9mobile to be sold Dec. 31, 2017, says CBN Governor

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele has denied the rumor that the sale of 9mobile telecom (formerly Etisalat), encountered a hitch on the alleged pull out of Barclays Africa , the financial advisers in the transaction.

He disclosed this at the MPC meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday saying that no official correspondence to that effect has been communicated to him, but disclosed that 9mobile must be sold by December 31, 2017. He said, “We are working hard at it; and I am very optimistic that with the focused and tenacity of the monetary policy committee that this will be achieved.”

Debunking rumour that Buckleys Bank pulled from 9 mobile transaction , he said nothing of such transpired; just as he assured that a buyer will be secured latest 31st December 2017 for the telecom firm.”

He said : “ You all recall at the last MPC or the penultimate week to the meeting, the issue of 9mobile was raised because the regulators – NCC and CBN, see 9mobile is a systemically important telecommunications’ network in Nigeria. These two institutions decided to intervene to see to it that the 19 million subscribers do not just start running up and down without finding a place for cover. 

So, the best thing we did was to stabilize the company and see to it that banks and other important creditors did not go into a journey of dismembering the company, and this may lead to a loss of confidence even in the telecommunications and the banking sectors.”

 He said,” So, NCC and CBN intervened to see to it that there is stability; and also ensured that the transfer between the old and the new ownership is done in a smooth transition. 

That process has continued, it is just like a normal processes; there would sometimes be cases where things are not done the way you expect them to be done. But, what the NCC and CBN had come in to do, is to correct some of the anomalies that we found in the sale process at this time; and I am optimistic that the sale process is still on track. “There is a determination that, that sale must take place before December 31, 2017. We remain focused on it.