Victor EzejaManaging director of First Bank Group, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, has resigned his appointment from the company after nine years heading the tier one bank in Nigeria.
This was confirmed in his resignation letter which stated that it takes effect from Saturday, 20 April 2024.
His sudden resignation comes as a surprise to many as he was due to retire from the position in the company in December when his tenure would have been fully completed.
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He stated in the letter that even though his contract as MD/CEO of the Bank would be expiring in December, he has however, decided to proceed on retirement to “pursue other interests.”
Adeduntan noted that during his time as MD, the bank underwent changes and recorded significant milestones, becoming an “enviable financial giant in Africa.”
His letter read: “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 FirstBank for a record time of nine years.
“During this period the bank and its subsidiaries has undergone significant changes and broken new grounds. We have repositioned the institution as an enviable financial giant in Africa. I have however decided to proceed on retirement with effect from 20 April, 2024, to pursue other interests.”
He expressed gratitude to the First Bank’s board of directors for their support to him and wished the financial institution to continue recording enviable progress as they move into the next phase of its evolution.
Adeduntan’s resignation might not be unconnected with the Saturday morning abrupt cancellation of FBN Holdings’ (the parent company of First Bank) extraordinary general meeting earlier scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 10 am.
The meeting that had been scheduled to hold virtually was, according to a notification to the Nigerian Exchange, meant to deliberate on authorisation of the company to undertake a capital raise of up to N300 billion to meet the target set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for commercial banks’ recapitalisation.
Adeduntan joined First Bank in 2014, as a chief financial officer and subsequently became an executive director.
Prime Business Africa recalls that Adeduntan was retired in 2021 by the then board of the financial institution headed by Ibukun Awosika, but was later reinstated by the CBN which sacked the board for not following due process.
The Board had in April 2021, appointed Gbenga Shobo as MD to replace Adeduntan. However, following CBN’s intervention and reversal of the controversial appointment, Mr Shobo was made Adeduntan’s deputy managing director.
He however, exited his role deputy MD on 27 February 2023 as he neared the mandatory retirement age of 60 on June 2, 2023.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
