Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Femi Otedola, says he has invested more than N600 billion of his personal wealth in the financial services group and intends to increase his stake beyond 50 per cent.
The billionaire businessman also stated that he has no intention of exiting the institution in the foreseeable future, unlike some of his previous investments.
Speaking in an interview with Nairametrics, Otedola said his investment approach is built on acquiring controlling interests in companies so he can implement reforms aimed at creating long-term value for shareholders.
Otedola, who currently owns 28.5 per cent of First HoldCo, said his preferred investment threshold is usually above 51 per cent, arguing that strong shareholder control is essential for executing restructuring and governance reforms while protecting minority investors.
He compared the strategy to his earlier investments in African Petroleum Plc (later Forte Oil Plc), where he increased his stake from 28 per cent to 75 per cent before divesting in 2019, and Geregu Power Plc, where he built his holding from 51 per cent to 95 per cent before reducing it to 77 per cent after the company was listed on the stock exchange.
According to him, the same long-term approach is being applied to First HoldCo.
Otedola said the more than N600 billion he has committed represents confidence in the institution’s future rather than a speculative investment.
He rejected suggestions that he might eventually sell his stake after completing the bank’s turnaround, describing First HoldCo as a “long-term generational commitment” that is fundamentally different from his previous investments.
The chairman said the bank’s 130-year history, systemic importance and position within Nigeria’s financial sector make it an enduring institution capable of creating value for future generations.
He explained that he chose to invest in the group because he believed it retained strong franchise value despite serious governance and asset quality problems.
Otedola recalled that before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened in 2021, the bank was struggling with more than N2 trillion in non-performing loans, weak corporate governance and insider abuses, leaving it close to regulatory takeover.
He noted that the CBN later dissolved the board over governance breaches, unresolved insider exposures and leadership succession failures.
Rather than seeing the crisis as a warning sign, Otedola said he viewed it as an opportunity to rebuild one of Africa’s oldest financial institutions through governance reforms, stronger risk management, leadership renewal and recapitalisation.
He disclosed that the bank took a one-off N1.7 trillion impairment charge to clean up legacy exposures and subsequently raised fresh capital through rights issues, private placements and strategic asset sales to strengthen its balance sheet.
According to him, the reforms are already producing results. He said First HoldCo’s profit before tax rose by 83.5 per cent year-on-year to N653.4 billion in the first half of 2026, while return on average equity reached 30.4 per cent, which he described as the highest among Nigeria’s major banking groups.
Otedola argued that Nigerian banking stocks have often traded below their intrinsic values because of macroeconomic uncertainty, exchange-rate volatility and governance concerns rather than weak business fundamentals.
He added that the ongoing turnaround at First HoldCo is beginning to change investor perception, with the company’s share price rising sharply and its market capitalisation exceeding N6 trillion.
Looking ahead, the chairman said the board intends to maintain stronger dividend payments while preserving enough capital to support future expansion.
He explained that the proposed dividend payout ratio of about 60 per cent would be funded from sustainable earnings after meeting regulatory capital requirements and financing growth initiatives.
Otedola also stressed that stronger capitalisation is necessary if Nigeria is to achieve its ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy, arguing that weakly capitalised banks cannot provide the long-term financing required for economic growth.
He said the goal of raising additional capital is not simply to meet regulatory requirements but to build a stronger and more resilient financial institution capable of competing with leading banks across Africa.
Summing up his vision, Otedola said he wants First HoldCo to become a benchmark for corporate governance, operational excellence, innovation and sustainable value creation.
He added that his ambition is to help transform a bank that once stood on the brink of regulatory takeover into an institution that sets the pace for the Nigerian banking industry.
