According the reports, the announcement came courtesy of MTN Nigeria chairman Dr Ernest Ndukwe, who during the company’s 20th anniversary celebration, told reporters that through the investment the company aims to improve its network services and promote long-term business that will support the economic growth of the company.
In addition, Dr Ndukwe says that MTN Nigeria is particularly committed to expanding its rural connectivity to underserved regions of the country.
“We plan to connect approximately 1000 rural communities to our network this year with an additional 2000 communities in 2022. We are optimistic about what the future holds for Nigeria’s digital economy and we look forward to building it together with all stakeholders,” said Dr Ndukwe.
Also, in attendance at the event was CEO Karl Toriola, who also reaffirmed the company's commitment to the restoration of the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway through the Federal Government’s Road Infrastructure Tax Credit (RITC) Scheme, a project that MTN Nigeria is taking part in.
This project forms part of the governments initaive for public-private partnerships in the repair of critical road infrastructure in Nigeria.
“We’ve initiated plans for the construction of a purpose-built, state-of-the-art head office in Lagos. We will also be selling down 14% of MTN shares to over two million Nigerian retail investors,” Toriola said.
“We firmly believe that Nigeria’s digital journey is only just beginning and that the future is filled with promises. Working together, we can and will build the more prosperous and inclusive future we seek and empower even more Nigerian to do greater things.”
Ugonwa Nwoye, chief customer officer at MTN Nigeria, participated in a panel session alongside the executive secretary of MTN Foundation, Odunoya Sanya and the chief sales officer of MTN Nigeria, which highlighted the key role of the customer is its 20-year journey.
“The customer is key to us and we do not take them for granted. As our customer base increases, we also invest in our network to accommodate more customers. We support our customers to ensure that they receive quality service that will keep them active on the network during communication,” said Nwoye.
Mohammed Yusuf, the company CTO confirmed that MTN would continue to work with the government to address the issue of Right of Way charges, to enable MTN to rollout more of its broadband and 5G services.
