Confusion Trails Otudeko's 10.43 Billion Shares Sale in First Bank Holding Company

• One of Nigeria's oldest financial institutions, First Bank, is currently in the middle of controversies trailing a massive share deal
• Almost one-fourth of the company's shares were sold in several transactions that are yet to be publicly announced or confirmed
• This transaction has huge implications for the financial institution, and regulators have spoken up about what they know

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a journalist with Legit.ng, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Several reactions have trailed the significant share deal of First Bank Holding Company (First HoldCo) that happened a few days ago.

It was reported that the majority shareholder and former board chairman, Oba Otudeko, sold over 10.43 billion shares in 17 transactions on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

It was also reported that another majority shareholder and former board Chairman, Hassan Odukale, who held about 5%, had sold his shares at about the same time.

While there is yet no confirmation as to who bought the shares, sources claimed that the shares could be traced to Olufemi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire and current Board Chairman at First HoldCo.

If the assumptions are correct, it means that Otedola has tightened his grip on the financial group with an unprecedented 40% shareholding in his control.

This would make him the single largest shareholder in any tier-1 bank in Nigeria.

Recall that Oba Otudeko acquired 4.2 billion shares two years ago, to restate his claim as majority shareholder in the banking group.

Regulators are yet to be informed

Such a transaction would require the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the banking regulator, but nothing has been mentioned about this yet.

According to Vanguard news, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) Spokesperson, Clifford Akpolo, says the NGX has not yet been notified of such transactions.

This raises questions about the share deals, because the NGX trading rules demand that the NGX Reg must be notified of any selling or buying of shares that amount to 5% of the total shareholding.

In this case, the 17 transactions accounted for almost 25% of First Bank Holding Company’s total shares.

Trading data confirms deals took place

While stakeholders and even the company spokesperson have yet to comment publicly on the matter, the available trading data confirms that these transactions happened.

Capital market sources also confirm that the sales and acquisitions took place on Wednesday, July 16, 2024, and the deals were executed off the trading floor.

Some sources also told the Vanguard News that the two former board chairmen agreed to sell their shares to the bank, in exchange for having the long-drawn legal proceedings against them dropped.

However, there is no clear information on the new owner of these shares. Sources say the purchases were made by a company called RC, but no one can say for sure who owns RC or what the company is about.

Otedola returns as FBHoldCo's largest shareholder

Legit.ng earlier reported that Otedola returned as the single largest shareholder at First Bank Holding Company.

This followed massive share transactions on Wednesday, July 16, in which Oba Otudeko and Hassan Odukale were said to have sold their shares.

With a 15% share control, Otedola becomes the largest shareholder in addition to being the Board Chairman at the financial group.

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng