First Bank: Reinstating Adeduntan will boost investor confidence – Okunrounmu

Fri, Apr 30, 2021
By editor
2 MIN READ

Economy

DR Titus Okunrounmu, a former Director of, Budgeting Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has commended the apex bank for reinstating Adesola Adeduntan as Managing Director of First Bank Nigeria PLC.

According to him, CBN’s decision would boost investors’ confidence in First Bank Nigeria Plc.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had on Thursday in Abuja, announced the sack of the boards of First Bank Nigeria.

He also directed the reinstatement of its former Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr Adesola Adeduntan.

Okunrounmu said the proactive step by the CBN would ensure that investors did not withdraw their investments in the bank due to the earlier changes.

In an interview with NAN on Friday in Ota, Ogun, Okunrounmu said the reinstatement of Adeduntan was ‘fitting’.

He blamed the First Bank boards for beginning the processes, which consumed them, by unlawfully sacking Adeduntan and appointing Mr Gbenga Shobo as the new Managing Director.

Okunrounmu said that the step taken by the apex bank would save investments of individuals and corporate entities in First Bank.

The former CBN director said that the boards of First Bank of Nigeria did not follow due processes in removing Adeduntan.

“What the bank did was wrong because they can’t do whatever they liked as there are procedures regulating the financial sector.

“What the apex bank did was in order because they were trying to check abuse of power exhibited by the boards of First Bank,’’ NAN quotes him as saying.

Okunrounmu urged major players in the financial sector to willingly do what is right in order to save the banking sector from collapsing again.

He regretted that people’s unwillingness to do the right things had contributed to the challenges of the financial sector and the country at large. (NAN)

– April 30, 2021 @ 11:43 GM

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