Femi Otedola, the chair of the electricity producer Geregu PowerHe obtained key approvals that allowed him to become a non-executive director of FBN Holdings and has been appointed to the top of the hierarchy effective August 14.
The appointment garnered the sanction of both the Central Bank of Nigeria and shareholders of the financial services group, FBN Holdings said in a Wednesday note to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“Femi Otedola is a visionary and hopeless entrepreneur whose energy is directed at transforming businesses and putting them on the path to growth,” said the corporation, whose flagship arm FirstBank is Nigeria’s oldest lender.
FBN shares
“He was thrust into the public consciousness with his foray into the downstream sector of the oil industry when he founded Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited,” the document also states, referring to Mr. Otedola’s gamble before venturing fully into the energy business in 2019.
Otedola is the largest and only major shareholder of the financial institution, with a 5.6 percent stake.
It has had investments in port agency, shipping, storage and insurance brokerage. In 2007, he initiated the acquisition of a majority stake in African Petroleum, which later became Forte Oil. Forte Oil itself would later be renamed Ardova.
Geregu Power, that he made public as of last October, it accounts for about 9 percent of Nigeria’s power grid.
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“He has held various board members, including as Chairman of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping and as a former Chairman of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja,” the document says.
He was part of the National Economic Management Team, chaired by former President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 to 2015. Currently, he is a member of the National Peace Committee.
A failed move to become the largest shareholder in the Transnational Corporation, Nigeria’s largest conglomerate by market value, in late April led him to sell his 6.3 percent stake to his rival, Tony Elumelu.
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