MTN Nigeria, the country's largest mobile network, is adding five people to its board. The company told the Nigerian Exchange in a notice dated 3 November that the appointments take effect on 1 December 2026, Nairametrics reports. Premium Times says the filing was signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah.
Ibrahim Dikko and Boye Olusanya join as independent non-executive directors. Fabian Ajogwu, Imoni Akpofure and Lwazi Bam join as non-executive directors. MTN Nigeria said the five are expected to "bring their wealth of experience and expertise" to the board's work and to the company's growth, according to BusinessDay and Premium Times.
Who is joining
- Ibrahim Dikko (independent): more than 30 years in banking, telecoms, ICT and regulatory advisory. He was vice president for regulatory and corporate affairs at EMTS, the operator then known as Etisalat Nigeria, from 2007 to 2017, and chaired First Securities Discount House from 2002 to 2012.
- Boye Olusanya (independent): group chief executive of FMN Holdings, with more than 25 years of leadership across consumer goods, agriculture, telecoms, technology, energy and financial services. Premium Times describes him, like Dikko, as a former Etisalat Nigeria executive.
- Fabian Ajogwu: Senior Advocate of Nigeria, professor of corporate governance at Lagos Business School and senior partner at KENNA LP. He helped the SEC draft Nigeria's code of corporate governance and sat on the Financial Reporting Council committee behind the 2018 national code.
- Imoni Akpofure: nearly three decades in finance, infrastructure and sustainability, with senior roles at the IFC, CDC Group (now British International Investment) and KINA Advisory. She sits on the boards of Africa50 and the Development Bank of Nigeria.
- Lwazi Bam: MTN Group's chief risk officer since 1 June 2026, after running Deloitte Africa from 2012 to 2022. He sits on the boards of Woolworths Holdings and ZEDA.
More from StartupsRevolut Closes Share Sale at $115 Billion ValuationThe London fintech is now worth 53% more than a year ago. No new money was raised, and a US bank launch is planned for 2027.Why the line-up matters
Three of the five bring regulation, governance and risk to the table. Dikko spent a decade handling regulatory affairs at a rival network, Ajogwu wrote much of the rulebook Nigerian listed companies follow, and Bam's day job at MTN Group is running risk and compliance across its markets. His seat also ties the Nigerian board more closely to the Johannesburg parent's risk function.
The changes come as MTN Nigeria's earnings recover. For the nine months to September, it reported profit after tax of ₦1.17 trillion on revenue of ₦4.61 trillion, up 23.6%, as TheStak reported. At the same time, the House of Representatives has been pressing telecom chief executives to appear in person over network quality, a fight covered in TheStak's report on the summons. MTN has not linked the appointments to either.
