MTN Nigeria grants shares to six employees under ESOP

MTN Nigeria has vested 129,129 ordinary shares, valued at approximately ₦103.3 million, in six of its employees under the company’s Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) and Performance Share Plan, the telecom operator has disclosed.

The shares were not purchased by the recipients. Instead, they were awarded following the fulfilment of predetermined performance targets and service conditions set under the company’s long-term incentive framework, a structure designed to tie employee rewards directly to the company’s sustained growth.

Omolara Micheal-Nwadu received the largest allocation under the latest vesting, with 99,122 shares transferred to her name. Ayoade Adedapo received 12,403 shares, while Owolabi Adejoke was allocated 12,123 shares. Three other employees also received vested shares under the same programme, though their individual allocations were not separately detailed in the disclosure.

The latest award follows a significantly larger transfer in April 2026, when MTN Nigeria vested over 3.7 million shares in 106 employees, including senior executives, signalling the consistent use of equity-based compensation across multiple staff grades within the organisation.

MTN Nigeria’s share-based incentive programmes are structured to align the interests of employees with those of shareholders, encouraging long-term commitment and performance-driven conduct within the workforce. Under both the ESOP and the Performance Share Plan, participants gain full ownership of their allocated shares only upon satisfying specific conditions, a process known as vesting.

The development comes against a backdrop of improving investor sentiment around MTN Nigeria, with analysts pointing to the company’s resilience in navigating macroeconomic headwinds as a factor underpinning growing confidence in its long-term prospects.