TheCable

Jaiz Bank, Nigeria’s first non-interest lender, says there is no rift among its board members over the appointment of a new managing director (MD).

There were reports of disputes in the boardroom regarding the tenure of Hassan Usman(pictured), current MD and the appointment of a successor.

In a statement issued on Friday, Rukayat Dahiru, secretary of Jaiz Bank, said the purported disagreement was simply a “legitimate exercise of divergent opinions on a matter in the ordinary course of the directors’ duties”.

The bank said the board considered the appointment of a new MD as the expiration of Usman’s tenure was approaching. While some board members wanted a change of leadership to pursue strategic goals, others wanted Usman to continue as they were impressed with his performance.

It added that the board decided to appoint Muhammad Shaheed Khan as the new MD, but his appointment was revoked as approval obtained from the relevant regulatory authorities materially modified the intention of the board as expressed in his conditional offer.

The bank said the board and shareholders have agreed a new capital raise of N3.3 billion.

“As a testimony to the absence of a rift, the board and shareholders of the bank just commenced the process of raising additional equity of N3.3 billion through a private placement of 5.07 billion ordinary shares of 50kobo at 65kobo per share,” the statement read.

“The proposed placement was approved at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on October 28, 2020, at the bank’s head office in Abuja under the chairmanship of Umaru Mutallab.

“The proposed capital raising exercise is an affirmation of the confidence the board and shareholders have in the prospects of the bank despite economic uncertainties occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.”