Victor EzejaWema Bank PLC has announced retirement of its Managing Director/CEO, Ademola Adebise, with effect from 31 March 2023.
The bank’s management board has also appointed Moruf Oseni, current Deputy Managing Director to replace Adebise as Managing Director/CEO.
This was confirmed in a statement released on Friday, 30 December 2023 signed by the company’s Secretary/legal adviser, Johnson Lebile, as directed by the management board of the bank.
Adebise was appointed as the Managing Director/CEO of Wema Bank in June 2018. He joined the Bank in June 2009 as an Executive Director and rose to become the Deputy Managing Director in 2015.
Under his leadership, Adebise expanded the bank’s branches to other locations in Nigeria, and was credited with improving the performance of the Bank and spearheading the first Dividend payment to shareholders after in 13 years. Since then, he has ensured consistent dividend payment over the last four years.
The Bank under his watch has grown its Total Assets by 155 per cent, from N470 billion to over N1.2 trillion. Deposits also grew by 214 per cent from N350 billion to N1.1 trillion.
The retiring MD initiated the bank’s partnership with Bank of Africa to support its customers across the African continent which has increased the financial institution’s market share and customer base.
“All these led to an additional growth of 2 million customer accounts in Nigeria and a market share of three percent of industry volumes. The Bank is now the leading collection bank for state and government agencies due to its effective and efficient platform,” the statement indicated.
It added that the Bank’s rating by agencies was upgraded to BBB investment grade and has significantly changed the digital landscape through the ALAT platform.
“The innovative platform also came tops in the KPMG Digital Scorecard for leading retail banks in Nigeria and this was based on in-depth insights into the state of user experience on retail banks’ digital channels.”
Chairman of the Board, Mr. Babatunde Kasali, on behalf of the Board and Management expressed its profound gratitude to Ademola for his service and wished him the best in his future endeavours.
Moruf Oseni joined Wema Bank in June 2012 as an Executive Director. He has over 25 years of experience with more than 16 years at Senior and Executive Management levels. Moruf Oseni was an
Executive Director for six years and Deputy Managing Director for the last four years and has demonstrated capacity to lead the Bank. He presently has responsibility for the Digital Optimization Directorate which includes – Digital, Retail, Treasury, Operations, and the Technology Divisions. Moruf is also the Executive Compliance Officer of the Bank. He supervised the launch of ALAT – Nigeria’s 1st digital Bank that has received local and global awards and multiple accolades. Before joining Wema Bank, Moruf was the CEO of MG Ineso Limited, a principal investment and financial advisory firm. Prior to MG Ineso, Moruf was a Vice President at Renaissance Capital, and an Associate at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup Global Markets in London.
Moruf holds an MBA degree from the Institut European d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in France, a Master’s in Finance (MiF) from the London Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer
Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He is also an alumnus of both the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business School and King’s College, Lagos.
Other Board appointments include:
Wole Akinleye who was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director. Akinleye has over 32 years Banking experience. He presently oversees Corporate Banking and South West Business Directorate for the bank.
A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Akinleye is an alumnus of the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Business School. He obtained his first degree in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1989 and subsequently, a master’s degree in
Business Administration (Finance) from the same University.
The bank also appointed Tunde Mabawonku as Executive Director. He has over 23 years of experience and is presently the Chief Finance Officer and the Divisional Head of Finance & Corporate Services of the bank.
Tunde has a master’s degree in Finance from the London Business School and a first degree in Economics from University of Ibadan. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), and is an Honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB). He has also attended several Senior Leadership programs.
The statement indicated that the Board of Directors are “confident that the appointment of the Executives will lead to the continued transformation and growth of the Bank, particularly as the Bank positions itself as a market leader in Nigeria’s retail banking segment through technology and innovation.”
The appointments take effect from April 1, 2023 and are subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulatory authorities.
Wema Bank launched the first SME Business School for capacity building and empowerment of SMEs which has benefitted over 20,000 small businesses and also became one of the founding members of the United Nations Environmental plan for financial institutions (UNEPFI) and continues to provide digital solutions for societal impact.
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.
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