MTN Nigeria appoints ex-Etisalat boss, four other new directors

MTN Nigeria said the new directors were expected to bring their experience and expertise to strengthen the telco giant’s operations.

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has appointed five new directors to its board as part of efforts to strengthen its operations and support the company’s growth and strategic direction.

The telco giant also appointed corporate governance expert Fabian Ajogwu, Imoni Akpofure and Lwazi Bam as non-executive directors.

The appointments, which take effect from 1 December were disclosed in a regulatory filing signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, on Tuesday.

MTN Nigeria said the new directors were expected to bring their experience and expertise to strengthen the telco giant’s operations.

“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,” MTN Nigeria said.

Profiles

Mr Dikko brings more than three decades of experience spanning banking, telecommunications, information and communications technology, and regulatory advisory.

He served as chairman of First Securities Discount House Limited from 2002 to 2012 and was vice president of regulatory and corporate affairs at EMTS Limited, which operated as Etisalat Nigeria, from 2007 to 2017.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Buckingham and a Master of Laws degree from Queen Mary and Westfield College, and 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, who currently leads FMN Holdings Limited, has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across the fast-moving consumer goods, agriculture, telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure and financial services sectors.

He has led the strategic transformation of FMN Holdings into a vertically integrated, consumer-focused food and agro-industrial business.

MTN Nigeria said Mr Olusanya’s experience includes enterprise transformation, business restructuring, strategic acquisitions, operational turnaround and regional expansion.

Mr Ajogwu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and professor of corporate governance at Lagos Business School. He is also the senior partner at KENNA LP and has practised law for 35 years.

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

Mr Ajogwu is also the founder of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and has authored several books on corporate governance.

He holds 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 three decades of experience in finance, infrastructure and sustainability, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Her career includes senior roles at the International Finance Corporation, CDC Group, now known as British International Investment, and KINA Advisory.

She currently serves on the boards of Africa50 and the Development Bank of Nigeria, where she brings experience in infrastructure investment, sustainable growth and corporate governance.

Mr Bam joined MTN Group as group chief risk officer in June. Before joining the telecommunications group, he served as chief executive officer of Deloitte Africa and Deloitte Southern Africa from 2012 to 2022.

During his nearly three decades at Deloitte, he also served on the firm’s Global Executive Committee and advised organisations on mergers and acquisitions, strategy, governance and risk oversight.

Between 2022 and 2026, he served as a non-executive director on the boards of Standard Bank Group and Valterra Platinum. He currently serves 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, one of Africa’s largest providers of communications services, connects over 94 million people in communities across the country.

Launched in 2001, the telco operates in 19 markets in Africa and the Middle East, serving over 300 million people.