Nigerian Telecom investors top Forbes’ richest list

Otudeko, Airtel Chairman

Telecom investors in Nigeria have been announced as among those who made Forbes top 40 richest list on the continent.

Latest information filtering into our newsroom indicates that chairmen of, at least, four Mobile Network Operators (MNO) in Nigeria, made the list in varying categories, while Nigerian business mogul, Messrs Aliko Dangote, is not despaired from assuming the topmost position with $12 billion, about N1,892,407,404,333 trillion.

Adenuga, Glo Chairman

DigitalSENSEBusiness News gathered that of the four chairmen on scale for the 2012 Forbes’ list, telecom investors from Nigeria is led by the executive chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga, jnr, while he is on the 5th scale for the African richest position with the net worth of $6.4 billion, about N1.9 trillion as at the time of filing this report.

Other chairmen and core investors in the nation’s telecommunications sector include the chairman of Visafone Communication, Mr. Jim Ovia, his counterpart at Etisalat, Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie and chairman, Airtel Nigeria and Honey Well group founder, Oba Otudeko.

Osagie, Etisalat Nigeria Chairman

Whereas Hakeem Belo-Osagie, 57, may have closed the list of 40 Africans with an estimated $400m net worth from the oil sector; Jim Ovia ranked 19 with net worth of $825m, about N130.1 billion, even as the Honey Well group founder and current chairman, Airtel Nigeria, Oba Otudeko is worth of $575m, about N90.6 billion.

Uniquely, what the aforementioned showed is that these men are simply accomplished investors in other sectors of the economy, even before venturing into telecommunications and as posited by some industry watchers, it goes to also stress that these investors are making progress and telecommunications has not been all just investment but provides return on investment.

Ovia, Visafone Chairman

However, some other Nigerians that made the 40 top richest list in Africa consist of Abdulsamad Rabiu, who heads BUA Group and is ranked 21st with a net worth of $675m, and Folorunsho Alakija, who is one of two women on the list and ranked 24th with a net worth of $600m from the oil sector.

Following Alakija in the rating is former Nigerian defense minister Theophilus Danjuma who is a net worth of $600m from the oil sector at the 24th position.

At the 27th position is Mohammed Indimi whose worth is $550m from the oil and gas sector, just as 82-year old O.B. Lulu-Briggs ranked 31st with a net worth of $500m from the oil sector. Further, Nigerian Sani Bello, the former Nigerian military governor from Kano State and a one-time ambassador to Zimbabwe ranked 37 with a net worth of $425m.

Remmy Nweke

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