Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has charged corporate organisations operating in Nigeria to be more accountable and people-centred in their services and ownership structure.
He said this on Thursday evening while receiving board members of the telecoms giant, MTN, led by the company’s Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this on Friday in a statement entitled ‘Osinbajo to corporates: Accountability in services provided, attending to people’s needs, way to go.’
Osinbajo said corporate organisations operating in Nigeria should ensure there is accountability in the provision of services to customers and pay greater attention to the needs of the people.
He added that it is critical for corporate organisations to show commitment to improving services and to build confidence in the people.
“Corporate organizations should be more accountable in their services, in the ownership structure, and also in paying attention to the needs of the people.
Companies that ensure this will experience progress, as this is the right direction to go.
“Going forward, most corporates will find that attaching greater importance to the people is the way to go.”
He said for telecoms firms such as MTN, “financial inclusion is crucial, so is broadband connection in deepening access and will help to connect hard-to-reach places, and to retail social welfare and services.”
While acknowledging bumps in the relationships between the MTN brand and Nigeria, the Vice President applauded the company for its contribution to the country, adding that the company “is clearly an important part of Nigeria’s story.”
“The company’s investment was crucial when Nigeria needed to show that not only is there a large population in the country, but that it is a large market. The market was severely underestimated for a long time.
“So, MTN is an important part of our story, we regard MTN as an important partner.”
In his address, The Group’s President, Ralph Mupita revealed that MTN wants to deepen include more Nigerians in its ownership structure.
“We want to deepen our structure of ownership in Nigeria. We will sell another 14 per cent to Nigerian individuals and institutions. We want to have the largest retail-based shareholding in Nigeria.
“We want at least two million Nigerian shareholders, deepening our roots in Nigeria.”
Mupita added that MTN is a corporate citizen and therefore is responsible in all the countries where it is represented.
“Our vision is to drive digital solutions for Africa’s progress, and in MTN, we are building PAN-African leadership.”
Other members of the MTN Delegation at the Villa include the Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Ernest Ndukwe; Group Chief Finance Officer, Tsholofelo Molefe; MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola, and Chief Corporate Services Officer, Tobechukwu Okigbo.
