MTN Appoints Emir Sanusi Board Member

South African telecoms provider MTN Group has appointed the Emir of Kano, Malam  Muhammadu Sanusi II on the board of the organization in a board shake-up following a series of regulatory issues.

MTN, which has expanded in more than 20 frontier markets including Syria and Afghanistan, has faced a number of disputes in its biggest market Nigeria in recent years over dividend repatriation, tax payments and unregistered SIM cards. It also faces disputes in other markets.

“The board is of the view that MTN Group has entered a more stable and settled phase, enabling it to now affect an evolution of the board.”

Muhammadu Sanusi II  is the 14th Fulani Emir of Kano, who was turbaned on 8 June 2014 after the death of his grand-uncle Alhaji Ado Bayero (who died on 6 June 2014). Emir Sanusi was a banker.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as he then was in September 2005,  became a board member of the First Bank of Nigeria as an executive director in charge of risk and management control. He was appointed Group Managing Director (CEO) in January 2009. At that time, Sanusi was chairman of Kakawa Discount House (where he was a board member of FBN Bank).

He was appointed on 3 June 2009 for a five-year term as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria by late President Umar Yar’adua . But was suspended from office by President Goodluck Jonathan on 20 February 2014 after he accused the government of a $20 billion fraud in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Muhammadu Sanusi II received two awards from The Banker magazine: Central Bank Governor of the Year (worldwide) and Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa.

The Time magazine listed him on its list of the 100 most influential people of 2011. And in 2013, Sanusi was honored at the third Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) in Dubai for his advocacy in promoting Islamic banking and finance during his tenure as governor of Nigeria’s central bank.

Solacebase recalled that prior to Muhammadu Sanusi II’s appointment as an Emir, he is a prolific Writer, Columnist and a Public Analyst.

The South African telecoms giant also appointed former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as chairman-designate . Jonas will take over from Phuthuma Nhleko, who has been at the helm for more than three-years, on Dec. 15, MTN said.

Jonas will take over from Phuthuma Nhleko, who has been at the helm for more than three-years, on Dec. 15, MTN said.

MTN similarly appointed Vincent Rague, a Kenyan national who worked for the International Finance Corporation for 24 years, in a number of senior positions.

Nhleko said the new appointees “will bring a depth of skills and regional insights that will continue to enrich the experience of the board.”

MTN said it will also set up an international advisory board, chaired by South Africa’s former President Thabo Mbeki, with the primary propose to counsel, guide and support the group.

The board will comprise former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, former African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs Aisha Abdullahi, President of Marketing & Services at Total Momar Nguer, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed ElBaradei and Nhleko.