Shareholders support holding of First Bank’s AGM

Some shareholders of First Bank Nigeria Holding, FBNH Plc, have kicked against the move by some aggrieved shareholders to stop the forth coming Annual General Meeting, AGM scheduled to hold on August 15, 2023, asking that the regulatory authorities in the financial sector should intervene.

The shareholders group under the aegis of Trustee Shareholders Association of Nigeria, TSAN, yesterday, at the First Bank’s Head Office in Lagos staged a peaceful protest under the guidance of the Nigeria Police asking that the company’s AGM must hold as it is statutory.

The Chairman of Trustee Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Mukhtar Mukhtar, who spoke on behalf of the minority shareholders said: “We are at FBN Holdings Head Office to register our displeasure of the attempt by some shareholders to prevent AGM of the Holdings and also preventing them for getting approval from shareholders to take critical resolutions meant for the interest of the bank.

“These people have approached the court and they wanted FBN Holdings not to raise capital as other banks are doing right now. Again, they are trying to suspend the AGM not to allow shareholders vote and decide the fate of new directors in the bank.

“These are people that are holding the oldest financial institution in Nigeria to ransom .This is very unfortunate and we shareholders are against it.

“Those that went to court know it is illegal as we know AGMs are statutory and nobody can stop it”.

Meanwhile, a petition by Olusegun Samuel Onagoruwa upon which the order was obtained in suit No: FHC/L/CP/1271/2022 sighted by reporters and addressed to Nnamdi Okonkwo, FBN Holdings Chairman said, “Take notice that unless you obey the directives in the Judicial Order contained in the Order made on the 15th July, 2022 by the Federal High Court, Lagos, by refraining from proceeding with the 11th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Limited proposed for 15th August 2023 from seeking approval to issue or raise share capital in any manner whatsoever, from appointing or confirming the appointment of new directors, or in any other manner taking any step towards implementing, actualising enforcing resolution of the 10th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Plc held on 20th June 2022 or in any other manner overreaching, disobeying or undermining the said Order of court, you will be guilty of contempt of court and you will be liable to be committed to prison and to there imprisoned.”

Meanwhile, some other shareholders who had thrown their support for the new majority shareholding had earlier called for understanding in the acquisition of a 15.1% majority stake in FBN Holdings by Barbican Capital Limited, linked to Honeywell Group Limited, HGL.

Commenting on the acquisition of FBNH shares, a shareholder, Mr. Tunde Oyediran, said: “Honeywell Group’s increased stake in FBNH will be beneficial to the shareholders.”

The former general secretary of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr. Adebayo Adeleke, reiterated that, “Our market is based on the principle of free market. The market is open to everybody. There is no entry or exit barrier”.