instead of increase they wanted reduction in price of tariff to create a balance between big and small operators.

    He said that NCC did not set any price ceiling but provided a price law.

    Dambatta added, “We stepped in when we noticed price war in the sector. The price war was already reaching undesirable level that we had to step in to prevent a monopoly like the days of NITEL.”

    The interim floor price, he said, has been suspended temporarily to allow for further consultations.

    Dambatta said that NCC would conduct extensive research to come up with a price floor that would be acceptable to Nigerians.

    The Minister said that reality meant that telecom service providers were operating under unfriendly business environment including lack of electricity and increasing security challenges.

    He said, “This is one area that I believe that we all must face the reality. The government in its wisdom and I am happy the National Assembly promulgated the National Communications Act which required that there be established an NCC. “If you look at the NCC law, it is positioned to reflect experiences, expertise and all of that and I want to believe that there must not be too many interventions in the activities of the NCC.

    “I am a political office holder, I am not an expert, so I cannot venture to say whether they did wrong or right except they say that the constitution has granted them the role of a supervisor of a direct regulatory authorities particularly relating to the activities in the telecoms industry.

    “The only area I feel they were deficient was in the area of communicating with the people of this country particularly because of the sensitivity that has been imposed on Nigerians by the harsh economic situation.

    “I know that if you want to make omelet you must break eggs. Unfortunately in this country, we fail to appreciate the transformation role that ICT has brought about in the lives of Nigerians.

    “I keep saying this and I have no apology in saying this before 1999, GSM lines in Nigeria were less than 500,000. Today, we have a well over N152 million lines. All the hustles that Nigerians were going through before the exponential development of ICT are no more with us.

    “It is also important to say that operators in Nigeria are operating on a very harsh situation which is not known in other advanced countries. For instance over the years, the Nigerian state has not succeeded in fixing electricity over the last 20 years.

    “This industry reliance on electricity and that because Nigerians has failed in providing reliable electricity, it means they have to rely on extra budgetary provisions to provide electricity 24 hours, seven days of the week which additional expenditure does not operate in other countries which we seek to copy. This is one challenge that we must look at.

    “The other challenges in the area of security, a lot of infrastructure by operators are usually under coma by criminals all across the country. Indeed we know what the security situation is in the country. Apart from that we also have the problem of taxes which they have always be talking about. I have always challenged operators that I want to see all the taxes so that we find a way of harmonising them.

    “What I am saying is this, if Nigeria has invited international investors to come and invest in Nigeria so that our lives will be better, so that the economy will be better, so that businesses can be more conveniently made, so that even government can run more conveniently, to whom much is given, much is expected.

    “The Nigerian state must also be in a position to provide its own share to make an enabling environment operate properly.

    “So, I am not supporting at this stage or not supporting the price increase with regards to the floor. But what I am saying is, these are technical issues whose decision must be taken having regard on all the factors that are important before a decision can be taken.

    “We certainly must not encourage a situation in this country where people who have brought their investment to make our lives better, to make businesses better are left to operate in an environment which is not conducive which may even frustrate them out of the Nigerian market.

    “I am appealing to the distinguished senate in intervening, they should try to encourage NCC to be the best that it can, they should try to assist us (NCC) in the area of holding the balance between the interest of operators and the interest of the Nigerian masses so that we can be seen to be providing the best.

    “I want to say that whatever we would do, we should encourage NCC, we should also encourage operators and we should also encourage Nigerians to appreciate the reality on ground. My information is that in the West African region are the lowest even when one is not an expert, the fact that our currency has gone so down in terms of value will perhaps justify this assertion.

    “What we or experiencing in Nigeria in terms of the devaluation of the Naira, in terms of over reliance on the petroleum whose prices have suddenly gone so much down. It means that we must do the needful in ensuring that the industry is sustained.

    “I want to remind us that time was when petroleum was our mainstay was selling for $145 and Nigeria was producing 2.2 million barrels a day. Today the price was $55 and that is totally more than 70 percent reduction and the production level has also gone down particularly because of the activities of criminals called militants in the Niger Delta.

    “Today it is only the ICT sector that remains viable for Nigerians to sustain ourselves to bring about transformation to increase the revenue and to sustain the economy.”

    Also the MTN CEO, Mr. Ferdinand Moolman, who was also at the hearing said that the industry had been operating without data floor since 2015.

    Moolman noted that instead of price floor prices dropped.

    He underscored MTN’s commitment to ICT development in the country.

    The MTN boss also stressed the need for a long time overview of the industry.

    He was emphatic that the industry needed to be health to continue to grow.

