Mr. Jim Ovia, founder and retired chairman of Visafone Communications Limited, has said that Visafone remains open for business and will be leveraged to expand MTN’s roll out of its LTE broadband services.
This will ensure the continuity of the Visafone trademark broadband, enterprise solutions and voice services to its customer base.
According to Ovia, the acquisition of Visafone by MTN is clearly a very healthy development that will further accelerate the growth of ICT in Nigeria.
“The advent of mobile telecommunication services into the country over a decade ago has impacted Nigeria positively and created a new industry powered by technology and innovation. Looking back, we have recorded progress and achievements that have positively impacted the growth of other sectors such as banking, e-commerce and entertainment. We recognise that the industry holds greater potential that can further catalyse Nigeria’s economic growth generally”.
With regard to manpower development, Jim Ovia commented that contrary to media reports, MTN did not sack any staff.
However, out of the total 350 professional staff that Visafone had prior to the acquisition, some voluntarily resigned and were adequately compensated
Speaking further, Ovia said he had it on good authority that in a bid to ensure seamless transition of the process and maintain business continuity, some staff of Visafone were being re-engaged by MTN in order to maximise the use of key assets such as Network and Technology.