Telecom
LH Telecoms, Nigerian Firm Acquires Majority Stake in 9mobile, Changes Board
LH Telecoms Limited, a Nigeria based company has acquired Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited, operating under the trade name 9Mobile.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the company, the acquisition of majority shares in the Nigerian telecom company was approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) as required by law.
The investment, which was approved by African Export Import Bank (AFREXIM), the senior lender to 9Mobile in May 2023 has resulted in a change in control of 9Mobile in favour of the new investor by the issuance of new shares amounting to 95.5 per cent of 9Mobile to the new investor in consideration for the injection of fresh capital into the company.
Pursuant to the injection of capital, the new investor nominated the following persons to the board of directors of 9Mobile:
Thomas Etuh
He is the new Chairman of the Board. According to the company, Etuh is an accomplished and versatile entrepreneur with over 36 years of experience in strategic sectors of the African economy, including agriculture, fertilizer production, mining, banking, telecommunications, power and aviation.
“He is a passionate leader with a track record of successful corporate management, ensuring that clear objectives and expectations are delivered and sustained.
Mr. Etuh is the founder of the Tak Group of Companies. He previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unity Bank Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc and Lighthouse Capital Limited. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Notore Chemicals Industries Plc. As Chairman of Jennifer Etuh Foundation (JEF), he has championed several healthcare and life-empowering projects in the underserved regions of Nigeria,” the company stated.
Other Directors:
Nahim Abe Ibraheem: He has over 30 years of experience across finance, upstream and downstream oil trade, procurement, and manufacturing.
He began his career at Orbit Communications in 1990 and founded Soveran Nigeria Limited, a specialty procurement and petroleum product distribution company, in 1995.
- As Chairman of Euronat Nigeria Limited, he has overseen major oil product exports from the NLNG and NNPC. His notable roles include representing VShips Monaco S.A in Nigeria and advising Africa Merchant Bank ( a Fortis Bank Subsidiary) and Société Générale Bank France.
- Mr. Ibraheem serves as Chairman of the Boards of Veritas Kapital Assurance PLC and Lighthouse Capital Limited, as well as a Non-Executive Director of the VFD Group and Veritas Glanvills Pensions Ltd.
- He has sat on the boards of Morris Nigeria Limited and Superphosphate Fertilisers & Chemicals Limited. He is a member of the Institute of Directors (Nigeria) and PESA, and an avid sports fan.
Femi Edun: He is a financial services industry professional with over 35 years’ experience across assurance, consulting, credit ratings and research, investment banking and proprietary investment, from a variety of roles in Akintola Williams & Co (now Deloitte), Price Waterhouse, (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), Agusto & Co. Limited, Nigeria’s first credit rating agency and Frontier Capital Limited.
- He has been involving in notable pioneering initiatives in the financial services industry and several landmark transactions.
- Whilst serving as a volunteer adviser to the Federal Government, he was a non-executive director of the Bank of Industry.
- He is the Chairman of the board of Craneburg Construction Limited, independent non-executive director of Chevron Closed Pension Fund Administrators Limited and non-executive director of Notore Chemical Industries Plc and Agusto & Co. Limited amongst others.
Board members
Following the completion of the transaction, LH Telecommunication Limited has also nominated the following new members to the board of directors of 9Mobile:
Senator Daisy Ehanire Danjuma: She was elected as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003 where she served on numerous committees, most notably as Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Women and Children’s Rights Committee and Chairman Senate Committee on Women Affairs and Youth Development.
Following her legislative tenure, she held the position of Executive Vice Chairman of SAPETRO until December 2023 when she was appointed as the Executive Chairman. Senator Danjuma is the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the H I D Awolowo Foundation, a Member Board of Trustees of Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), the Chairman Board of Trustees of Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) and the Chairman of May & Baker Nigeria Plc.
- She worked as a State Counsel in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice (Department of Public Prosecutions) and was a pioneer Legal Counsel to the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria before working for the investment bank Nigerian Acceptances Limited (NAL Merchant Bank).
- She was Company Secretary/Legal Adviser to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) before moving into private practice.
- Senator Danjuma is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA). Senator Daisy Danjuma has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees by the University of Ibadan, University of Benin and Redeemer’s University.
Michael Ikpoki: Michael Ikpoki is an accomplished Multinational Business Executive/Leader with over 25 year’s experience across regulatory, commercial, operational management/leadership and consulting/advisory roles in the African Telecom Industry.
