CORPORATE AFFAIRS

SITUATION

Sometime in  2016, the Senate Committee on banking Insurance and other Financial Institutions investigation accused MTN Nigeria of illegally repatriating funds to the tune of $13.9b between 2006 and 2016.  An investigation was launched by the committee which also affected the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, and four commercial banks.

TASK

• C&F Porter Novelli was retained to design and implement a communications programme to manage the crisis.

APPROACH

• Highlighting the possible negative impact of the unproven allegations with regards to FDI and the economy. How MTN’s business supports various critical sectors of the Nigerian economy was also showcased. Tactics included engaging the media, eliciting the support of influencers and the commissioning of a study report.
• A series of interactions were held with select Lagos based journalists drawn from the major traditional/online and social media
• The National Assembly (Abuja) media was regularly briefed with a view to providing adequate backgrounding on the issues
• MTN’s team of credible third-party advocates was expanded to help drive discussions across print, online and broadcast media
• The study report provided an overview of MTN’s support of various critical sectors within the context of the impact of these sectors on the Nigerian economy

RESULT

• 15 Op-eds generated 3.9 million impressions on Twitter.
• Public opinion shifted in favour of MTN largely as a result of the engagement of the media and the efforts of the third party advocates
• The Senate Committee investigation did not lead to an indictment