ETISALAT MANAGER IN DEBT MESS
Etisalat, one of the latest entrants into the telecommunication industry in Nigeria, is in the news again. Latest information about the organization has it that its Head, Regional Sales, Lagos and South-West got involved in a debt mess during the company’s ongoing product activation and SIM registration in the south west zone.
Those who should know alleged that the manager, Olujimi Tella, secretly operates an activation agency which is registered with his wife’s name to collect activation jobs from Etisalat.
It was also gathered that during one of the company’s activations in Ibadan, Oyo State that involved a road show and direct sales, promoters who were employed by the coy’s operation officer, who is inexperience in experiential marketing, went away with products like SIM cards, branded souvenirs and two branded bus, making him to lose over a million naira.
According to a reliable source, Etisalat’s activation during the 2010 Osun-Oshogbo festival was a flop as promoters were not at the right locations that would have made them become visible to tourists. This, among other factors, affected the success of the activation at the event.
The development was alleged to have prompted Olujimi to order the manager of his privately-owned agency not to pay the promoters who worked during the festival.
One of the promoters, who worked as a supervisor on the activations, and who preferred anonymity, alleged that the money being owed promoters for hotels and transportation is close to N2million.
It was also gathered that Olujimi and the promoters lodged in the same hotel and their cars were impounded by the hotel management for inability to pay for services rendered. Our source added that the representative of the agency is at large and that no one is picking their calls to know when the money would be paid.
Efforts made to speak with Olujimi Tella proved abortive as he wasn’t picking his calls.