    He said, “MTN remains unrelentingly committed to the sustained provision of affordable and accessible voice and data services in accordance with the National ICT and Broadband plan. In line with this commitment and to continue the provision of high speed data services to its esteemed customers, MTN recently bid for, and acquired the 2.6GHz LTE spectrum at the cost of US$96million.MTN also launched 4G LTE services, enabling faster access to digital platforms and igniting socio-economic development with a multiplier effect on the economy.

    “MTN actively contributed to the development of the National Broadband Plan, and has consistently taken every step to facilitate the achievement of Government’s objectives of pervasive, cost-effective and sustainable access to data services by all strata of Nigeria’s population. The company continues to be an ICT development partner to the government and people of Nigeria.

    “Telecoms’ Contribution to National Socio-Economic Development and Factors Constraining Industry Sustainability

    “MTN is committed to continue its efforts to provide the best data network to the people of Nigeria. In this regard, however, there are a number of factors that impact the sector’s sustainability such as:

    “The rise of headline inflation to about 17.9%

    “The depletion of operator revenues by unlicensed providers of “over-the-top” telecoms services who do not have any physical presence; nor pay any taxes; nor make any significant contribution to employment or other socio-economic objectives of government in Nigeria;

    “The inability of operators to access foreign exchange (this is particularly debilitating given that most of our inputs are sourced off-shore). This has very significantly increased both operating and capital expenses.

    “Despite these macro-economic challenges, telecom tariffs have declined significantly (over 67% between 2007 and 2016) and data prices are amongst the lowest on the continent. With this in mind, “MTN looks forward to the cost study as confirmed by the NCC, and remains committed to working with the Regulator and Industry to ensure fair value and fair competition in the Nigerian market.”

     

  • Nitel/Mtel was sold for N51.6b, says liquidator

    Nitel/Mtel liquidator Olutola Senbore has said N51, 648, 643, 000 was realised from the liquidation of the public owned telecom firms.

    According to him, the amount represented the $252.25 million paid by Natcom Consortium for the acquisition of the firms’ core assets, and other debts recovered on behalf of the liquidated firms.

    Senbore spoke during a meeting with agitated creditors of the liquidated telcos at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

    The liquidator also dismissed reports indicating that President Muhammadu Buhari had demanded an upward review of the $252.25 million bid price paid by Natcom for Nitel//Mtel.

    President Buhari was quoted in the media last year to have given a directive demanding additional payment above the $252.25 million paid by Natcom.

    The president was further quoted as saying that the directive was to ensure that “Nigeria was not shortchanged” in the transaction.

    Denying the existence of any such directive by Buhari, the liquidator, in an e-mail response to our correspondent’s inquiry, said he was not aware of any directive in that regard.

     

  • NITEL, MTEL pensioners cry out over 10 years unpaid pension

    NITEL, MTEL pensioners cry out over 10 years unpaid pension

    NITEL, MTEL pensioners cry out over 10 year’s unpaid pension Pensioners of the defunct Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mobile Telecommunications (MTEL) have cried out to President Muhammadu Buhari to end their 10 years of suffering by paying their pension benefits.

    The pensioners numbering over 2000??? said previous administrations have failed to pay their pension since former President, Olusegun Obasanjo sold and dissolved the organisation in 2006.

    Chairman, NITEL, MTEL pensioners, Iko Edem who made the call at a meeting held in Lagos said previous administration has not been fair to them.

    He however expressed confidence in the present administration of President Buhari.

    He said they have met with the present officials of the Federal Government and they have shown sympathy to them.

    He stated that following agitations by the affected pensioners, Government paid were paid five years pension as a pension pay off which they rejected.

    He said: “Our appeal is to the present government and we believe that they are listening to us. They told us that they feel a lot of injustice has been done to us and that they are looking into the matter. We have representatives in Abuja that is meeting with government and they are advising us on steps to take.

    “We made approaches to the past governments to no avail, only to be paid off five years pension right. We rejected it and sued Government at an Abuja High court and won. The Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) that sold NITEL went to court to appeal the judgment against us and won. We proceeded to the Supreme Court because we were not satisfied and this is the situation as at date.

    “It has not been easy for us at the Supreme Court because of the many cases at the Court. Presently, the attention of government is on political cases and that is why they have not heard our case up till now.  We filed our case in May last year and up till now they have not even heard us. But our lawyer has advised us to also go political and to do this we have to work with the government.

    “The present officials of government have sympatised with us. Many of us for instance served for 35 years. By the constitution of this country, once you have served in any institution, you are entitled to pension for life. It is however unfair for any government to stop our pensions and ask us to go for life. We are the only pensioner that government ask to go away with five years pension. There are other cases. They initially stopped our pension and when we protested, they paid us five years without negotiating with anyone of us. This is unacceptable to us.”

    He stressed that pensioners who served for 35 years including himself or retired voluntarily after 10 years are suppose earn pension for life adding that those who were exited from the service and have served 10 years in NITEL are also qualified for pensions.

