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."
Notes to Editors
About Ecobank Group
Incorporated in Lomé, Togo, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is the parent company of the leading independent pan-African banking group, Ecobank. It currently has a presence in 35 African countries, namely: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Group is also represented in France through its affiliate EBI SA in Paris. ETI also has representative offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, London, UK and Beijing, China. ETI is listed on the stock exchanges in Lagos, Accra, and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) – the BRVM. The Group has more than 600,000 local and international institutional and individual shareholders. The Group employs nearly 19,000 people from 40 different countries in over 1,200 branches and offices.
Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals. Additional information may be found at http://www.ecobank.com
