MTN to Sell 14% Shares to Nigerians
Telecommunications giants, MTN is set to lease another 14% of it’s shares to citizens from Nigeria.
This was disclosed on Thursday by board members of MTN, led by the company’s Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, during a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa.
The Group’s President, Ralph Mupita in his address, revealed that MTN wants to include more Nigerians in its ownership structure.
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“We want to deepen our structure of ownership in Nigeria. We will sell another 14% to Nigerian individuals and institutions. We want to have the largest retail-based shareholding in Nigeria.
“We want at least 2 million Nigerian shareholders, deepening our roots in Nigeria.”
Mupita added that MTN is a corporate citizen and therefore is responsible in all the countries where it is represented.
“Our vision is to drive digital solutions for Africa’s progress, and in MTN, we are building PAN-African leadership.”
On his part, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo charged corporate organisations operating in Nigeria to be more accountable and people-centred in their services and ownership structure.
“Corporate organizations should be more accountable in their services, in the ownership structure, and also in paying attention to the needs of the people.
Companies that ensure this will experience progress, as this is the right direction to go.
“Going forward, most corporates will find that attaching greater importance to the people is the way to go.”
He said that for telecoms firms such as MTN, “financial inclusion is crucial, so is broadband connection in deepening access and will help to connect hard-to-reach places, and to retail social welfare and services.”
While acknowledging bumps in the relationships between the MTN brand and Nigeria, the Vice President applauded the company for its contribution to the country, adding that the company “is clearly an important part of Nigeria’s story.”
“The company’s investment was crucial when Nigeria needed to show that not only is there a large population in the country, but that it is a large market. The market was severely underestimated for a long time.
“So, MTN is an important part of our story, we regard MTN as an important partner,” he added.