    He noted that they are open for negotiation if they don’t want to pay them pension for life.

    We know the conditions for pay off which is that you either pay us 25 years pension salary or negotiate with us and whatever the two parties agree will be binding on us.

  • NITEL, MTEL pensioners cry out over 10 years’ unpaid pension

    NITEL, MTEL pensioners cry out over 10 years’ unpaid pension

    Pensioners of the defunct Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, Mobile Telecommunications (MTEL) have cried out to President Muhammadu Buhari to end their 10 years of suffering by paying their pension benefits.

    The pensioners numbering over 2000 said previous administrations have failed to pay their pension since former President, Olusegun Obasanjo sold and dissolved the organisation in 2006.

    Chairman, NITEL, MTEL pensioners, Iko Edem who made the call at a meeting held in Lagos, said previous administrations have not been fair to them. He however, expressed confidence in the administration of President Buhari.

    He said they have met with the present officials of the Federal Government and they have shown sympathy to them, adding that following their agitations, government paid them them five years pension as pay off which they rejected.

    He said: “Our appeal is to the present government and we believe that they are listening to us. They told us that they feel a lot of injustice has been done to us and that they are looking into the matter. We have representatives in Abuja that is meeting with government and they are advising us on steps to take.

    “We made approaches to the past governments to no avail, only to be paid off five years pension right. We rejected it and sued government at an Abuja High court and won. The Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) that sold NITEL went to court to appeal the judgment against us and won. We proceeded to the Supreme Court because we were not satisfied and this is the situation as at today.

    “It has not been easy for us at the Supreme Court because of the many cases at the Court. Presently, the attention of government is on political cases and that is why they have not heard our case up till now.  We filed our case in May last year and up till now they have not even heard us. But our lawyer has advised us to also go political and to do this; we have to work with the government.

    “The present officials of government have sympatised with us. Many of us for instance, served for 35 years. By the constitution of this country, once you have served in any institution, you are entitled to pension for life. It is however, unfair for any government to stop our pensions and ask us to go for life. We are the only pensioners that government asked to go away with five years pension. There are other cases. They initially stopped our pension and when we protested, they paid us five years without negotiating with anyone of us. This is unacceptable to us.”

    He stressed that pensioners who served for 35 years or retired voluntarily after 10 years are supposed to earn pension for life, adding that those who were exited from the service and have served 10 years in NITEL are also qualified for pensions.

    He noted that they are open for negotiation if they don’t want to pay them pension for life.

    We know the conditions for pay off which is that you either pay us 25 years pension salary or negotiate with us and whatever the two parties agree will be binding on us.

  • Reps to investigate Nitel, Mtel sale

    Reps to investigate Nitel, Mtel sale

    The House of Representatives is to investigate the sale of the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its mobile subsidiary, Mobile Telecommunication (Mtel).

    The lawmakers said the process leading to the sale of the two national carriers for $252million to a consortium named NATCOM, was flawed.

    They also said the two national carriers were worth more than the amount generated for them by the government.

    The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion by Henry Nwawuba  (PDP, Imo), who regretted that it was the failure of the National carriers to live up to the expectations of Nigerians that led to their privatisation and subsequent sale in December 2014 to NATCOM for $252.3m

    He said: “We should be concerned that since the sale and subsequent take over by NATCOM, lots of controversies have been raised about the process leading to the sales, particularly on the alleged under-valuation of the companies prior to the sales.

    “The sale should be more worrisome when viewed against the huge revenue potentials of communication companies, especially with Nigeria’s huge population of over 170 million and also its capacity to generate employment for the teeming unemployed citizens.

    “We are also cognizant of the fact that there is every need to resolve the issues surrounding the sales and takeover of the National carriers by the NATCOM consortium.

    The Minority leader, Leo Ogor in his conttibution, said the enormity of the subject matter, especially on capital flight must be appreciated by Nigerians, stressing that the  privatisation policy of government failed regarding NITEL considering the fact that it has infrastructural facilities all over the country.

    He said the privatisation policy was not only abused, but also not well managed which allowed some phoney foregn companies to syphon the country’s money.

    He urged the investigation panel to reveal the truth about the transaction.

    Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta), opined that from  security point of view, NITEL and Mtel should not have been sold in the first place.

    Citing the recent penalty slammed on a mobile communications service provider, Ossai explained that NITEL has the capacity, with its nationwide facilities to provide the services required of it by security agencies without prejudices.

    On his part, Simon Arabo (PDP, Kaduna), who noted that there was something inimical about the sale noted that NITEL’s critical assets alone are worth more than what it was sold for.

    Emmanuel Oghene (PDP, Lagos) however warned that the  privatization policy should not confused with the NITEL sale.

