Femi Otedola, billionaire businessman and chairman of Geregu Power Plc, today emerged as the chairperson of the board of FBN Holdings Plc, whose flagship arm is First Bank.
The change of guard happened at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Group in Lagos on Wednesday, company insiders told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Otedola succeeds Ahmad Abdullahi, a seasoned economist who was appointed chair of the Holdco on 17 December 2021.
Mr Otedola became a non-executive director of FBN Holdings on 14 August 2023, months after he acquired a substantial stake in First Bank.
Mr 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.
Geregu Power, which he took public in October 2022, accounts for about nine per cent of Nigeria’s grid electricity.
He has held several board memberships, including President of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping and as past Chairman of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
He was part of the National Economic Management Team, chaired by former President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 to 2015. At the moment, he is a member of the National Peace Committee.
A botched move to become the chief shareholder of Transnational Corporation, Nigeria’s biggest conglomerate by market value, in April 2023 saw him sell his stake of 6.3 per cent to rival Tony Elumelu.
This January, Mr Otedola acquired a significant stake in Dangote Cement, a company largely owned by his friend, Aliko Dangote. The exact value of his shares remained unknown, but those close to him say his holdings are worth more than N6 billion.
“Femi Otedola is a dyed-in-wool and visionary entrepreneur whose energy is directed at transforming enterprises and putting them on the path of growth,” First Bank Holding said of the businessman while announcing his appointment as non-executive director in August 2023.
“He was thrust into the public’s consciousness with his foray into the downstream sector of the oil industry when he started Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited.”
