News Update

China’s President Writes Buhari

Chinese President, Xi Jinping, says his country will use the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Nigeria to promote the strategic partnership to new heights.

President Xi said this in a letter he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Chinese leader appreciated Buhari’s congratulatory letter on the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, which came up on October 1.

This was disclosed in a statement by Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Friday.

Nigeria is an important strategic partner of China in Africa. China-Nigeria cooperation has been the pacesetter of China-Africa cooperation,’’ President Xi said.

President Xi said he attached great importance to the development of China-Nigeria relations, and assured President Buhari that his country would spare no effort in strengthening existing relations.

The President lauded the 50 years of robust diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and China, noting that it has yielded benefits for both countries.

Buhari stated that he looks forward to the upliftment of the bilateral ties between the two nations

 Business

Femi Otedola Takes Over First Bank Of Nigeria

Femi Otedola Becomes First Banks’s Largest Shareholder, To Takeover

From having a humongous loan portfolio of N192 billion in 2012 via his then Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd which was eventually passed on to the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola has today taken over First Bank of Nigeria Plc with his recent acquisition of about N30 billion worth of shares, making him the single largest shareholder of the bank.

What this invariably means is that being the largest shareholder, he holds the highest voting shares and can dictate the direction of the bank through his voting power.

In 2019 when he divested his 75% direct and indirect shareholding in Forte Oil, via a merger of his company Zenon Oil and former African Petroleum, many wondered why he made such a decision especially because of the lucrative nature of the oil and gas sector.

They became all the more curious as to what his next move would be. He didn’t keep them guessing too long as he soon announced that he wanted to explore and maximize business opportunities in refining and petrochemicals.

Even though he also had investments in the real estate and financial sector, Otedola singled out First Bank for the single reason that there wasn’t exactly one man calling the shots there, unlike in other new generation banks.

He wasted no time in taking advantage of the leadership crisis that rocked First Bank not too long ago that the Central Bank of Nigeria sacking both the chairman of the bank, Ibukun Awosika and Obafemi Otudeko, the chairman of FBN Holdings.