FBN Holdings Plc, the holding company of First Bank Nigeria Limited, has announced the appointment of Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo as its new Group Managing Director.
Mr. Okonkwo, the immediate-past Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, will assume office with effect from January 1, 2022.
This is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings, said in a letter to the Nigeria Exchange Limited, dated October 28, 2021. The board accepted the notice of voluntary retirement of Mr. Eke, it said.
Okonkwo will be taking over from Mr. U.K. Eke, who is retiring from the bank with effect from December 31, 2021, having served for two terms, FBN Holdings said.
The Board also approved the renewal of the appointments of Dr. Adesola Adeduntan and Mr. Gbenga Shobo as the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of FirstBank, respectively, for another term, according to the letter.
The Board of FBN Holdings Plc. also approved the appointment of Mrs Tope Orhionsefe Omage as a Non- Executive Director of First Bank of Nigeria Limited by the Board of FirstBank, subject to the approval of the CBN.
FBN Holdings this week released the identities of the two largest individual shareholders in the Bank, which has led to a flurry of activities around Nigeria’s oldest bank.
It declared Mr.Tunde Hassan-Odukale as the single-largest shareholder, with 5.36 percent equity holding, followed by Olufemi (Femi) Otedola, who was ranked second, with a 5.07 percent stake in the Group.
The Board letter described Mr Okonkwo as a man with 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.
Okonkwo previously served as the Executive Director for Southern Nigeria in Fidelity Bank. He has worked meritoriously on an international level in his capacity as the Managing Director of UBA Ghana; Director, UBA Liberia and a Director of the Ghana National Banking College.
He has served in various leadership positions across other financial institutions including Broad Bank of Nigeria Ltd; Citizens International Bank, Nigeria; FSB International Bank Plc, Nigeria; Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Nigeria; and Merchant Bank of Africa, Nigeria.
Mr Okonkwo made remarkable feats as a Director in various organizations including UBA Ghana, UBA Liberia, Nigeria e-government Strategy (Negst), Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc, Unified Payment System Ltd, and as Chairman, Shareholders Audit Committee FMDQ, amongst others.
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, with effect from December 1, 2021.