…As ATCON Elects New Executive Committee
By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Medallion Communications Limited, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, has become the new President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). Engr. Nnamani will preside over ATCON affairs from 2020-2022 and could have another two years if elected at the end of his first tenure.
According to the Electoral Committee, all ATCON National Executive Committee(NEC) members got elected to their positions without opposition, which goes to underline the degree of confidence ATCON members reposed on them.
Under his watch, Medallion Communications Limited, an interconnect clearinghouse and Co-location Data service Company, has won several national and international awards for its contribution to the growth of the telecommunications and ICT industry in Nigeria, Africa and globally.
Other members of the ATCON NEC 2020-2022 are:
- 1st Vice President- Ibrahim Dikko
- 2nd Vice President -Muyiwa Ogungboye
- National Secretary -Jane Egerton-Idehen
- Financial Secretary -Dr. Myke Ofili
- Treasurer-Ezekiel Egboye
- Publicity Secretary-Wole Abu
- Coordinator, Consulting Mrs. Aderonke Adeyegbe
- Coordinator, Equipment Dealers-Wale Owoeye
- Coordinator, Value Added Service-Dapo Akanbi
- Coordinator, Infrastructure Service Providers-Abayomi Adebanjo
- Coordinator, Telephone Operators-Nihinlola Fafare
The new ATCON President, unveiled the focus of the new NEC as follow:
- Strengthening the secretariat for more efficiency. According to Nnamani, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fact that procedures, infrastructure, structure and manpower of organizations were witnessing a new normal. The new normal is a digital normal“We want to ensure we have the right infrastructure, structure and manpower to drive the visions of this great Association” he said.
- Expansion of ATCON Membership
Nnamani said the new NEC would focus on expanding the scope of ATCON membership beyond the traditional private telephone operators(PTOs). He said: “Today, ATCON has expanded its scope of membership. Currently, we have eight membership categories, including but not limited to Fintechs, over-the-top(OTT) et cetera . “So, it is not just enough to have members and organise events. However, we want to ensure that from advocacy standpoint and relationship building, we should be able to enhance the benefits deliverable to each member”, he said.
- Financial Sustainability of the Association.
Nnamani stated that the auditors were amazed that the association’s revenues jumped. He premised this on the Financial Sustainability Committee, which he was privileged to chair. “Two years ago we launched Financial Sustainability Committee which I chaired. The impact is what is shown today during our AGM and members are happy about it. Although we fell short of our target, we intend to continue doing that. All these are focused on ensuring subscribers get best quality of service at a cheaper rate. That is the goal of ATCON. We will keep working with regulators and partners”, Nnamani said.
ATCON 1st Vice President and Managing Director/CEO at Backbone Connectivity Nigeria Limited, Ibrahim Dikko thanked the Association’s members for the confidence reposed in the Executive Committee and for the opportunity to serve and pledged his readiness to ensure their aspirations and hopes were not misplaced.
The Association’s 2nd Vice President and Managing Director at e.Stream Networks Limited
Muyiwa Ogungboye aligned his view with that of the President that funding was a big issue and a major challenge to small industry players. While thanking the Teniola leadership for ‘trying in this regard’, he said the current leadership was going to work aggressively to push this agendum.
The New Publicity Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pan African Towers Limited (PAT), Wole Abu thanked members for the opportunity given him to serve. He acknowledged that ATCON did help his company, Pan African Towers Limited. With specific reference to his office, he said he was going to ensure that ATCON conversations… in the public space as well as make his input in the overall effort of the new NEC to look for partners to fund and close the yawning infrastructure gap in the industry.
