Nigerian billionaire and Chairman, Geregu Power, Femi Otedola is a prophet of enterprise. No doubt, he’s one of the illustrious popes of commerce, robed and mitred in the resonance of their exploits. He is the artist who paints beautifully on canvas with his feats even as he spins poetic lines about his conquests.
In top business schools across the continent and beyond, the corporate exploits of billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, are veritable case studies for academic research. There seems to be unanimity of opinions that Otedola has created phenomenally businesses and changed the world in significant ways.
Of course, it is often said that to succeed in the banking sector, you must have the heart of Hercules, the fearlessness of Achilles, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of Macaulay, and the hide of a rhinoceros, Otedola conveniently exudes the aforementioned attributes and more, thus his ascension to the top of the banking industry’s greasy pole.
Now, billionaire Femi Otedola has sent seismic waves around the banking industry in Nigeria nay Africa with his recent acquisition of a 5.07 per cent equity stake in First Bank Holdings, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria. Curiously, when the news first broke, the company denied knowledge of the takeover, saying it had not received any such notification of a significant holding by Otedola from the authorities.
However, in a follow-up communication to the Nigerian Exchange Limited last Saturday, the firm said it received notification from APT Securities and Funds Limited that; “Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee, Calvados Global Services Limited have acquired a total of 1,818, 551,625 units of shares from the company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292791.
“Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee in the company is now 5.07%,” the notice signed by Seye Kosoko, company secretary, affirmed.
In the 2020 annual report and accounts, the bank stated that “According to the Register of Members as of December 30, 2020, there is no shareholder with 5% of the shares of FBN Holdings Plc.” Otedola, therefore, becomes the bank’s second single largest shareholder on record. To underscore the positive reception of Otedola’s acquisition by the industry, FBN Holdings witnessed unusually massive trading in its shares and the cumulative number of units traded within the period surpassed 2.1 billion. The uptick in trading catapulted its share value by 62.3 per cent from the level it was three weeks ago.
The Lagos native is not new to such corporate derring-do; it may as well be for him like another day in the office. Lest the world forgot, he successfully rebranded and transformed a loss after tax of US$123m African Petroleum Plc in 2011 to a vibrant profit-making Forte Oil Plc with an average Profit After Tax of US$35m from 2012 to 2019.
Otedola also oversaw the successful reorganisation of Forte Oil’s capital structure in 2013 because of accumulated losses through a scheme of arrangement for the company to be able to resume dividend payments in 2014 after five years of not paying dividends to shareholders. In 2016, the company, under his leadership, announced the closure of a N9 billion corporate bond raise to shore up capital in the face of multiple devaluations and an increase in capital requirement. This instrument is listed both on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
He also superintended the rehabilitation and commissioning of 30,000 metric tonnes lubricants blending plant to drive the growth of annual lubricant sales from six million litres of various grades to 27 million litres while investing in storage assets rehabilitation, which enabled the availability of 60 million litres of white products, 800 MT LPG and six million litres bitumen storage capacity. He did not stop there.
Otedola shored up the product distribution fleet with the purchase of 100 Mercedes trucks with 45,000 litres, triple compartment tank capacity giving the company 4.5 million immediately available and deployable rolling stock and delivering a two-year ROI and average annual net freight income of USD1.639 million
He also ensured that the company filed all its regulatory financial returns as and when due and consistently achieved early filer status with the Nigerian Stock Exchange from the 2012 financial year. Among other feats, he led Forte Oil Plc to the second-largest major marketer by market share from the sixth position on appointment. By 2014, Forte Oil was listed among the Top 100 most respected companies in Nigeria and one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria based on the brand strength measurement index by the Top 50 Brands Nigeria. Other recognitions include the Most Innovative Retail Outlet of the Year 2016 by the Nigeria Innovation Summit; Best Corporate Social Responsibility marketing company of the year 2015; and Best Customer Service Retail Award 2016 by Oil Trading & Logistics Expo among others.
At the 414-MW Geregu Power Plant, which he acquired during the FGN Power Privatisation exercise of 2013 under a joint venture partnership with the State Grid Corporation of China/Shanghai Municipal Electric Corporation, the largest utility company in the world by size and market capitalisation, Otedola has revamped, transformed and increased the overall efficiency of the plant through a major overhaul exercise at USD 100 million thus increasing its capacity from 414 to 435 MW while operational capacity increased to 90 per cent. Instructively, current production from Geregu Power Plc accounts for 10% of the total power uptake of the National Grid.
It beggars no misgivings to say unequivocally that in the life of Otedola, nothing trickles, everything pours; and in torrents too. From business to philanthropy, he continues to leave his peers painting streets behind. And for these, he is honoured at home and abroad. In 2020, he was honoured with the coveted ‘Philanthropist of the Decade’ award by THISDAY newspaper as part of activities commemorating its 25th anniversary in January 2020. The influential newspaper’s board awarded 24 individuals and institutions for their contributions to the socio-economic and political growth of Nigeria.
On his humanitarian gestures, Otedola was quoted as saying, “God has been so kind to me in life. I feel highly privileged. The only way I can show my gratitude to Him is to use my resources to support those who are underprivileged. This, I intend to do for the rest of my life. In a world full of conflicts, diseases, calamities and inequality, we all need to show the milk of human kindness, to reach out and comfort the sick and give a helping hand to the weak.
“A lot of people think when they die, they take their money with them, we’ll see. In my journey of life, I have taken the risk, I’ve done the chase, I’ve enjoyed the thrill and I have achieved success and recognition. What next? You give it back!”
Also in 2019, he was named the biggest individual donor to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF). Subsequently, he and some other donors were celebrated at an event, ‘Transformational Security’ and the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, personally commended him for consistently intervening to improve the society. All of these have not gone unnoticed by a discerning world.
