By Joseph Inokotng (Abuja) Chinwendu Obienyi and Chiamaka Ajeamo
The battle for control of shareholding of FBN Holdings seem to have taken a new twist as the Pension Commission of Nigeria (PenCom) has issued a statement clarifying actual direct or indirect beneficiaries of shares of FBNH currently held by Leadway Pensure.
The bank had in October claimed that one of its directors, Mr. Tunde Odukale had informed the bank that his direct and indirect ownership in FBN Holdings had increased to 5.36 per cent having assigned Leadway Pensure shares in FBNH to himself as indirect holdings.
However, PenCom reportedly issued a statement debunking this claim, clarifying that ownership of pension funds is that of pension fund contributors and no one else and added that it cannot be added to cumulative shares of any shareholder or related party who may be claiming it as part of their indirect ownership of the bank. “The Commission’s attention has been drawn to several publications in the media alleging breach of its regulation on investment of pension fund assets by Leadway Pensure Ltd, a licensed Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), in the equities of FBN Holdings Plc. The Commission categorically states that the allegations are not correct and must have been made based on the lack of understanding of the investment regulation issued by the Commission.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission wishes to clarify as follows: The equity investments in FBN Holdings made by Leadway Pensure Ltd on behalf of the pension funds under its management are in the name of the pension fund and belong to the RSA.”
“Therefore, the equity investments in FBN Holdings Plc as stated cannot be appropriated or classified as shareholdings of any related party to the PFA. Records which can be confirmed from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that the equity investments in FBN Holdings Plc are in the name of the Pension Fund on behalf of the RSA holders,” a statement from PenCom said.
The statement from PenCom now means the shares owned by pension fund contributors in Leadway Pensure cannot be assigned to Odukale as part of his indirect holdings and this points to the fact that Mr. Odukale’s shareholding in FBNH is 1,061,712,022 units, which is technically 2.95 per cent of the total shares in FBNH (35.8 billion shares) meaning his total direct and indirect shareholding is not up to 5 per cent which had been the case for all shareholders of the bank as of the financial statement for the period ended June 30, 2021.
