By Eric Elezuo
A popular adage says ‘Nearly cannot kill a bird’, and if you are an ardent watcher of one of the most popular crime and detective movies, the James Bond 007 series, you will understand the saying ‘shaken but not stirred’. This was the lot of one of the most prolific bank executives, and of course the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan.
During the week, the FirstBank chief survived one of the biggest coups ever recorded in the banking industry when some directors reportedly hatched a plan to unseat him even as his tenure was yet to expire. The Boss has it on good authority that Adeduntan’s six years tenure of office is expected to end on December 31, 2021 before he officially leaves office on January 4, 2022. It was therefore, a surprise when Nigerians, the banking world and especially FirstBank customers shareholders and depositors alike woke one morning to the news that a change of guard has been effected in the bank, and Adeduntan, who hitherto has maintained a low profile, has been removed, and replaced by his immediate subordinate, the Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Gbenga Shobo.
The act, according to investigation, was perpetrated by the duo of Oba Otudeko, who was the Chairman off First Bank of Nigeria Limited, and Mrs Ibukun Awosika, who was the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings without the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Brazen as the act, the Central Bank of Nigeria arose to the challenge, querying the board, and seeking explanation to what led to the removal. It further gave the board till 5pm on Thursday April 29, 2021 to respond to the query. The response was not forthcoming as at the agreed time, and the apex bank wielded the big stick, sacking all members of the board, replacing them with fresh members as interim board, and reinstating the ousted MD, Adeduntan.
“It is also curious to observe that the sudden removal of the MD/CEO was done about eight months to the expiry of his second tenure which is due on December 31, 2021.
“The removal of a sitting MD/CEO of a systematically important bank that has been under regulatory forbearance for 5 to 6 years without prior consultation and justifiable basis has dire implications for the bank and also portends significant risks to the stability of the financial system,” the CBN warned.
The CBN’s big stick, which was carried out by the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was wielded during a live television broadcast, where he disclosed that the bank was in “grave financial condition with its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and non-performing loans ratio (NPL) substantially breaching acceptable prudential standards.” This, he further revealed was as a result of insider manipulations, and has been well managed by the CEO. It was therefore, unfathomable why he was removed.
“The insiders who took loans in the bank, with controlling influence on the board of directors, failed to adhere to the terms for the restructuring of their credit facilities which contributed to the poor financial state of the bank. The CBN’s recent target examination as at December 31, 2020 revealed that insider loans were materially non-compliant with restructure terms (e.g. non perfection of lien on shares/collateral arrangements) for over 3 years despite several regulatory reminders. The bank has not also divested its non-permissible holdings in non-financial entities in line with regulatory directives,” Emefiele noted.
Those who know Dr. Adeduntan, and they are not few in number, can attest to his professionalism. His desire to resist the urge to compete in the show of power or power play in the banking world clearly set him apart as one who knows his onions.
He has been known to face his job squarely ever since he took over from Bisi Onasanya in December 2015. His acumen and abilities in changing the fortunes of the bank are attested to by the Central bank of Nigeria as well as the shareholders. It is for this reason the CBN finds him a reliable ally.
Dr. Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan is indefatigable, hard working, committed and professional and has an avalanche of achievements trailing his young life. He is a recipient of an international award as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by Cranfield School of Management, United Kingdom. This happened at the same period FirstBank was named biggest mover of 2019 according to KPMG Report. Adeduntan is a creative achiever.
Born on May 7, 1969, in Ibadan, Oyo State, the banker started his early education at Ibadan Municipal Government Primary School (IMG), Adeoyo between1975 and 1981, for his primary education before proceeding to Urban Day Grammar School, Old Ife Road, Ibadan, where he had his secondary schooling. His excellent to duties created a space for him to become the Deputy Senior Prefect in his final year in 1986.
In the same year, he was admitted to the University of Ibadan in to study Veterinary Medicine, and qualified in 1992 as a Veterinary Surgeon, a profession he hardly practiced before switching over to financial management.
Consequently, in 1994 he joined Afribank (Nig) Plc., and was posted to the Ibadan Main Branch as a graduate trainee. He spent 18 months there learning the ropes, and working in various areas of banking operations including cash management, clearing, credit risk management, and foreign operations.
