Nigeria’s government has forced the head of local satellite operator NigComSat to take “indefinite leave” so it can probe the company’s financials. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai has been replaced by NigComSat marketing director Abimbola Alale pending…
Nigeria’s government has forced the head of local satellite operator NigComSat to take “indefinite leave” so it can probe the company’s financials.
Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai has been replaced by NigComSat marketing director Abimbola Alale pending conclusion of the investigation.
The operator’s head of communications sent a statement earlier this week saying he left after its board approved a directive that came from Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s communications and technology minister.
No allegations were made and NigComSat and the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology were unable to comment before the press deadline. But local reports pointed to Ahmed-Rufai’s drive to privatise NigComSat, which faced fierce resistance from groups including the local telecoms regulator NCC. A bill from NigComSat on the matter failed to pass the country’s National Assembly.
Ahmed-Rufai became CEO of the operator in 2006, and just two years later the NigComSat-1 satellite it ordered from China suffered a total failure while in orbit. Before Ahmed-Rufai was promoted to head the company, he was project manager for that bird, which was China’s first ever satellite export and was replaced with NigComSat-1R in late 2011.
The group has also faced speculation in the past that it could merge with Nigeria’s incumbent telco Nitel following the latter’s struggle to privatise.
