FBN Holdings appoints Otedola board chairman

Nigeria’s billionaire, Femi Otedola, has emerged as chairman of First Bank Holdings.

A statement by the bank Wednesday said Otedola, who is also the chairman of Geregu Power Plc, was named as the chairman at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Group.

It added that he would succeed Ahmad Abdullahi, a seasoned economist, who was appointed chairman of the Holdco on 17 December 2021.

Recall that Otedola became a non-executive director of FBN Holdings on August 14, 2023, months after he acquired a substantial stake in First Bank.

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Otedola is the financial institution’s biggest and only substantial shareholder, holding a 5.6 per cent stake.

He has had investments in port agency, shipping, storage and insurance brokerage. In 2007, he acquired a controlling interest in African Petroleum, which later metamorphosed into Forte Oil. Forte Oil itself would later be sold and renamed Ardova.