Communication giant MTN Nigeria finally got some reprieve from the Federal Government over the humongous fine slammed on it for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered lines from its network.
President Muhammadu Buhari to whom the South African firm had made recourse to as their last hope slashed the fine imposed on it by the Nigeria Communications Commission $5.2billoon to $3.4 billion.
The NCC hammered the MTN for keeping some 5.2 million pre-registered SIM cards running on its network, contrary to a directive from the regulator that all operators should deactivate such SIMs on their network.
The development, which has threatened MTN’s operations in Nigeria, had earlier led to resignation of the company’s Group Chief Executive, Sifiso Dabengwa.
He resigned shortly after the NCC hammer hit the telco.
But on Thursday, MTN’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki and its Head of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Akinwale Goodluck, also resigned their appointments with the embattled carrier.
AAccording to reports, pressure was brought to bear on Ikpoki to resign his appointment, failing which he would be risking being kicked out. He was replaced by Ferdi Moolman as MTN Nigeria CEO, while Amina Oyagbola has taken from Goodluck as Head of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs.
The telco, however, appointed a Nigerian, Karl Toriola, Vice President, West and Central Africa (WECA) Region. Based in Nigeria, Toriola has worked with MTN for 10 years, having held senior operational roles at MTN Group and MTN Iran. He was formerly the Chief Technology Officer at MTN Nigeria and CEO at MTN Cameroon.
The government, it was further learnt, has informed informed the company of the decision to reduce the fine on the MTN Nigerian business from the original $5.2 billion to $3.4 billion.
But the government is insisting that payment must be effected by 31 December 31. The fine has to do with the late disconnection of 5.1 million MTN Nigerian subscribers in August and September 2015.
as part of its adjustments resulting from the life-threatening fine, the company has also reviewed its operating structure to operational oversight, leadership, governance and regulatory compliance across its 22 country operations in Middle East and Africa (MEA).
It said it has therefore resolved to re-implement its previous reporting structure which would see MTN Group restructured into three regions – namely WECA, South and East Africa (SEA), and Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Under the restructuring, Jyoti Desai assumes the new position of Group Chief Operating Officer (COO). Based in Johannesburg, she will report to the Executive Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko. Ms. Desai has 14 years’ experience at MTN.
She has previously held the positions of Chief Information Officer at MTN Nigeria and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MTN Irancell. She was recently seconded to support the company operations in Nigeria. Her replacement as Group Chief Technology and Information Officer will be announced soon, while the appointment takes effect from December One, this year.
Also appointed was the Vice President for MENA, Ismail Jaroudi, while the Vice President for SEA will be announced soon, the statement said.
Jaroudi has been CEO of MTN Syria since 2006. Prior to this, he held senior operational roles for Investcom’s subsidiaries across the Middle East and North Africa.
Also reporting to the Executive Chairman, is the new Group Executive for M&A, Matthew Odgers. The former Head of TMT for Africa and the Middle East and Head of Investment Banking for MENA at UBS, Odgers led UBS’ overall relationship with MTN.
Mr Moolman was previously COO at MTN Irancell and recently CFO at MTN Nigeria. Nigerian Ms. Oyagbola retains the position of MTN Nigeria’s Head of Human Resources. She formerly headed regulatory affairs at the Nigerian operating company.
The search for the MTN Group CEO is underway and remains a priority, the telco said.
Commenting on the announcements, Nhleko said: “This revised structure and strengthened leadership will improve operational oversight and increase management capacity. This will enable MTN to continue to realise its strategy and vision, while also ensuring we achieve high governance standards and robust risk mitigation.”
