Olusanya, Ex-Airtel Boss Takes Over As Etisalat Nigeria CEO

Mr. Boye Olusanya, former deputy managing director of Celtel Nigeria (now Airtel Nigeria), has been appointed as the chief executive officer of Etisalat Nigeria during the transition period.

Olusanya is coming in just as Matthew Willsher stepped down as the telco’s CEO on Monday, along with the chief financial officer, Olawole Obasunloye.

It was gathered that Joseph Nnana, a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, will be the chairman of the board, taking over from Keem Belo-Osagie, who resigned as part of the agreement reached for a seamless transition.

Etisalat, Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator with 21 million subscribers, owes 13 Nigerian banks N541 billion, a situation which led to a take-over attempt after Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, has pulled out of Etisalat Nigeria.

NCC has warned the creditors that the licence awarded to Etisalat Nigeria is not transferable, effectively stopping the banks from taking ownership of the company.

This led to a transition agreement brokered with the banks by the CBN and Nigeria Communication Commission.

Olusanya was a member of the pioneer team of Airtel in 2001 and lived through the various boardroom crises — a factor said to have contributed to his choice to manage the Etisalat affair.

Airtel started out in 2001 as Econet, transiting to Vodacom briefly before changing to VMobile, Zain and Celtel.

Olusanya holds a BSc in civil engineering and MSc in environmental civil engineering from Liverpool University and another MSc in computer science from Manchester University.

Another member of the transition team is Seyi Bickersteth, the national senior partner and CEO of KPMG Professional Services Limited.