Between September 1995 and May 2002 Adeduntan worked with Arthur Andersen Nigeria, rising to become manager in the firm’s financial services industry business, leveraging on the 18 months mentorship he received at Afribank. In this role, he led and managed the statutory audit of a number of leading Nigerian banks.
In August 2000, he served as an instructor at the Andersen World-Wide Induction training for new hires in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He also served as the lead instructor for the Local Office Basic Accounting Training and Induction course in 1999. It was while he was with Arthur Andersen that qualified as a chartered accountant in 2000.
With more feathers to his cap, Adeduntan moved to the financial services industry in KPMG as a senior manager in June 2002, and served diligently till October 2004 when he bowed out. At KPMG, he co-pioneered the firms’ financial risk management advisory services. He was also a KPMG-accredited Trainer and facilitated several internal training programmes.
When he left KPMG in 2004 to study, he pursued a Master’s degree in Business Administration at the Cranfield School of Management, where he was a British Chevening Scholar. He graduated in September 2005.
Armed with yet another great feather, Adeduntan moved to Citibank Nigeria Limited in 2005 where he became the Senior Vice-President (General Manager) and Chief Financial Officer. He was saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the bank’s financial and product control functions, quality assurance and operational risk management. he was on hand to assist the bank in its recapitalisation during the banking consolidation era.
In October 2007, he called it quits with Citibank, and a month later, pitched tent with the Africa Finance Corporation, as the pioneer Chief Financial Officer and Business Manager.
His achievement at the AFC includes leading the team that secured an A3/P2 investment grade international credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service in March 2014. This made the Africa Finance Corporation the second highest-rated lending financial institution in Africa.
In July 2014, he was appointed an Executive Director/Group Chief Financial Officer of FirstBank, where he was responsible for the bank’s financial control, internal control and enhancement, business performance management, treasury and procurement functions.
On Monday January 4, 2016, Adeduntan succeeded Bisi Onasanya, and assumed duty as Managing Director of FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, and its commercial banking subsidiaries including FBN UK, FBN Ghana, FBN DRC, FBN Guinea, FBN Gambia, FBN Mortgages, FBN Senegal, FBN Sierra Leone and First Pension Custodian Limited.
He coordinated his functions so professionally that on December 7, 2016, he was awarded the 2016 Banker of The Year award by the Leadership Newspaper “For refusing to ‘go with the flow’ even when the temptation was high and the reward substantial, and for reminding his colleagues that banking is nothing without integrity”.
A man of many beneficial and influential parts, Adeduntan currently sits on the board of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, and as a non-executive director on the boards of the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), FBN Bank U.K. Ltd., Universal Payments Plc., and FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
In just four years at the helm of affairs at FirstBank, Adeduntan has turned the tables and rewrote banking narratives, delving into all aspects of human endeavour to see to the development of SMEs, youth entrepreneurship among many others.
In his speech at the kick off of FirstBank’s celebration of 125 years of unbroken business operations, Adeduntan hinted as follows:
“From that very modest beginning in 1894, First Bank has traversed an incredible journey of delivering impeccable financial services to its customers and supporting the building of the modern-day Nigeria and indeed, West Africa, including our early pivotal role as the monetary and fiscal policy regulator for the entire West African region,” he said.
“As a long-standing institution, which even predates Nigeria as a unified entity, FirstBank is entrenched in the nation’s development; woven into the very fabric of society, with our involvement in every stage of national growth and development.
“At the amalgamation, independence and through the seasons ever after, we have been here marching hand-in-hand with you and our dear nation. We have enabled financial, technological, industrial and societal advancements, achieving very many firsts over time.”
Adeduntan has seen to the sponsorship of prolific enterprises to guide the youths on the right path. These include the African Fashion Week which took place at the Oriental Hotel and Youth Empowerment Seminar at the Harbour Point Event Centre. These shows among a whole lot have a lot of testimonials following.
Under his watch, FirstBank has innovated a lot of firsts including agent banking, fintech and more.
Adesola is married to Mrs. Adenike Adeduntan and together they have three wonderful children.
He is not done changing the game and making positive impact in the economic advancement of Nigeria, and very many other countries, especially where FirstBank domiciles, and so continues in the strides his forebears crafted, and making it better.
