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First Bank Posts N218bn Gross Earnings

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First Bank of Nigeria Plc, the West African nation’s largest lender, has post N218 billion gross earning at the end of 2008 financial year.

However, Net income dropped to 12.6 billion naira ($85.2 million) in the 12 months through March, from 36.7 billion naira a year earlier, the Lagos-based bank said in a statement distributed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange recently. Revenue climbed 40 per cent to 218.3 billion naira, it said.

The decline in project was a result of the ‘diminution in value of investments occasioned by the situation in the capital market,” the company said in the statement. It didn’t elaborate.

First Bank’s result come after Eurasia Group, a New York-based research Company, said in May that banks in Nigeria may have as much as $10 billion of toxic assets. The bad debt is partly the result of at least 1 trillion naira ($6.8 billion) of so-called margin loans used by speculators to buy shares as equities soared almost 13-fold since 2000, according to Bank of America Corp Nigeria’s All Share Index tumbled 70 per cent in 12 months through March.

First Bank shares advanced the daily limit of 5 per cent to 21 naira on the bourse today. The company declared a dividend of 1.35 naira per share and said it will award one bonus for every six held.

Commenting on the results, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Group Managing Director of First Bank said, “Despite the challenging market conditions, First Bank continues to capitalize on its well established value chain in Nigeria’s financial services sector and has achieved another year of strong organic revenue growth.

Recognition of the bank as one of the strongest and most dependable banks in Nigeria, especially in a time of global downturn, has driven considerable growth in our deposit base, with the total group’s deposit liabilities increasing by 71 per cent to N1.2 trillion. Furthermore, strong year-on-year growth was recorded across all business lines. This is a fantastic achievement and First Bank is well positioned to continue to grow its asset base supported by a sustained robust capital position with a strong capital adequacy ratio of 24.69 per cent and stable funding.

“Going forward, our growth aspirations will be driven by our commitment to attain the full benefits of scale and scope by accelerating growth and diversification of assets, revenue and profit. At the strategic level, we have identified three pillars that we believe are integral to our objective: they are acceleration of growth by diversification of assets, revenue and profit; service and operation excellence via a single-minded commitment to operational excellence; the design of appropriate institutional processes, system and capabilities necessary to deliver world class service levels; performance management and people to deliver unmatched results by creating a performance culture with clear individual accountability at all levels as the foundation of what we shall be doing over the medium-term.

“There is no doubt that the trajectory going forward would encounter pockets of turbulence. Within this prognosis, our challenge at First Bank is to build positive momentum around these three pillars and to build on our progress to date”.

Mr Boye Adebayo, acting MD of the Group’s mortgage banking subsidiary commented that, “First Bank’s mortgage business was underpinned by significant income growth from property trading and development in 2008 as our continued IT and HR initiatives enabled us to maintain our competitive edge and grow market share.

This resulted in a 70 per cent rise of our profit before tax for the year. Growth in the medium term will, however depend on a clear focus on servicing the middle market, which we believe will be indispensable.

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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