Celtel Nigeria loses top managers

Company sources say the two members of the board involved in the dismissal, as well as the three top managers, were relieved of their duties following a meeting of the top brass of Celtel Nigeria.

To many the decision comes as no surprise since it has long been rumoured that Visafone, among other new entrants into the nation's telecommunications market, has poached most of the top reliable hands from other operators, especially Celtel.

Company sources said that the two of the board members involved in the decision announced late Monday night are Henry Imaseka and Tito Alai, who were reportedly discharged from the board.

And as at press time, it was not clear whether the dismissed three top management staff was voluntary or compulsory, but industry analysts suggested that the notice of dismissal was too soon to be voluntary.

It would be recalled that out of the seven years in existence, beginning with its days as Econet Wireless, the telco has been engulfed in board politics more than competitors and has spent almost three of this seven years changing names and brand.

The Chief Executive of Celtel Nigeria, Bayo Ligali, cancelled a media briefing on Tuesday morning and instead released a media statement that the board members resigned.

The statement also commended the contribution of Imaseka in Celtel. According to the statement, Imaseka not only placed his intellectual capacity, professional knowledge and material resources at the disposal of the company, but also worked extremely hard with his colleagues to get Celtel's business to where it is today.

Meanwhile, Tito Alai, who was formerly the Chief Commercial Officer of Celtel International, who joined the board of Celtel Nigeria following the 65% acquisition of Vee Networks Limited by Celtel International, resigned to take up a new appointment at the Zain Group - the parent company of Celtel International.

On the other hand, the management of Celtel Nigeria also announced the exit of Boye Olusanya from the company with effect from 1 February 2008.

As said by Ligali, in the same press statement, the telco described Olusanya as a pioneer employee who was instrumental in the growth and progress made since the inception of the then Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited, which evolved into today's Celtel Nigeria.

During his stint at the telco, Olusanya has held various positions including Chief Customer Care and Billing Operations Officer, Acting Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Data Services executive, until his decision to leave.

"[Olusanya] will remain an integral part of this company's history and will continue to be linked to the growth of telecommunications in Nigeria," the statement said.

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