The appointments, effective December 1, 2026, bring expertise in telecommunications, corporate governance, finance and infrastructure to the company’s board.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has announced the appointment of five new directors to its board, including corporate governance expert Professor Fabian Ajogwu and former Etisalat Nigeria executive Ibrahim Dikko.
The appointments, which take effect on December 1, 2026, were disclosed in a regulatory filing submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on November 3.
The other appointees are Boye Olusanya, Group Chief Executive Officer of FMN Holdings Limited; Imoni Akpofure, an infrastructure finance specialist; and Lwazi Bam, MTN Group’s Chief Risk Officer and former Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Africa.
According to the filing signed by MTN Nigeria’s Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, Dikko and Olusanya will serve as independent non-executive directors, while Ajogwu, Akpofure and Bam will join as non-executive directors.
MTN Nigeria said the appointments would strengthen board operations and support the company’s growth and strategic direction.
MTN Nigeria appoints experienced executives to board
Dikko brings more than 30 years of experience across banking, telecommunications, information technology and regulatory affairs.
He previously served as Chairman of First Securities Discount House Limited from 2002 to 2012 and Vice President of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs at EMTS Limited, then operating as Etisalat Nigeria, between 2007 and 2017.
A lawyer by training, Dikko holds law degrees from the University of Buckingham and the University of London. He is also a Fellow of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria.
Olusanya, meanwhile, has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience spanning agriculture, telecommunications, technology, energy, infrastructure and financial services.
He currently heads FMN Holdings Limited, where he oversees the group’s business transformation and expansion strategy.
His professional experience includes corporate restructuring, operational turnarounds, strategic acquisitions and organisational governance.
Ajogwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Professor of Corporate Governance at Lagos Business School, brings extensive legal and corporate governance experience.
He is a Senior Partner at KENNA LP and has practised law for 35 years.
According to MTN Nigeria, Ajogwu contributed to the development of Nigeria’s corporate governance framework, including work with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.
He also founded the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and has authored several publications on corporate governance and corporate responsibility.
MTN Nigeria strengthens finance and risk expertise
Akpofure joins the board with nearly three decades of experience in finance, infrastructure investment and sustainability.
Her previous roles include senior positions at the International Finance Corporation, CDC Group, now British International Investment, and KINA Advisory.
She currently sits on the boards of Africa50 and the Development Bank of Nigeria.
Bam, who joined MTN Group as Chief Risk Officer on June 1, 2026, previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Africa and Deloitte Southern Africa from 2012 to 2022.
During his career at Deloitte, he also served on the firm’s Global Executive Committee and advised major organisations on strategy, mergers and acquisitions, governance and risk management.
He subsequently held non-executive board positions at organisations including Standard Bank Group and Valterra Platinum.
Bam currently serves on the boards of Woolworths Holdings Limited and ZEDA Limited.
What the board appointments mean for MTN Nigeria
The appointments introduce additional experience in regulatory affairs, corporate governance, infrastructure financing, business transformation and enterprise risk management.
These areas are relevant to a telecommunications business operating in a capital-intensive and highly regulated industry.
Independent non-executive directors are particularly important to corporate oversight because their role includes providing objective scrutiny of management decisions and protecting broader shareholder interests.
The distinction is significant in MTN Nigeria’s latest appointments, with Dikko and Olusanya designated as independent directors and the three other appointees joining in non-executive capacities.
MTN Nigeria is chaired by Ernest Ndukwe, while Karl Toriola serves as Chief Executive Officer.
The company provides telecommunications services to more than 94 million people across Nigeria, according to its corporate disclosure.
Its subsidiaries include MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited, Yello Digital Financial Services Limited and XS Broadband Limited.
The five appointments are scheduled to take effect on December 1, expanding the range of professional experience represented on MTN Nigeria’s board.
