- Oba Otudeko, Otedola, Ismaila In Tussle for Control
By Abiola Olawale
Details emerging on Wednesday have revealed that a fierce legal battle between shareholders of First Bank Holdings Plc has been a stumbling block against the financial institution’s bid to raise a fresh capital of N350 billion.
First Bank, the oldest bank in Nigeria is said to be running against time to meet a new target set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), mandating a N500 billion minimum capital requirement for Tier 1 banks
This is as the holding company’s 12th annual general meeting slated to hold on September 3, 2024 was cancelled.
The New Diplomat gathered that the aborted meeting was aimed at discussing and approving the recapitalisation exercise, dividend payments, and directors’ fees.
It was gathered that the meeting was cancelled following an order of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State at the request of a shareholder, Tohir Folorunsho Ismaila.
Reacting to the situation in the First Bank, the Chairman of the Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Mukhtar Mukhtar, raised an alarm that some individuals are allegedly trying to undermine FBN Holdings.
Mukhtar described the development as Improper, adding that: “It is not right that some people who have benefited from the political economy of this country are the ones holding this institution to ransom.
“They are trying to prevent the bank from holding AGM and considering some resolutions, which is to raise more capital for the banking business.
“You can agree with me that the banking business is about capital.
“If there is no capital, business will collapse.
“And for the banking industry, capital is very, very important.”
It would be recalled that the latest legal battle for control in the FBN Holdings stems from a dispute between the bank and its former Chairman, Oba Otudeko, over the true state of his shareholding.
Recall thay Otudeko had initiated a legal action against FBN Holdings, seeking a court order to compel the financial institution to recognise his investment vehicle, Barbican Capital, as the largest shareholder in the bank.
Otudeko claimed Barbican Capital owns a 15.01 percent stake amounting to 5.38 billion units.
However, the bank insists that Otedola, who holds a 9.41 percent share, is the largest shareholder.
First Bank argued that Barbican and Otudeko could not provide evidence of the purchase of some of the shares it claims to own.
According to court papers, First Bank further argued that Barbican is concealing the fact of an ongoing verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria of its alleged significant shareholdings.
It noted that only 3.11 billion shares (representing 8.67 percent) of Barbican Capital’s total shares could be verified by the CBN, while its alleged 2.34 billion shares (representing 6.52 percent) could not be verified.
FBN Holdings and the CBN, both respondents to the lawsuit, have asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to dismiss a suit filed by Barbican Capital over “the alleged alteration of its alleged 5,386,397,202 units of shares in the bank”.
