Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat has confirmed that it will not allow the brand to continue in Nigeria as it has terminated its management agreement with its Nigerian arm. As a result, the company has given the Nigerian arm three-weeks before phasing the brand out in Nigeria.
This comes sequel to the confirmation that all UAE shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria have exited the company and have left the board and management after the failure to renegotiate a $1.2billion debt.
For its part, the soon-to-be-extinct Nigerian arm has employed a new top level management after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ‘bailed’ the company from its bad debt. However, its previous board members stepped down and Dr. Joseph Nnanna and Boye Olusanya were appointed as Interim Chairman and CEO respectively.
With the new announcement by Etisalat’s Chief Executive, Hatem Dowidar, the new board’s first task will have to be the rebranding of the company within 3 weeks in order to prevent legal complications.
Considering the financial implications of rebranding, the pressure on the new management has risen considerably higher. Dowidar however said that the Etisalat group could still consider providing technical support for the new company.