- He was a former Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana and MTN Nigeria.
- He is Founder/Managing Partner of Africa Context Advisory Partners where he leads expert teams to consult on Telecom/ICT in Africa. He is Chairman of the Boards of Capricorn Digital Limited and Amplitude Telecoms Africa Limited.
- He is a member of the Boards of Telecel Group and Unilever Nigeria Plc.
Ibrahim Puri: Ibrahim Ajimasu Puri is a finance professional who possesses over 30 years of cognate banking experience encompassing operations, marketing, retail, corporate banking, and human resource management.
- He was an Executive Director with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), with responsibility for the bank’s operations in Northern Nigeria.
- He currently serves on the boards of several blue-chip companies in Nigeria including the Nigeria Breweries Plc and is Chairman of the Board of Redtech Limited, a member of the Heirs Holdings Group.
Gloria Danjuma: She is a dynamic and result-oriented professional with a proven track record of leadership and strategic vision across multiple industries. She has over 20 years of experience driving growth, maximizing shareholder value, and leading organisations through periods of transformation.
She is the current chairperson of NAL/Comet Group, Unitrust Insurance Limited and Wheatbaker Investment Properties Limited. She is also a Board Member of the TY Danjuma Family Office, Novotel Hotel Port Harcourt and a member of TY Danjuma Foundation Board of Trustees.
Emmanuel Etuh: He is a professional and business executive whose experience covers law, finance and operations across diverse industries. He currently serves as Executive Director, Corporate Services at Lighthouse Capital, overseeing the operational aspects of the business, including investments, client service, risk and technology.
He also serves on the board of Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc and Tak Agro & Chemicals Limited. He commenced his career at Banwo & Ighodalo and later served a stint at the International Bar Association, London.
He also served as a lead transactor at TMD Advisory Services focused on the origination, structuring and execution of financial advisory mandates in West and East Africa. He is the founding partner at Haute and Peers LP, providing strategic, corporate and commercial advice to technology, media and telecoms players in the Nigerian market.
The new Board has also also ratified the appointment of the new management team led by Obafemi Banigbe as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company to lead the Company through this transition stage and take it on the path of recovery.
Recall that 9mobile recently announced the appointment of Banigbe as CEO.
The reconstitution of the Board of Directors and the Executive leadership of the company has brought the 9mobile transformation programme to a momentous phase in readiness to compete strongly in the market.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has invested N202.4 billion in capital expenditure (Capex) in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 159 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
The investment, according to the company’s unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, is aimed at improving network infrastructure and enhancing service delivery to customers across the country.
The telecom giant recorded a 40.5 per cent growth in service revenue, driven by strong demand and strategic commercial execution. Data revenue surged by 51.5 per cent, supported by a growing active user base and increased data consumption.
In its fintech division, MTN Nigeria reported a 57.9 per cent rise in revenue, attributed to the strong performance of airtime lending services and higher float income.
However, its active wallet base declined by 25.7 per cent to 2.1 million, reflecting the company’s focus on quality over quantity in customer acquisition.
Despite challenges in the broader economy, MTN Nigeria posted a profit after tax of N133.7 billion, recovering from a loss of N392.7 billion in the previous year. Its EBITDA increased by 65.9 per cent, with the EBITDA margin expanding to 46.6 per cent.
Karl Toriola, chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria expressed confidence in the company’s trajectory, stating: “We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter of 2025, which reflects the continued execution of our strategic priorities and the resilience of demand for our services.
“Building on the momentum from Q4 2024, our Q1 results place us firmly on the path to restoring profitability and achieving a positive net asset position within the current financial year, while increasing our investments to improve network and service quality.”
With a free cash flow of N209.9 billion, MTN Nigeria maintains a solid funding and liquidity position, reinforcing its market leadership in the telecommunications sector.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has said it generated N1.0 trillion in service revenue in the first quarter of 2025, a 40.5 per cent increase from the N752.99 billion earned in Q1 2024.
MTN Nigeria said this in a corporate filing with the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Tuesday.
However, the company’s after tax dropped by 134 per cent, falling to N133.7 billion from N392.7 billion in the same period of 2024.
Its total subscriber base grew by 8.2 per cent to 84.1 million, with 3.2 million new additions in Q1 2025.
MTN Nigeria also said the number of its active data users rose by 13 per cent to 50.3 million, following the addition of 2.6 million users.
