First Bank: Otedola Renews Quest To Take Control Of Nigeria’s Oldest Bank

By Fola James

Business mogul Femi Otedola appears not to have given up his quest to be one of the biggest investors  in the nation’s banking sector.

Barely two months after the billionaire’s attempt to take over First Bank, Nigeria’s oldest bank failed he has set in motion another plan to become the single largest shareholder in the bank and eventually take full control of one of the nation’s financial institutions.

Recall that in October the quest for control between him and Hasan Odukale, the chairman of the Board of Directors of First bank Nigeria Holdings, FBNH got to a boiling point where the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele had to wade into the matter, by telling the two businessmen that no single individual can own First Bank.

“They should all know First Bank is so big that not one person can say he owns First Bank. They are just one and they should see themselves as representing others in running the bank,” Emefiele said in a veiled message to the two businessmen jostling to control the bank during the November MPC meeting.

The squabble is centered on who between the duo has more than five per cent shareholding in the bank. The extant financial rules confer on the single largest shareholder of any bank to take full control by writing a letter to the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC to that effect.

But everything seems to be working well for Otedola after the National Pension Commission, PENCOM, last month, put to rest claim attributing the 2.11 per cent Leadway Pensure shares in First Bank to Odukale, a former managing director of Leadway Insurance following the controversy that trailed Otedola’s acquisition of 5.07 per cent stake in the bank.

PENCOM clarification appears to put to rest claims that Odukale and related entities own 5.36 per cent stake in FBNH which would have made the insurance guru the single largest shareholder.

Otedola who partly owns Geregu Power, one of the biggest electricity companies in Nigeria has now notched up his quest further by raising his share to over 7.5 per cent from five per cent in the old generation commercial bank.

According to a letter Otedola wrote to SEC, dated December 9, 2021, in which he also copied other regulators such as Nigeria Exchange, NGX and CBN, the businessman claims that the disclosure officially makes him the single largest majority shareholder of the bank in line with the nation’s banking rules.

The details of the letter to SEC indicate that Otedola acquired the additional shares through his companies Calvados Global Services, Primose Global Concept, Shetland Global, Wells Properties, and Impetus Synergy.

Otedola, also in the letter, informed the bank that he has now acquired 7.57 per cent ownership in the bank “I have recently acquired additional shares in FBNHoldings Plc (the Company) which has brought my total stake to 7.57% percent of the issued shares capital of the Company.”

The businessman’s total stake in the bank is now worth over N44 billion, the magazine has learnt.

Meanwhile, sources told the magazine that Otedola will not be allowed to take full control of the management of the bank despite his enormous shares, but will only be in the position to nominate his own people into the boards of First Bank Nigeria, FBN and FBN Holdings the bank’s parent company.