    According to him, privatization policy is desirable but the reason behind the cheap sale of  the national carrier should be the main focus of the investigation.

    Dickson Tarkighin (APC, Benue)backed Oghene saying NITEL’s  landed property alone can raise the money it was sold for.

    He said all those involved in the sale of the national carrier should not be spared from prosecution if Cound culpable.

  • Hello… Welcome from the grave, NITEL

    Hello… Welcome from the grave, NITEL

    Fourteen years ago, efforts to sell NITEL failed. Five times the dream of the Federal Government to find a buyer for the family’s prized item failed. If NITEL were a woman, she would have given up about finding a husband. However, recently, a certain NATCOM Consortium has accepted its hand in marriage, after paying the bride price. Our daughter, NITEL, has found a husband. Hello, NITEL, welcome from the grave. Your woes have just begun. Shortly, you would understand.

    Telecom business is a long term industry. It is not a short-term industry like a roadside grocery shop. Yes, NATCOM has acquired NITEL. Head hunting has begun already. Kamar Abass, a former country manager of Ericsson Nigeria, has been appointed as managing director. That is not news. Here is the news. To run NITEL, NATCOM will need more than what it cost to acquire NITEL. It is not about branding. It is not about public relations. It is not about advertising. It is not about event marketing. I wish all of these could get the job done. Unfortunately, they would not.

    What NITEL needs is this: If NATCOM paid $1b to acquire NITEL; NATCOM needs ten times that figure in the first five years to keep it going. Why? Abbas knows that you do not come into telecom and think you’re going to make a fast one and disappear. Telecom business is not as smooth as silk or as free flowing as wine. That was why M-tel, the mobile arm of NITEL failed woefully.

    As the fifth telco, NITEL should be prepared for the long term. It is a serious business. In clear terms, NITEL will have to spend more than what the current leader, MTN, is spending to get started. NITEL will have to build scales to cover all the overheads. NITEL will have to pay for neglecting Nigerians when Nigerians were dying to have telephone, even if it was 090. Then, NITEL was a monopoly. Now, NITEL will play catch up.

    The infrastructure NITEL failed to build when it was convenient to do, NITEL will build it even if it is inconvenient to do. As my mother would say, if you defecate on the roadside leading to your farm, you will be confronted with your shame on your way back. NITEL has come home to roost. There is no place to hide. The game has changed. The table has turned. Nigerians are no longer at the mercy of NITEL. NITEL has toyed with the emotions of its customers. NITEL will need to fight to win back customers’ loyalty.

    Aside deploying base stations across the country to build its network, thousands of generators and security apparatus would be needed to secure the stations. When NITEL gets to a certain scale and begins to make money, it will have to reinvest to expand the network.

    Etisalat is just five years. Etisalat is still in the investment phase. It has not reached the scale where it can actually make money. If in five years Etisalat is not making money, and has spent so much, imagine a NITEL that is coming from the grave. Now do you understand?

    Well, if NITEL can be innovative and competitive it can make profits ASAP. How? There are still so much opportunities in meeting customers’ needs. NITEL can build a reputation for network quality and customer service. NITEL should come out and compete. As the fifth player, NITEL would have to come up with something different. Unless NITEL does that, I don’t see how it would benefit anyone even after 14 years in the grave.

  • NITEL sale may be reviewed by presidency

    NITEL sale may be reviewed by presidency

    FRESH fact emerged at the weekend that the National Council on Privatisation which formally ratified the sales of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited and its subsidiary Mobile Telecommunications Limited to NATCOM Consortium last Thursday, may further review the sale altogether.

    The Nation was reliably informed that the need for the review became necessary following complaints by some other interested parties, who appear not to have been carried along in the scheme of things.

    A source in the presidency who would not be named, confided in The Nation that the new development is coming on the heels of criticisms in some quarters that the Bureau of Public Enterprises  was stampeded into selling NITEL without carrying out due diligence.

    It would be recalled that the council ratified the sale of the telecoms behemoth at meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    A member of the council, Mr. Atedo Peterside; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada; and the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.

    Peterside said with the ratification, documentation and payments now follow.

    He said, “At the end of the privatisation exercise, there was one bidder. Two were pre-qualified initially but only one attained the passmark. That was NATCOM Consortium with $252million.

     “The NCP has confirmed the process. We now have a preferred bidder ratified by the NCP.

    “Usually, what follows now are documentation and payment.”

    A Special Purpose Vehicle, NATCOM Consortium, had recently offered to pay $252.25m for NITEL and its mobile subsidiary, the Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited.

    With no competitor and with the offer meeting the reserve price set for the telecommunications companies, NATCOM emerged the potential core investor for the beleaguered firms.