The leadership crisis at First Bank Holdings of Nigeria escalated on Wednesday when a group of stakeholders demanded the ousting of board chairman Femi Otedola and non-executive director Mr. Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga. They are also seeking an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) within the next 21 days as permitted by section 215 (1) of CAMA. The shareholders claim that FBN has been troubled ever since former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele facilitated Otedola’s acquisition of a large number of shares, which enabled him to become chairman in January 2024. They argue that with Otedola in charge, along with his personal staff Omodayo-Owotuga at the Holdco and another associate at the bank, Otedola has taken full control, acting unilaterally. Consequently, with the private placement of N1003 billion shares, other shareholders are worried that he will gain absolute control, allowing him to use First Bank as his personal financial resource without oversight or proper corporate governance. This is intended to enable Otedola to gain full control during the proposed N360 billion private placement. Some shareholders are expressing that rather than opting for a private placement for the bank’s shares, a rights issue or public offer should be pursued, according to an anonymous source who is also a stakeholder. There are claims that Otedola’s preference for private placement is viewed as a strategy to gain control and manage the financial institution as if it were his own property. Reports from DAILY POST indicate that there has been a struggle recently over who owns the largest share of FBN Holdings. This contention is primarily between Otedola and Barbican Capital, which is linked to the Honeywell Group owned by Oba Otudeko. In its audited financial statements for 2023, First Bank Holdings identified Otedola as the largest shareholder, holding a 9.41 percent stake in the institution. Otedola, however, has recently boosted his ownership by acquiring a large number of additional shares. Currently, the exact ownership stake is uncertain. However, data from the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), a widely recognized authority for verifying share ownership, indicates that Barbican Capital, linked to the Honeywell Group owned by Oba Otudeko, holds the largest single shareholding at 15.01 percent. Records from the bank’s registrars, Meristem Registrars & Probate Services Ltd, reveal that Barbican Capital owned 5,386,397,202 shares (5.38 billion) as of May 23, 2024, making it the largest shareholder. As a result, Barbican Capital has filed a lawsuit against FBN Holdings for inaccurately reporting its shareholding in its audited financial statement. In recent news, First Bank undertook a significant restructuring, resulting in the layoffs of approximately 100 senior staff members. Reports suggest that top executives were let go as part of a corporate restructuring plan for 2025, which coincided with the appointment of Olusegun Alebiosu as the bank’s managing director and chief executive officer in June of the previous year. There were also claims that these departures were part of a deliberate initiative by Otedola to bring in new leadership within the bank. At the same time, it remains uncertain how the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will respond to the demand for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) intended to remove Otedola and halt the private placement of bank shares, which is a result of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). When DAILY POST reached out to FBH spokesperson Tunde Lawanson, he had not yet replied to the request for comments at the time this report was filed. Additionally, FBN has not made an official statement regarding the issue.
