Minister urges NTEL to spread to rural communities

The Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu has advised the management of NTEL to spread to more parts of the country for Nigerians, especially in the rural areas to subscribe to it.
In a statement issued by the Assistant Director, Press, Mr. Austin Asoluka, of the ministry in Abuja; and made available to Daily Times, he stated that Shittu gave the advice when the new Managing Director of NTEL, Mr. Ernest Akinlola and his management team visited the minister in his office in Abuja.
The minister stressed that by going national and moving to the rural areas, Nigerians in those areas would enjoy the services of NTEL alongside other network providers.
Shittu, while congratulating the new managing director, assured him of his support because NTEL belongs to Nigeria, adding that the challenges of funding and going international should be addressed.
“It is government ambition to encourage Nigerian companies in the telecom sector to succeed. Hence, they should be able to have a timeline to be able to use NTEL everywhere in the country and internationally,’’ Shittu said.
Earlier, Akinlola said he deemed it necessary to pay a visit to the minister because of the enormous support his company had received from him and the ministry since its inception.
Akinlola said that he would build relationship with the ministry and customers, because telecom industry needed to survive in the country, as well as build a nomenclature to invest in Ericsson, grow the country’s footprint and get cheaper handset for the customers