EBITDA climbed 65.9 per cent to N492.7 billion, while EBITDA margin improved by 7.2 percentage points to 46.6 per cent.
The company recorded free cash flow of N209.9 billion and earnings per share stood at N6.38.
Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO, expressed satisfaction with the Q1 2025 results, citing strong strategic execution and resilient service demand.
He said momentum from Q4 2024 had helped put the firm on track to restore profitability and achieve a positive net asset position.
He added that regulatory approval for price adjustments was essential to sustain investment and maintain service quality.
This approval enabled N202.4 billion in capital expenditure, up 159 per cent, aimed at expanding capacity and enhancing user experience.
Toriola said the 40.5 per cent growth in service revenue underscored strong demand and commercial discipline.
He noted that Q1 results do not yet reflect the full impact of price changes made late in the quarter.
Some federal lawmakers, yesterday, exchanged heated arguments with telecom operators in the country over the roles they are supposed to play to stem the tide of incessant kidnapping and other phone-related crimes in the country.
The lawmakers said the telcos were not doing enough to track kidnappers, despite the number of calls they make to victims’ families demanding ransom.
However, the telcos swifty responded that the lawmakers were mistaking them for security agencies, instead of the telecommunications services providers they were, clarifying that their duties were to provide telecom services to their subscribers and not to catch criminals.
They however, clarified that where and whenever the security agencies had needed their support or services in information that would lead to locating or arresting kidnappers and other criminals, who perpetrated crimes through mobile phones, they had gladly and freely rendered result-oriented support.
The scene played out at the first day of the two-day colloquium on the Nigerian Communications Act, NCA 2003, at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, with the theme “22 years after: Reassessing the Nigerian Communications Act –Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Directions for a Digital Nigeria”
Ben Etanabene, member of House of Representatives, representing Okpe, Sapele and Uvwie federal constituency, Delta State, was the first to throw the salvo, wondering why despite all the money and time expended in registering phone lines in the country, kidnappers were still operating freely without telcos tracking them.
“Every part of this country, kidnappers are on the rampage, kidnapping and making demands for ransom. Why are the telecom operators not tracking and helping in arresting them before they wreak havoc?” he queried.
Etanabene, who claimed to have been a victim of kidnappers in the past, queried why the telcos and the NCC couldn’t provide geo-location services that would ensure kidnappers were located and nabbed before they carried out their actions, even when all over the world, technology deployment stemmed same crime.
Corroborating him, Ayodele Festus, another member of House of Representatives, who represents Ile-Oluji in Ondo State, said the telcos should improve their services.
He alleged that the telcos were smiling to the bank at the expense of subscribers, who hardly finish a call without it dropping at least five times.
He alleged that there was an increase in customer dissatisfaction because, according to him, “millions of subscribers are deeply frustrated.”
Also, Mr Moshood Olawale, yet another member representing Lagos Mainland in the House of Representatives, alleged that while it was expected that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the telcos collaborated for the progress of the sector, what appeared to be playing out was connivance, explaining why telecom tariff goes up instead of coming down.
However, in a swift reaction, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of Association of Licenced Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), punctured the claims of the lawmakers, saying operators were doing a lot to stem phone-related crimes in the country.
Adebayo said: “In the first instance, we are clearly telecom services providers and do not have the mandate to run around arresting criminals.
“Again, kidnappers usually don’t use their own numbers to call families of their kidnapped victims for ransom. Rather, they use the phone of the kidnapped, while moving from one point to another.
“Then, also remember that there is a privacy law, which gives every subscriber right to privacy until there is a lawful reason to intercept their conversations.
“The worst is that the security agencies have not come to ask for geo-location of event and we refused giving it out. At least, there is Law of Lawful Interception, which gives them right in that regard.’’
Also responding, Tobechukwu Okigbo, Corporate Service Executive, MTN Nigeria, told the lawmakers that in terms of affordability, Nigeria was one of the cheapest country with very low tariff in Africa, meaning that their allegation that Nigerians paid the highest price for telecom services was not based on empirical facts.
He also reminded the lawmakers to consider legislating on telecom infrastructure protection which would nip the cases of theft and incessant fibre cuts and vandalism, in the bud.
On his part, Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of NCC, corrected the impression that the commission was conniving with telcos but stressed the importance of collaboration of the two bodies to deliver quality services to Nigerians.
Credit – Vanguard
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