Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has advised corporate organisations to focus more on ensuring accountability in the provision of services and paying greater attention to the needs of the people.
He made the remarks on Thursday when he received members of the board of the telecoms giant, MTN, led by the company’s Group President and CEO, Mr Ralph Mupita, who were at the Presidential Villa on a courtesy visit.
Osinbajo said it is critical for corporate organisations to show commitment to improving services and to build confidence in the people.
He said, “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 corporations will find that attaching greater importance to the people is the way to go.”
For telecommunication firms like MTN, the vice president also noted that “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.”
He commended MTN 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,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, MTN’s Group President and CEO, Mr Ralph Mupita, disclosed the plan by the firm to deepen its 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,” he said.
He added that MTN as a corporate citizen is responsible in all the countries where it is represented, noting that “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 include the Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Mr Ernest Ndukwe; Group Chief Finance Officer, Mr Tsholofelo Molefe; MTN Nigeria CEO, Mr Karl Toriola, and Chief Corporate Services Officer, Mr Tobechukwu Okigbo.