The send-off party held in honour of Adesola Adeduntan, the immediate-past GMD and CEO of First Bank at the Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, on November 2, 2004 (who exited in April) has caused a major shakedown in Nigeria’s oldest bank and sent panic across its top echelon. A major fallout from the event saw Folake Ani-Mumuney lost her job. According to a report by The Cable. Folake was asked to resign as First Bank’s global head of marketing and corporate communications by Femi Otedola, the chairman of the holding company.
Quoting a top employee of the bank, TheCable reported that Otedola was “seriously irked” when he learned that a whopping sum was spent on a send-off party for Adesola Adeduntan, the former MD of the bank who was reportedly forced to resign over alleged negligence in a N60 billion electronic fraud.
An angry Otedola believed it was “insensitive and wasteful” to throw such a lavish party when the clear direction and mandate of the bank is to recapitalise and reposition the institution from excesses of the past management -the report said.
Otedola, the Chairman of FBN Holdings Plc was conspicuously absent at the party last month-which had in attendance many dignitaries and top management of the bank.