TheCable

Adesola Adeduntan, chief executive officer (CEO) of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, says the bank is celebrating 125 years of unbroken business operations in Nigeria

He said this at an event to mark the bank’s 125th anniversary.

Adeduntan said in the last 125 year, the institution has  been “supporting and enabling dreams”.

“We are celebrating 125 years of trust, safety and security as well as 125 years of long term value to all stakeholders,” he said.

He said the bank was now building for the next 125 years and beyond and would continue to maintain its leadership position.He said that the bank was among the few companies in the world that survived over 100 years of existence.

Adeduntan said the bank, a long-standing institution, had impacted the nation and the world through various financial products and services.

“From that very modest beginning in 1894, First Bank has traversed an incredible journey of delivering impeccable financial services to its customers and supporting the building of the modern-day Nigeria and indeed, West Africa, including our early pivotal role as the monetary and fiscal policy regulator for the entire West African region,” he said.

“As a long-standing institution, which even predates Nigeria as a unified entity, FirstBank is entrenched in the nation’s development; woven into the very fabric of society, with our involvement in every stage of national growth and development.

“At the amalgamation, independence and through the seasons ever after, we have been here marching hand-in-hand with you and our dear nation. We have enabled financial, technological, industrial and societal advancements, achieving very many firsts over time.”

Dipo Fatokun of the Central Bank of Nigeria, lauded the bank for its achievement in the development of the financial sector and Nigeria as a whole.

Fatoku said integrity is very important in the banking industry, adding that FirstBank had remained a major player both in human capital development and financial service delivery.

Below are pictures from the event:

Adeduntan

L- R: Folake Ani-Mumuney, group head, marketing and corporate communications, First Bank; UK Eke, GMD FBN Holdings; Oba Otudeko, group chairman FBN Holdings; Ibukun Awosika, chairman board of directors, First Bank; and Adesola Adeduntan, CEO First Bank

Rilwan Akiolu, oba of Lagos and Oba Otudeko, group chairman FBN Holdings

Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); and Omobola Johnson, former minister of communication technology.

Photo credit: Mansur Ibrahim