STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL
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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