The Board of
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) today announced the decision of Kolapo
Lawson to stand aside as its Chairman. He will retire from the Board on 31
December 2013 and hands over to André Siaka as interim Chairman with immediate
effect.
Commenting on his
decision, Mr. Lawson said: “The last few months have seen huge pressure on
the organisation, and on me personally, in the media. These have culminated in
allegations, which are untrue, made to the Nigerian SEC on issues of corporate
governance. During this time, I led constructive discussions on the need for
independent review of these allegations. The board has now taken the necessary
decisions to appoint independent parties who, I am confident will investigate
these allegations and review our corporate governance with the utmost
professionalism. In order to give total credibility to these reviews, I have
decided it would not be appropriate for me to be the person leading this
process. The Board has assured me of its commitment to seeing these
investigations through and I will continue to monitor this as an interested
party.
I am very
conscious of the uncertainty that current media speculation has cast over the
institution. I therefore wish to take the necessary steps to bring this to an
end. As the head of such a respected global institution, I must act when there
is even the slightest perception that the interests of that institution might
be at risk. I therefore step aside as Chairman of Ecobank Transnational.”
Speaking on
behalf of the Board, Mr. Siaka said: “Kolapo Lawson has been a loyal servant
of Ecobank for very many years and has played a major part in shaping the
successful organisation we know today. His family is inseparable from Ecobank
and Kolapo’s contribution to Ecobank is second to none: over twenty years, as a
director of Ecobank Nigeria, of Ecobank Togo and of ETI, he has made a truly
outstanding contribution to this great pan-African company. He has our very
sincere thanks for all of his hard work and commitment, his leadership and his
good company.”
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