The Governance Committee of the First Bank of Nigeria Plc’s Board of Directors has nominated its current Executive Director, Banking Operations & Services, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, as successor to the out-going Group Managing Director, Lamido Sanusi Lamido, who was confirmed the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday.
Onasanya’s appointment is, however, subject to approval by the Bank’s Board of Directors and its regulators.
And in a bid to give FirstBank a proper national outlook at the managerial level, a major restructuring, which is to be ratified along with the appointment of the new helmsman of the bank by the board next week, has also been approved.
Already, Onasanya’s name has been forwarded to the CBN for confirmation.
Of all the seven Executive Directors, Onasanya, THISDAY gathered, was picked because “he is the most senior Executive Director in the bank”, a source in the know of these developments told the newspaper last night.
“This is also in line with the succession plan of First Bank,” the source said.
The other Executive Directors are Alex Otti (in charge of South); Yerima Lawan Ngama (North); Bola Adesola (Lagos); Kehinde Lawanson (West); Oladele Oyelola (chief financial officer) and Remi Odunlami (chief risk officer).
The restructuring at FirstBank it was gathered, culminated in the elevation of two Executive Directors – Otti and Ngama – to Deputy Managing Directors (DMDs).
The duo were said to have been rewarded based on their exceptional performance at their respective departments. Otti’s department, according to information, was said to have generated the most revenue for the bank, while Ngama was also said to have brought in huge businesses from the North.
With the appointment of two DMDs, FirstBank has joined the likes of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, which was the first bank in the country to have two DMDs running its affairs.
The appointment of Onasanya has put paid to the speculations and jostling for the topmost position at FirstBank.
Until Onasnaya’s appointment as Executive Director, Banking Operations & Services where he drove industry initiatives that have helped define best practices in the country’s pension custody industry, he was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FirstBank.
A seasoned banker and chartered accountant, Onasanya is armed with over 23-years of diverse management and operational experience.
He commenced his banking career as a Senior Accountant with Wema Bank in 1985. In 1994, he joined FirstBank as a Senior Manager, and held several positions in the Bank, including Deputy General Manager and Group Head, Finance and Performance Management Department. As Coordinator of FirstBank’s Century 2 Enterprise Transformation Project, the position he held before his appointment as MD/CEO of First Pension Custodian in 2005, Onasanya managed what is perhaps acknowledged today as the most critical phase of the Bank’s early transformation, which underpinned the Bank’s continued competitiveness, even as the industry deepened.
Onasanya is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Taxation.
Onasanya who is also a Director of FBN Bank (UK) Limited and FBN Insurance Brokers Limited, has served as a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers’ Sub-Committee on Fiscal & Monetary Policies, and of the Presidential Committee on Reduction of Interest Rates.
Stephen Olabisi Onasanya's personal contact info:click here
