Victor Ezeja
As the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine caused by Russia’s military invasion, worsens, two telecommunication giants in Nigeria, Airtel and MTN have announced free internationals calls and SMS to Ukraine as a form of support to Nigerian customers who have friends and family members there.
They both indicated that the free call and SMS services are available to all existing prepaid and postpaid subscribers in Nigeria to enable them connect and have unhindered access to their loved ones in the Eastern European country currently in ruin as a result of conflict with Russia.
Commenting on the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil, said, “Airtel understands that many Nigerians are anxious about the safety and whereabouts of their friends, family members and loved ones in Ukraine and want to stay connected real time with them. It is our belief that this service will provide unfettered access to everyone that wishes to connect with their loved ones in order to offer them the much needed comfort and succour that we all crave for at this difficult time.”
Join our WhatsApp Channel“At Airtel, we love to connect deeply with our customers and we are always inspired to lend our support as we believe that we are one big family. We will always stand by our customers and continue to offer opportunities and innovative offerings that will make life better for them,” he said.
MTN Nigeria offers each active subscriber 30 minutes of free voice calls and 50 free SMS to Ukraine which will be valid till March 31, 2022.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos, the MTN Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said, the company understands that some customers have challenges reaching their loved ones who are in Ukraine and so decided to offer the free international calls and SMS services as a quick response to the communication difficulty so as to reduce cost for them.
“We understand that some of our customers in Ukraine have experienced challenges in contacting their loved ones. As a result, we have stepped in with support to ensure that our customers, both at home and in Ukraine, are still able to connect with family and friends. All our customers will benefit from the waived SMS and voice call fees to and from Ukraine. This blanket waiver has been put in place as an immediate response to the need,” Toriola stated.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
