Nigerian CommunicationWeek

NigComSat Secures Stakes in Nitel

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) has formerly secured 15 percent stakes in Nigeria Telecommunications (Nitel) PLC with the admittance of Engineer Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, the managing director of NigComSat Limited as a non-executive director and member of Nitel Board of Directors.
Receiving the new member who was admitted at the 61st meeting of the board, Tom Iseghohi, chairman, Board of Directors, noted that Ahmed-Rufai’s membership will further widen the horizon of the board and enhance the repositioning exercise already embarked upon by Nitel.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Engineer Ahmed-Rufai to the Board of Nitel. We are particularly pleased with his training, wealth of experience and the capacity of the company he represents, which we are certain will further enhance our repositioning exercise to make Nitel more successful and better disposed to offer enhanced quality service delivery to all its customers,” he said.
According to him, “NigComSat’s representation on the board of Nitel marks the beginning of a rewarding partnership that will benefit not only both organizations, but also the customers. A combination of satellite transmission capacity of NigComSat and the SAT–3 capacity of Nitel could only beget affordable broadband service delivery to internet service providers (ISPs), private telecommunications operators (PTOs) and other end users”.
Kevin Caruso, managing director, Nitel, said Ahmed-Rufai’s entry on the board will boost their efforts aimed at revamping the national carrier’s immediate revenue generation and making it occupy its leadership position in the country’s telecommunication sector.
Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai is a graduate of chemical engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also holds an MBA in technology management. He was a project manager of NigComSat-1 and subsequently became the managing director of NigComSat Limited, operator of Africa’s premier communications satellite, successfully delivered into orbit on 13 May 2007.
It would be recalled that Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) recently ceded 15 per cent of federal government equity shareholding and a seat on the board of directors of Nitel under a private equity transfer arrangement. With the new arrangement, the federal government now has 34 per cent stakes in Nitel.
Nitel has shares in several other companies including 6.91 per cent of Regional African Satellite Organization (Rascom); 0.21 per cent of International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat); 7.33 per cent of South Atlantic Telecommunication (Sat3)/West African Submarine Cable Organization (Wasc) and 0.07 per cent ICO Global Communications Ltd (I-CO). It also owns 0.60 per cent of International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (Intelsat).

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