Ndukwe calls for adoption of corporate governance in ICT sector

Dr. Ndukwe, former EVC, NCC

Chairman of Open Media Group, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe has called for the adoption of good governance by organizations in the country, especially within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in the country.

Ndukwe made this call at a one-day stakeholders’ management forum on corporate governance in Nigerian telecommunications industry – compliance with standards, processes and procedures, which held in Lagos at the weekend.

He said that at this era, organizational survival depends on corporate governance based on transparency.

“There is need for adoption of good governance of organizational survival,” he declared, saying that there are some goals for corporate governance.

He also said the primary responsibility of senior executives and directors’ of organizations includes running the affairs of the organization in an efficient manner.

Governance, he said, is more than rules and regulation but all encompassing to include accountabilities, regulations, such that every staff is made to understand and work towards achieving it.

Dr. Ndukwe pointed out that corporate governance is about making a business successful, which depends on management capacity to create value from human capital assets and less so on technology assets.

He described human assets as the biggest assets of every organization, therefore, he advised companies to take the concerns of their employees at heart, while admonishing employees to be upright and assist in building veritable companies that are sustainable.

He further advised companies to go beyond Know Your Customers (KYC) by adding ‘Very Well’ which entails that companies need to know their customers very well.

Some of the international character of corporate governance, he said, entails the degree to which regulators insist that operators within it’s industry observe basic principles of good governance, saying this is an important part of the principle.

He emphasised that the classical principles of corporate governance are transparency and accountability.

Ndukwe maintained that all stakeholders have significant roles to play, namely investors, shareholders association, auditors, professional association, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), regulators, employees, and customers.

“So it’s a collaborative effect to ensure sustainability,” he said, noting there are some failure analysis that must be taken into cognizance.

These, he said, include enabling investigations into corporate governance scandals by way of providing relevant support, insisting that every board in order to avoid failure must have significant role to play.

Corporate governance in the Nigerian telecoms sector, he said, must be sub-optimal, stressing that some failure pointers, encompass delays in meeting financial obligations, delays in filing statutory reports and returns, quality of staff representatives at events, and non-attendance or low attendance at industry events.

He said, corporate governance framework without enough money, would likely hinder regulatory output, insisting that stakeholders, must have a sense of belonging so as to work together, but that does not mean bad attitudes should be condoned. 

“Yet self regulation is encouraged,” he said.

By ensuring the basis for sound corporate governance, he said, would improve transparency, keep the regulator well informed, openly admitting to customers of shortcomings and stating measures bring taken to correct same.

“These are so critical for transparency.  We need to be interactive with our customers,” he said.

 
Remmy Nweke

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