Olufemi Adeyemi 

Femi Otedola, the Chairman of FBN Holdings, has purchased 534,094,407 ordinary shares at a price of N30.00 each, totaling N16.02 billion in First Bank. This transaction, which occurred between September 23 and September 25, was disclosed in a notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited regarding directors' dealings on Thursday. 

It has been officially recorded as an initial notification in accordance with the regulations governing director transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

With this recent acquisition, Otedola has further solidified his status as one of the largest shareholders in the banking group, which is one of Nigeria's oldest and strategically significant banks. Prior to becoming the chairman of the board in January, he was appointed as a Non-Executive Director in July 2023, a move that received approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria and was ratified by shareholders during the Annual General Meeting on August 15, 2023.

At the close of 2023, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings reported a profit of N309.89 billion, marking a 127 percent increase from N136.17 billion during the same period in 2022. 

In July, it was noted that Otedola had acquired 4.63 percent of the banking group's shares over two trading sessions, positioning himself as the majority shareholder of the organization.