Awosika narrates her achievements at First Bank, says she had great plans for the FBN in spite of can of worms

By Our Correspondent

The immediate past chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, FBN, Mrs Ibukun Awosika has disclosed her many of her achievements within the five years and four months she chaired the board of the Apex bank.

"In a statement on Friday night, Awosika chronicled her journey with the board of First Bank which she said started in October 2010.

"At various times, she was the chairman of the board of FBN Life Insurance Ltd, FBN Capital, FBN quest Merchant Bank Group, which she chaired until her appointment as Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria on January 1 2016." Punch Newspapers reported.

Awosika noted that for over five years , she worked with a dedicated team of board and management , with the support of Central Bank of Nigeria to rebuild and restructure the institution for its future. 

HER ACHIEVEMENTS

Under her leadership, the FBN Board of Directors :

1) Cleaned up non performing loans,

 2) Established good operational governance systems and processes, 

3) Built an effective and robust risk management system.

4) Brought the Bank to a place where it is more than able to deliver utmost value to its stakeholders and the nation at large.

Awosika added that as a board, her team acted in what it clearly believed to be in the best interest of the bank.

She as well reveiled that her team had great plans and aspirations for where the bank could go to in its future, by building on all the work that has already been done in the last five plus years.

According to her, “Without a shadow of doubt, I will unequivocally state that I have always acted in honor and integrity with the utmost interest of the institution, all our stakeholders and the Nation".

Awosika’s board and the board of the bank’s holding company were all peremptorily sacked by the CBN on Thursday, September 29, to preserve the “the stability of the bank, so as to protect minority shareholders and depositors”.

The decision to sack her board was a reaction to the announcement on Wednesday by Awosika of the appointment of Gbenga Shobo as the bank’s CEO, when Adeduntan still has eight months left to finish his tenure.

The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele queried the boards for the appointment, without its regulatory approval.

The CBN also opened a can of worms about the bank,which included insider loans by board members that are not compliant with lending rules, among other allegations.

Following her removal, Awosika was succeeded by the Managing Director of Leadway Assurance Company PLC, Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale.