MTN Nigeria stands to gain, a lot from the appointment of Dr Ernest Ndukwe, as chairman of the company’s board, and Dr Omobola Johnson, as non-executive director of the board.
It has to be said, however that MTN’s gain is perhaps, Nigeria’s loss. ICT icon, Chris Uwaje, shares this same view when he argued that Ndukwe would have been more profitable for the country if he had been made the minister of communications.
Uwaje said Ndukwe has served as a successful entrepreneur, a sterling regulator and policy maker, ingredients that the Ministry of Communications now needs to take Nigeria to expected heights.
Nevertheless, Uwaje said, his appointment as MTN board chair would help to stabilize the current fragile infrastructure ecosystem.
Ndukwe and Johnson have international reputation and integrity that they would surely bring to bear to profit the company, which has suffered recently from errors of judgment and misread of the industry regulator’s resolve.
MTN was handed a $5.2 billion fine by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC in exercise of the Commission rule under section 20(1) of the Telephone Subscribers regulation (TSR), for not meeting the deadline for disconnecting the Subscribers Identification Modules (SIM) with improper registration.
The compliance audit carried out by the NCC on MTN network revealed unregistered 5.2 million customers lines un-deactivated. This led to the NCC fining MTN with the sum of $1000 for each unregistered SIM, which amounted to $5.2bn
What followed was major resignations among the top echelon of the organisation, including the chief executive officer, Sifiso Dabengwa, the Head of Nigeria Operation, Micheal Ikpoki and the Head of Cooperate Affairs, Akinwale Goodluck.
However diplomatic interactions between the government of the Republic of South Africa and its Nigerian counterpart ameliorated the burden of the liabilities from the fine. The fine was reduced to $3.2 billion.
The fine was imposed on the company in October 2015. MTN has dutifully complied and has fully paid the fine to the coffers of the Nigerian government.
With Ndukwe’s insight and knowledge in the country’s regulatory structure and network with operators, it is the view that he may have steered the company away from falling into the regulatory pitfall that resulted to the fine.
Ndukwe and Johnson would definitely provide strategic leadership and guidance to the management in the decisions it takes and the path it walks for it to continue to lead in the digital era.
Ndukwe and Johnson are apostles of good corporate governance and have excellent scorecards in that area. Ndukwe ran the Nigerian telecommunication regulator for 10 years and presented the Nigerian agency as a model followed by other African regulators. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) often used NCC as model for regulatory practices for Africa and indeed other emerging economies.
Johnson, who has had enviable records with international organisations served as Minister of Communication Technology of Nigeria. She performed very creditably in that position.
Their knowledge, experience, international and national networks would serve the leading telecommunication operator in Nigeria increased investors’ confidence in the company.
Ndukwe and Johnson’s presence in the MTN board would be key to the inroads that MTN would continue to make going forward, especially, in the emerging digital economy and the 5G technology.
Ndukwe is an apostle of self-regulation, one who believes that the industry should get to a point where they could regulate themselves such that they do not fall fowl of the regulators rules.
It should be recalled that Ndukwe and Johnson appointment is in line with the MTN Group bid to get heavy weights into its board for maximum performance.
Only two months ago the Group revamps its board and appointed Mcebisi Jonas to take over as chairman in December 2019. On the Group new board is former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, who chairs new MTN International Advisory Board. Emir Lamido Sanusi, a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor and Emir of Kano also joins the group as a non-executive director in July 2019.
