Posted by By Samuel Famakinwa on
A major shake-up in the Nigerian banking industry took place weekend as First Bank of Nigeria Plc made a clean sweep of its current management. The bank directed four of its five executive directors to step aside and pave way for new ones.
* Oboh, Union Bank MD, gets 6 more months
A major shake-up in the Nigerian banking industry took place weekend as First Bank of Nigeria Plc made a clean sweep of its current management. The bank directed four of its five executive directors to step aside and pave way for new ones.
Also, the Board of Directors of Union Bank Plc has extended by six months the tenure of Mr. Godwin Oboh as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank.
The four executive directors affected by the sweep are Mr. Bashiru A. Bakare, executive director, Transaction Banking (Up-Country), Mr. Ado Y. Wanka, Transaction Banking (Lagos & West), Mrs. Christy N. Okoye, Risk & Management Control and Mr. Evans Woherem, Information Techno-logy and Resources.
The only executive director who was not affected by the sweep is Mr. John Aboh who was in charge of Corporate & Investment Banking.
Although the First Bank changes are said to be 'part of the reform process", the bank is undergoing, THISDAY gathered that some core shareholders of the bank were alleged to have prompted the development while a meeting of the Board of Directors of the bank scheduled to hold in Lagos today would ratify the changes.
The affected EDs, THISDAY also gathered, would be replaced by three deputy general managers (DGMs) of the bank who are said to have also been informed of the new development and would resume in their new roles today.
They are Mr. Aderemi Babalola, head, Corporate Planning & Group Coordination, Mr. Alex Otti, group head, Energy Upstream Services (Corporate & Investment Banking) and Oladele Oyelola, Chief Internal Auditor.
A very reliable source told THISDAY that the appointment of these three was not surprising because they had been part of a perceived 'kitchen cabinet" which the CEO had been running. A reliable source said two other executive directors have also been recruited from outside the First Bank to join the new team. While one is said to have been recruited from a leading discount house, the other would come from United Bank for Africa (UBA) to take up an ED position which had been vacant before.
According to information, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe on Friday called each of the four affected EDs individually to his office and broke the news to them. Ajekigbe was said to have told the affected EDs that as a result of the on-going consolidation in the banking industry as well as for competition purposes, their services would no longer be required in the bank.
THISDAY gathered that the four executive directors were also told that some core shareholders of the bank feel the bank ought to be running faster than it is at the moment and that they have to leave to pave way for new people who would drive the needed repositioning.
While breaking the news to the four EDs who were said to have had no pre-knowledge of the development, they were all given till today to tender their letters of resignation. The board meeting would also discuss and agree on a severance packages for them.
In a related development, the Board of Directors of Union Bank Plc has extended by six months the tenure of Mr. Godwin Oboh as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank.
This move, THISDAY gathered, is to allow the Board Selection Committee find a replacement for Oboh who was billed to retire from the bank on October 1, 2005 having attained the retirement age of 60. He will now leave the service of the bank on April 1, 2006.
THISDAY had exclusively reported last week that Oboh may have allegedly been plotting to extend his tenure as the chief executive contrary to the statutes setting up the bank.
But in extending Oboh's tenure, THISDAY gathered weekend that the Board Selection Committee which has the responsibility of finding a replacement has recommended that the bank's board amend the articles and memorandum of association to allow for this extension.
According to information, the Selection Committee in recommending the six month extension, believes that it would not be good to rush into appointing a new CEO so as not to make mistakes.
A reliable source told THISDAY that a new CEO would be named before the end of January 2006. The new CEO of Union Bank is expected to resume by March and finally take over the following April when Oboh's extended tenure would expire.