MTN Nigeria brings in new directors to boost growth

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has named five new directors to its board. This move aims to improve its operations and support the company’s growth.

The new appointees include former Etisalat Nigeria executives Ibrahim Dikko and Boye Olusanya. They will serve as independent non-executive directors on the board of the telecom company.

MTN also appointed corporate governance expert Fabian Ajogwu along with Imoni Akpofure and Lwazi Bam as non-executive directors.

These appointments will take effect from 1 December. The announcement came in a regulatory filing signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, on Tuesday.

MTN Nigeria stated that the new directors will bring their experience and skills to improve the company’s operations. The company said, "The new Directors are expected to bring their wealth of experience and expertise to enhance Board operations and contribute to the Company’s growth and future direction."

Mr Dikko has over 30 years of experience in banking, telecommunications, information technology, and regulatory advisory. He was chairman of First Securities Discount House Limited from 2002 to 2012 and served as vice president of regulatory and corporate affairs at EMTS Limited, which was Etisalat Nigeria, from 2007 to 2017.

He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Buckingham and a Master of Laws degree from Queen Mary and Westfield College at the University of London. Mr Dikko is a Fellow of the Society of Corporate Governance Nigeria and a Member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Mr Olusanya currently leads FMN Holdings Limited and has over 25 years of experience in executive leadership. His background spans fast-moving consumer goods, agriculture, telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure, and financial services.

He has led FMN Holdings in transforming into a consumer-focused food and agro-industrial business. MTN Nigeria noted that Mr Olusanya’s experience includes business restructuring, strategic acquisitions, operational turnaround, and regional expansion.

Mr Ajogwu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a professor of corporate governance at Lagos Business School. He is the senior partner at KENNA LP and has been in legal practice for 35 years.

He helped the Securities and Exchange Commission draft Nigeria’s first Code of Corporate Governance. He also served on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria committee that worked on the National Code of Corporate Governance in 2018.

Mr Ajogwu founded the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and has written several books on corporate governance. He has a PhD in Law from the University of Aberdeen, an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, and law degrees from the University of Nigeria and the University of Lagos.

Ms Akpofure brings nearly 30 years of experience in finance, infrastructure, and sustainability, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has held senior roles at the International Finance Corporation and the CDC Group, now known as British International Investment.

Currently, she serves on the boards of Africa50 and the Development Bank of Nigeria, bringing her expertise in infrastructure investment and corporate governance.

Mr Bam joined MTN Group as group chief risk officer in June. Before this, he was the CEO of Deloitte Africa and Deloitte Southern Africa from 2012 to 2022.

During his time at Deloitte, he served on the firm’s Global Executive Committee and advised companies on mergers, strategy, governance, and risk oversight. From 2022 to 2026, he was a non-executive director on the boards of Standard Bank Group and Valterra Platinum.

He is now on the boards of Woolworths Holdings Limited and ZEDA Limited. Mr Bam is a chartered accountant in South Africa and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

MTN Nigeria is one of Africa’s biggest communication service providers, connecting over 94 million people across the country. Since its launch in 2001, the company operates in 19 markets in Africa and the Middle East, serving over 300 million people.