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First Bank Nigeria Holdings Plc Group Managing Director Urum Kalu “UK” Eke has acquired an additional 17.1 million units of issued ordinary shares in the bank.
The Nigerian banker, who was recently appointed group managing director after a major board shake-up that saw Obafoluke Otudeko unseated as chairman, acquired the shares at an average price of N7.11 ($0.0173) per share.
This puts the total value of the shares acquired on May 14 at N121.4 million ($295,400). His total holdings in the bank now amount to roughly 102.4 million issued ordinary shares, making him one of the most substantial shareholders and insiders in the bank.
As of the close of trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) today, May 19, his total holdings in the bank were worth $1.78 million (N732.2 million).
The acquisition came two weeks after Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele announced the sacking of the entire board of directors at First Bank Nigeria Holdings Plc and its subsidiary, First Bank Nigeria, on April 29 via TV broadcast.
The decision to shake up the board was made for regulatory reasons given the crucial role that the bank plays in the sector in Nigeria, and in order to secure the bank’s assets.
Emefiele noted that critical interventions and regulatory roles due to bad loans and poor capital adequacy ratios, which the CBN implemented in the past, protected the bank from failing. This puts the Apex bank in a position of control over the bank’s operations.
