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$1.72BN LOAN DEFAULT: CBN, NCC step in to rescue Etisalat
Hope has come the way of the GSM provider, Etisalat Nigeria which is under threat of takeover by a consortium of banks for a $1.72 billion loan default.
After a meeting Thursday afternoon in Abuja between the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta and the Central Bank Governor and his team, a decision was reached to intervene in the loan issue between Etisalat Nigeria and the consortium of commercial banks.
The meeting which held at the Central Bank Headquarters in Abuja, according to a statement by Tony Ojobo, Director, Public Affairs of the NCC was convened by the financial regulator at the instance of NCC.
He said the meeting was initiated to further deliberate on how best to stave off the attempt by the banks to take over Etisalat.
Read also: FOREX: CBN to inject fresh $350m into interbank market
At the end of the meeting, the Central Bank of Nigeria agreed to invite Etisalat management and the banks to a meeting on Friday, towards finding an amicable resolution, he stated.
“The NCC as a regulator of the telecom industry had moved quickly to intervene earlier in the week by reaching out to the CBN convinced of the negative impact such a bank take over will have on the industry.
“NCC was worried about the fate of the over 20 million Etisalat subscribers and the wrong signals this may send to potential investors in the Telecom industry, Ojobo stated.
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