Leadership (Abuja)
Betrand Nwankwo
23 October 2009
Abuja — Telecommunications giant, Etisalat, said it has spent over $2 billion on network expansion in Nigeria in the last one year.
This is coming even as the United Arab Emirate GSM operator records over two million active subscribers in Nigeria within one year of its roll out in the country.
Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie, announced this yesterday in Abuja, at the ceremony to mark the company's one year anniversary. He said that the journey of the last twelve months has been that of a promise fulfilled.
Osagie also told the guests that the UAE telecom operator is spending over $1 million on corporate social responsibility initiatives; including the giving out of 300 sholarships to students in 28 federal and State universities across the country. In Lagos state, he said Etisalat has supported the noble educational initiatives of the state government under its Adopt-a-School project, where it has adopted three schools in the State.
According to him, "At the launch of our commercial operation in the country twelve months ago, we made a solemn promise to the Nigerian nation: a promise to bring to Nigerians the same world-class products and services Etisalat is known for in the 17 other countries in which we operate in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We are very happy that one full year on, we are able to come before you with our scorecard to show evidence of a promise fulfilled".
He continued: "Etisalat has invested hugely on its network expansion in the last one year. We have over 500 active cell sites across the nation. We have actively covered about 40 per cent of Nigeria's population. We have over two million active subscribers on our network. We have spent over $2 billion cumulatively, building our network."
Recounting the achievements of the company since October 2008, the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Mr Steven Evans, said the last twelve months has witnessed the launch of easy cliq products and packages, the winning of a number of awards and sponsorship of promotions that have affected the lives of Etisalat subscribers positively.
According to Evans, the GSM operator also ran several promotions within one year of operation, where millionaires have emerged. He added that in about two weeks from now, one lucky Nigerian will win $1 million, saying he would ensure that no staff of the company gets the prize.
In a keynote address, the Vice Prisident, Dr Goodluck Jonathan assured the GSM firm of government's commitment in providing an enabling environment for business operations in Nigeria.
Represented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Sylvester Anyianwu, the vice president said federal government would continue to provide the basic infrastructure that would make the country conducive for investors. He congratulated the telecom firm for emerging first in four out of five indices used by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to measure the quality of services telecom service in Nigeria.
Jonathan also commended the company's social responsibility programme, especially in education where it has given scholarship to 300 students in higher institutions.
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