By InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Access Bank Plc Friday said it has appointed Ernest Ndukwe a Non-Executive Director to its Board.

This is contained in a Press Statement from Fafore Olusegun Michael, Team Lead, Media Relations of the Bank and made available to www.investadvocateng.com in Lagos Nigeria.

“The appointment has been ratified by the Bank’s Board of Directors and the Central Bank of Nigeria” the Statement said.

Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman of the said Access Bank is taking giant strides to increase shareholders value, “and we are quite delighted to have Ndukwe on board, his exposure and experience will add impetus to our institutional aspiration of becoming Africa’s most respected Bank” he said.

In the same vein, Emmanuel Chiejina, Chairman of the Bank’s Governance and Nomination Committee said that the Committee was impressed with Ndukwe’s record of achievement at the highest level of the private and public sector governance, “having reviewed a broad range of highly qualified candidates , the Committee enthusiastically recommended his appointment as an Independent Director to the Board” Chiejina said.

According to the Bank, the appointment has also been described by industry observers as a strategic corporate action aimed at elevating Access Bank’s industry leadership in corporate governance beyond the aspiration of competitors. “This view is not unconnected with the Ernest Ndukwe’s widely acclaimed leadership experience” the Statement said.

In his reaction, Nduwke said he is glad to accept the new responsibility and privileged to serve with other experienced board members to build Africa’s most respected bank.

Ndukwe is an Electrical/Electronics Engineer, with over 36 years experience in the Telecommunications Industry. A former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) between 2000 – 2010, he was responsible for the level of transparency recorded at the NCC, which resulted in the liberalisation of the Telecommunications Industry and significant investment in the sector.

His Board level experience dates back to 1988 when he was appointed Commercial Director at General Telecom Plc, where he was later made the Managing Director in 1989.   It was from his position as MD of General Telecom Plc   that Dr. Ndukwe was appointed to lead the Nigerian Communications Commission as CEO a position he retired from in March 2010. He also served on the Presidential Committee on Job creation, and is current Co-Chair of the Presidential Committee on Strategy and Roadmap for universal broadband access in Nigeria.

Ndukwe has served as the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the African Telecommunications Union and Chairman of the West African Telecom Regulators Association (WATRA), an organization he pioneered. He has represented Nigeria at various international events and is a regular resource person at national and international conferences. He is a widely acclaimed expert in Telecom Policy and Regulation. Dr. Ndukwe is also on the board of a number of companies including Openmedia Ltd and Electromechanica Nigeria Ltd.

He is a graduate of the University of Ife, an alumnus of Lagos Business School. He also holds the fellowship awards of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM) and Nigerian Academy of Engineering. He is also on the faculty of the Lagos Business School where he heads the Centre for Infrastructure Policy, Regulation and Advancement (CIPRA). His area of teaching interest includes strategic leadership with special focus on the character traits of CEO’s that lead to business failures.