Renews appointments of Adeduntan, Shobo, others

The Board of FBN Holdings Plc (FBNHoldings) has announced the appointment of Nnamdi Okonkwo as its new Group Managing Director (GMD).

Okonkwo, whose appointment takes effect from January 1, 2022, was the immediate past Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc.

He replaces Urum Kalu Eke, whom the Board said had tendered his Notice of Retirement on August 10, following his completion of two-term tenure, which expires on December 31st, according to its letter to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), yesterday.

The letter, signed by the Company Secretary, Seye Kosoko, reads in part: “Uke’s retirement takes effect at the end of the current Financial Year on December 31, 2021. Mr. Eke’s retirement follows from a 35 years’ career in financial services, strategy, auditing, consulting, taxation, process reengineering and capital market operations.

“FBNHoldings Board has also announced that Eke will be succeeded by Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, a focused and result-oriented top banker, who will assume office as Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc effective January 1, 2022.”

Okonkwo’s appointment is subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and ratification of the shareholders at the next annual general meeting.

With an unbroken career in banking spanning over three decades at both local and international levels, Okonkwo has first-hand experience in business strategy development and visioning, risk management and corporate governance.

He has a wealth of experience in transformational leadership, business strategy development and visioning, innovative corporate governance and risk management.

He has led the transformation of banks, with the most recent being Fidelity Bank, where he led the management team in seven years to achieve remarkable results culminating in tripling profit and shareholder value.

He served as Fidelity Bank CEO for seven years, and was a one-time managing director of UBA Ghana, director at UBA Liberia, and a director of Ghana National Banking College.

Eke will be succeeded by Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, a focused and result-oriented top banker, who will assume office as Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc effective January 1, 2022.
Subsidiary appointments

The HoldCo Board also renewed the appointments of Dr. Adesola Adeduntan and Gbenga Shobo as the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of FirstBank respectively.

Similarly, the appointments of Kayode Akinkugbe and Mr. Taiwo Okeowo were renewed for another term as the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited respectively.

The Board’s decision comes days after the Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Femi Otedola, declared his 5.07% stake in the group, making him the majority shareholder, now contested by Tunde Hassan-Odukale, FirstBank’s chairman.

This development also follows Hassan-Odukale’s response to a query from the Exchange to FBN Holdings, seeking clarification on why his shareholding and related parties were classified into two parts of 4.16 and 1.20 per cent respectively, totalling 5.36 per cent.

The Board also announced the appointment of Meristem Registrars Limited as the new Registrars to take over the Register of Members of FBN Holdings Plc in replacement of First Registrars and Investors Services Limited, effective December 1, 2021.