NIGERIAN SENATE INVESTIGATES ETISALAT US$1.2bn DEBT

Etisalat Nigeria, now referred to as 9 Mobile, took loan from 13 banks amounting to US$1.2bn, but failed to make repayments.

The Nigerian senate in a bid to intervene in the debt crisis have directed its Committees on Banking, Communications, Capital Market and National Security to investigate the management and utilization of the loan facility.

The motion which was led by Senator Adeola Olamilakan (Lagos West-APC), who hinted that the the seven-year corporate loan was acquired in 2013 from a consortium of 13 banks in Nigeria as a mid-term facility to fund the expansion of the company’s network.
He remarked that Etisalat started defaulting payments in 2016, and managed to pay only 42% of the loan, the outstanding 58% amounts to US$696 million.

Adeola said he also observed that about 4,000 jobs were at stake as a result of what he termed “suspicious dealings”, alleging that the loans might have been diverted to other uses.

The Senate urged the Joint Committee to thoroughly investigate the matter to avoid a recurrence as the magnitude of the loan can trigger another banking crises and a need for bailout funds again.

The need for Nigerian business environment to be protected and insulated from all forms of fraudulent dealings to advance the government’s drive towards promotion of genuine investments in the country was also stressed by other Senators who supported the motion.

Leave a Comment