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It was meant to be a master stroke that would secure the bank permanently under their armpit, boost their ego and keep their antagonists at bay, but the sacking of Dr Adesola Adeduntan, First Bank Managing Director, by the bank’s board members, turned out to be their undoing as they underestimated the capacity and resolve of those they were dealing with.
The attempt to remove Adeduntan earned them a sack from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the board was dissolved, while Adeduntan was reinstated. The drama started the day after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its holding company, FBN Holdings Plc, on Tuesday April 27. At the AGM, First Bank, the commercial banking arm of the Group, headed by Dr Adeduntan, posted gross earnings of ₦539.0billion, total assets of ₦7.4trillion and profit after tax of ₦67.8billion. The performance was considered good enough by the shareholders because the arm made significant contribution to the fortunes of the Group.
CBN Until last week, many Nigerians without insider knowledge of what goes on behind the banking halls, thought the country could count on a stable financial system as it pulls through the battered economy. Sadly, on Thursday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exposed what had become ‘clandestine affairs between it and the country’s topmost old generation financial institution, First Bank of Nigeria Limited. And it took rather an attempt at corporate assertiveness by the now-ousted boards of the bank for the CBN to move into action, which raises a question on the genuineness and sincerity of the intention of the regulator.
Press focuses on call by Buhari for responsible press freedom, others Nigeria-Press-Review May 03, 2021 to 09:43 388 APA – Lagos (Nigeria) The call by President Muhammadu Buhari for responsible press freedom among media professionals in Nigeria is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
ThisDay reports that President Muhammadu Buhari and the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, have urged the media to express its freedom with responsibility.
While Buhari called for responsible press freedom among media professionals in the country, Lawan urged the media to purge itself of bad eggs, promising that the National Assembly won’t pass anti-press legislations.
First Bank Pledges to Cooperate with CBN thisdaylive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisdaylive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
But for the timely intervention of the Central Bank for Nigeria in the avoidable board squabbles at First Bank of Nigeria, the relative confidence and stability observed in the banking system in recent times would have been seriously shaken. James Emejo writes
It all began with the news that the erstwhile Board of Directors of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, which was chaired by Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, had approved the appointment of Mr. Gbenga Shobo to succeed Mr. Adesola Adeduntan as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank.
Adeduntan was ousted after leading the bank since January 2016, but when still within the term limit of his tenure, which is due to expire in December this year.