UPDATED: Teleology takes over Nigeria’s 9mobile

Telecoms firm, Teleology Nigeria Limited, on Monday announced the constitution of a new Board of Directors for Nigerian telecommunication company, 9mobile.

A statement by the company said the decision followed a successful completion of the tenure of the former Board appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and in fulfillment of the consequential transfer of final ownership to the new investors, Teleology Nigeria Limited.

“We thank all out-going members of the Board for helping to shepherd 9mobile through the critical transition phase it has passed through since July 2017 and wish them the very best in their future assignments,” the statement, signed by Mohammed Edewor, said.

“For us, the composition of the new Board of Directors is another significant milestone, and this follows the issuance of final approval of no objection by the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the effect that the technical and financial bids Teleology submitted for 9mobile met and satisfied all the regulatory requirements.This is indeed the dawn of a new era in the evolution of the 9mobile brand in the Nigerian market.”

The statement listed the new Board of Directors to include Nasiru Ado Bayero (Chairman); Asega Aliga (Non Executive Director); Adrian Wood (Non Executive Director); and Mohammed Edewor (Non Executive Director). Others are Winston Ndubueze Udeh (Non Executive Director); Abdulrahman Ado (Executive Director) and Stephane Beuvelet (Acting Managing Director).

The statement said the new Chairman of the Board, Mr Bayero, welcomed the members.

“As we begin this new epochal phase, we wish to thank all the employees who built this viable business,” Mr Bayero was quoted to have said.

“Our debt of gratitude also goes to our subscribers even as we assure them to get ready for real best-in-class additional value for their relationship with the 9mobile brand. Without you, there could not have been a 9mobile business for us to invest in today. We will justify your confidence in our brand by making significant investments that will improve the value you get for using 9mobile.”

The CBN in collaboration with the Nigeria Communications Commission had in July 2017 appointed a Board of Directors chaired by Joseph Nnanna, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to oversee the affairs of the company.

The appointment was made pending the completion of regulatory due diligence of the bid documents submitted by Teleology and sixteen others for its acquisition.

The bid process, which has been marred in confusion, was superintended by Barclays Africa.

In August, confusion hit the bid after several months of negotiations as the NCC said it had ordered fresh due diligence on the preferred bidder selected for the telecom firm.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Umar Danbatta, said the fresh due diligence ordered by the commission would help determine whether Teleology Holdings has the requisite technical competence and financial capacity to successfully operate the troubled telecommunications firm.

“There are issues (yet to be resolved),” he said. “We are almost done with sorting out those issues. We are presently conducting another round of due diligence on Teleology to examine and consequently determine whether they really have the technical wherewithal and financial capability to run the company effectively.”

Teleology in its statement Monday claimed that with the emergence of the board, the “long process for the acquisition of 9mobile has reached a definitive end marking the beginning of a new era for the telecommunication company.”