FBN Holdings Power Tussle: Remi Babalola Resigns as Ahmad Abdullahi Takes Charge of Board

The battle for control of FBN Holdings intensifies amid resignation and the emergence of billionaire Femi Otedola as the single largest shareholder of the leading financial institution. Following the official declaration of Otedola as the largest shareholder of the company, Remi Babalola, a non-executive director and the Chairman of FBN Holdings, announced his resignation on Friday, according to the people familiar with the happenings in the company.

Babalola quit his position as Chairman of FBN Holdings just two days after FBN Holdings confirmed that Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola was the largest shareholder of the institution.  The timing of Babalola’s resignation may not be unconnected to Otedola’s new status in the bank, especially given that Remi Babalola was appointed barely a year ago.

The FBN Holdings power tussle took a turn immediately after Otedola announced that he had purchased additional 200 million shares estimated at about N2.3 billion to cement his position as the largest holder in the company.

Otedola had reportedly acquired an additional 2.5% stake in the company, taking his overall equity stake to 7.57%. In comparison, Tunde Hassan-Odukale is said to have a 5.36% stake, a move which he made after Otedola upped his acquisition to 5.07% earlier.

After Babalola’s resignation, the Central Bank of Nigeria approved the decision to appoint Ahmad Abdullahi as the new Chairman of the company, to replace Babalola. The CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi said that the apex bank was duly informed of Babalola’s resignation, at the same time that a contest was going on between some significant shareholders for control of the company.

The CBN spoke highly of Remi Babalola, lauding a series of achievements seen under his leadership. In a farewell e-mail, Babalola said that he resigned his appointment as Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors after a reflection on recent events which are related to his personal values.

It was however not clear whether Abdullahi was nominated by Otedola, the company’s largest shareholder. Since Otedola himself had stated that he acquired the shares for investment purposes only and not for a Board position, it would not be far-fetched to believe that the billionaire nominated someone who he believes is capable to lead the company’s Board.

In Babalola’s resignation letter seen by PremiumTimes, the former Nigerian Minister of State for Finance and now the former Chairman of FBN Holdings said he resigned because of the stench and corruption in the bank’s system.

He said “With the rot, stench and corruption in the system, it has been well-nigh impossible for me to break; and upon deep reflection and partial to my personal values, I write to formally resign my appointment as a non-executive director and chairman of the board of directors of FBN Holidays PLC, effective immediately,” he wrote.

He added that “This should allow ample time for the institution’s shareholders to plan a smooth transaction through the next Annual General Meeting.”