By Moses Ebosele, ebosele@hotmail.com —
Foremost Telecoms firm, MTN on Wednesday announced the retirement of its board chairman, Pascal Dozie and five other non-executive directors .
The company also announced the appointment of former Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Ernest Ndukwe as chairman designate.
In a note to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), it said the investing public and other stakeholders should note that the retirement follows the expiration of their tenure and in compliance with applicable codes of Corporate Governance. The retirement takes effect from September 2, 2019.
Also retired are Col. Sani Bello (rtd) vice-chairman; Chief Victor Odili, non-executive director; Mallam Ahmed Dasuki-non-executive director; Mr. Babatunde Folawiyo-non-executive director; and Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, non-executive director.
The telco also expressed its appreciation to the six directors for their commitment, leadership and extensive contributions to the success of the telco since their appointment in 2001.
Other board members include the telcos Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ferdinand Moolman; Mr. Michael Onochie Ajukwu-independent non-executive director; Mr. Muhammad K. Ahmad-independent non-executive director; Mr. Andrew Alli-non-executive director; Mr. Rhidwaan Gasant-independent non-executive director; Mrs. Omobola Johnson-non-executive director; and Mr. A.B. Mahmoud-non-executive director.
Others, according to a statement endorsed by the telco’s Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, include Mr. Ralph Mupita-non-executive director; Mr. Paul Norman-non-executive director; Mrs. Ifueko Okauru-non-executive director; Mr. Jens Schulte-Bockum-non-executive director; Group CEO, Mr. Rob Shuter-non-executive director and Mr. Karl Toriola-non-executive director.
Mrs. Johnson served as pioneer ComTech Minister between 2011 and 2015 and pioneered the Federal Government’s
involvement in a venture capital fund and a network of start-up incubators and participated in the launching and execution of the National Broadband Plan.
Prior to her appointment, she was country Managing Director for Accenture. She currently chairs the board of Custodian and Allied Insurance Limited and sits on the boards of Guinness Nigeria Plc as well as World Wide Web Foundation.
Mrs. Johnson is the founding Chairperson of Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ). She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Africa; UNDP’s Broadband Commission Working Group on Gender and the International Telecommunication Union’s Powering Development Advisory Board. Since 2015, she has served as Honorary Chairperson of the Global Alliance for Affordable Internet.
Mrs. Johnson attended the University of Manchester where she obtained BEng, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and King’s College London (MSc, Digital Electronics). She has a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Cranfield University and is a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN).
