The sacked Chairman of First Bank Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, says in all her 11 years of active service on the Board of Directors of the bank, she acted in honour, integrity and in the interest of the institution, all stakeholders and Nigeria.
In an article published on her Instagram page, entitled: “My FBN Group Journey,” Awosika said the board had great plans and aspirations for the bank.
She said, “Without a shadow of doubt, I will unequivocally state that I have always acted in honor and integrity with the utmost interest of the institution, all our stakeholders and the Nation.”
The CBN had last Thursday removed all directors of First Bank Nigeria Limited and its parent company, FBN Holdings Plc and reinstated Adeola Adeduntan, who was removed as the Managing Director of the bank.
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The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the action was important in order to salvage the bank from collapse and protect the funds and investments of depositors and shareholders.
Awosika said, “As a board, we acted in what we clearly believed to be in the interest of the bank and we had great plans and aspirations for where the bank could go to in its future, building on all the work that has already been done in the last five plus years.
“In October 2010, I was appointed to join the board of First bank of Nigeria. A few months later, I was appointed to chair the board of its start up FBN Life Insurance Limited (a joint venture with Sanlam of South Africa). As its pioneer chairman, I had the privilege of working with a strong management team led by Val Ojumah.
“Together with the rest of our team we built a company that became profitable in twenty four months and continues to be so.
“For five years, I worked with a dedicated team of board of management with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria to rebuild and restructure the institution for its future.
“This included cleaning up non-performing loans, establishing good operational governance systems and processes, building controls and an effective and robust risk management system.
“I am confident that we have brought First Bank of Nigeria to a place where it is more than able to deliver utmost value to its stakeholders and nation at large,” she added.
BizWatch Nigeria had reported that Emefiele announced the constitution of an interim board to clean up and stabilise the tier-1 lender.
Remi Babalola was named as the interim Chairman of FBN Holdings Plc. Other members include, Peter Aliugo, Fatade Oluwole, Kofo Dosekun, Remi Lasaki, Alimi Abdulrasaq, Ahmed Modibo, and Khalifa Iman.
The apex bank, however, directed U.K. Eke to remain as the group Chief Executive Officer of FBN Holdings Plc.
Tunde Hassan-Odukale replaced Awosika as the new Chairman of First Bank Limited. Other members include Tokunbo Martins, Uche Nwokedi, Adekunle Sonola, Isioma Ogodazi, Ebenezer Olufowose, Ishaya Dodo, Sola Adeduntan as Managing Director, Remi Oni, Gbenga Sobo, and Abdullahi Ibrahim.
