Ajayi is sole contender for ATCON presidency

Mr. Lanre Ajayi, CEO, PiNet

Renowned telecommunications engineer, Mr. Lanre Ajayi seems to be the only candidate for the post of president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

ITRealms Online investigations revealed that the incumbent, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu is not running for the second term as he did not process his nomination form as at the close of that exercise on April 16, 2012.

Ajayi, who is the immediate-past president of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) is the sole candidate for the high-place position of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professional companies in the country.

Invariably confirming this to ITRealms Online, ATCON president, Mr. Omo-Ettu said the association has advanced strategies to hold a peaceful election on Friday, this week, April 27.

Those to be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) would serve ATCON’s National Executive Council (NEC) for the next two years.

According to him, a notice to this effect has been sent to all members of ATCON.

“A notice has been posted by the Association in its official bulletin, ATCONNEWS THIS WEEK,” he said, adding that at the close of nomination of candidates on April 16, 2012, front runners among those vying for various positions include, Mr. Lanre Ajayi and seven others.

Also in the race for ATCON NEC include Mr. Olusola Teniola, Engr. Anthony Nwosu, Mr David O. Roberts, Mrs Aderonke Adeyegbe, Mr. Myke Ofili, Mr. Sunday Oyekanmi Gbenjo, and Mr Akinlabi Akin Akinbo.

ITRealms Online recalls that Mr. Lanre Ajayi had his Bachelors and Masters degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Lagos, Nigeria.  He worked for the Nigeria Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL) for 11 years before establishing PiNet Informatics, which became one of the first Internet Service Providers in Nigeria. 

Ajayi is a co-founder and the immediate-past President of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG); a non-profit organisation committed to the promotion of the Internet in Nigeria.

He has served as the Vice-President of the Internet Service Providers (ISP) Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) and as the Vice-Chairman of African ISP Association (AfrISPA).

Also, he had served on the council of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) as the Chairman of Research and Statistics committee. He was Chairman of Technical committee on the Nigeria Country Code Top Level Domain Name (.ng) and later chairman of ISPAN committee on the implementation of the Nigeria Internet Exchange Point.

Ajayi has served Nigeria in several capacities. He served as a member of the National Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG). He also served on the Federal Government committee on the National University Network (NUNet), and was later appointed member of the Presidential task force for the restructuring of the Information and Communication Technology sector in Nigeria.

He is a member of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), a fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and a registered member of the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).

Mr. Ajayi was listed as one of the icons of Information and Communication Technology in Nigeria in a compendium compiled by ICT publications Limited in the year 2004 and was named the Nigerian ICT personality of the year 2007.

Currently he serves in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as an elected council member of the Generic Name Supporting Organisation (GNSO) since 2010.

Remmy Nweke

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