Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Adesola Adeduntan has resigned from his position at the organisation.
Adeduntan has occupied the position for the past nine years.
Although his tenure would be completed in December 2024, Adeduntan stated in his resignation letter that he was proceeding with retirement earlier than the date.
Read Also:
- Explainer: Why CBN ousted the board of First Bank
- CBN damning verdict forces panic withdrawals at First Bank
- First Bank Holdings appoints Otedola Board Chairman
“As you are aware, my contract would be expiring on 31 December 2024, after which I would no longer be eligible for employment within the bank, having served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank for a record time of nine years.
“I have, however, decided to proceed on retirement with effect from 20 April 2024, to pursue other interests,” he noted in his resignation letter.
Adeduntan’s tenure should have ended in 2021.
Shortly before his tenure expired, former FBN Chairman Ibukun Awosika removed him from the position, a decision she described as being taken in the bank’s best interest.
The bank announced Gbenga Shobo as its new MD in April 2021, but the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the leadership of its former governor Godwin Emefiele, cut Shobo’s regime short and led to Adeduntan’s reinstatement.
“We were not informed of any misconduct, neither were we informed of any query. We suspect –I like to use the word suspect –that it was because he had stood his grounds on certain decisions that are not in favour of major shareholders of the bank, that they felt and thought he should be removed,” Emefiele had said of his removal.
The CBN Governor ordered the removal of the FBN Chair and other directors and reinstated Adeduntan, who served as MD/CEO for a third time.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.