Globacom has 24 months to nominate a chief government officer (CEO) separate from the chairman or threat going through regulatory sanctions from the Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC). The ultimatum is a part of sweeping new company governance guidelines launched on August 7, 2025, to strengthen accountability, transparency, and operational independence within the nation’s telecom sector.
“It’s much like what the banking sector in Nigeria did a few years in the past, making certain the banks adhere strictly to world requirements in relation to company governance,” stated one telecom government who wished to stay nameless to talk freely. “The telecom business took too lengthy to reach right here.”
Underneath the brand new tips, telecom operators should separate the board chairman and CEO positions—a typical already met by MTN Nigeria, Airtel, and T2 (previously 9mobile). Globacom, nonetheless, stays the lone exception among the many 4 main operators, with its founder and chairman, Mike Adenuga, doubling as CEO for the reason that firm’s inception.
Globacom didn’t reply to a request for feedback.
This long-standing focus of government energy has been one of many defining options of Globacom’s company construction and a recurring supply of governance issues. Whereas Adenuga is extensively credited with steering the corporate into turning into a formidable participant in Nigeria’s telecom market, the absence of a definite and impartial CEO position has restricted Globacom’s capability to modernise its governance mannequin according to worldwide finest practices.
In 2024, Globacom appeared to maneuver towards compliance when it appointed veteran telecom government Ahmad Farroukh as CEO. Farroukh’s tenure, nonetheless, was remarkably short-lived, ending after simply two months. Whereas no official motive was given for his departure, business insiders steered that variations over operational management and decision-making processes contributed to the short exit.
Farroukh’s resignation successfully restored the corporate to its earlier association, with Adenuga once more serving as chairman and chief government, violating the NCC’s new governance framework.
The NCC’s Company Governance Tips mandate that the board of each licensed telecom operator should encompass at the least 5 members, together with a non-executive chairman, an MD/CEO, government administrators, non-executive administrators (NEDs), and impartial non-executive administrators (INEDs). Importantly, the variety of non-executive administrators should exceed that of government administrators, and at the least one-third of the board should be impartial.
The principles additional stipulate that at the least two non-executive administrators—one among whom should be impartial—ought to have related experience in data communication know-how (ICT) and/or cybersecurity. Most importantly for Globacom, the chairman should be a non-executive director elected by the board, and on no account can the chairman train government powers or assume the position of MD/CEO.
The NCC’s enforcement powers beneath the brand new tips are intensive. Failure to conform after notification can appeal to sanctions, beginning with fines and increasing to suspension and even revocation of working licences. Within the case of significant breaches, the Fee reserves the correct to order modifications in a licensee’s administration inside a specified interval.
Globacom’s governance mannequin has lengthy stood in distinction to its rivals. MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, and 9mobile function with clearly outlined board buildings, impartial management, and separation of strategic oversight from day-to-day operations. In Globacom’s case, nonetheless, governance has traditionally revolved round a founder-led mannequin. Whereas this has allowed for swift decision-making and a constant strategic imaginative and prescient, it has additionally meant that key government roles are intently tied to the chairman’s workplace, limiting independence and probably slowing institutional reforms.
The failed appointment of Farroukh underscored the problem of balancing a founder’s affect with the autonomy required of a contemporary company government.
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