List of Nigeria Banks Founders As Lawan Auwal Buys Polaris Bank to Join Elumelu, Jim Ovia, Others

List of Nigeria Banks Founders As Lawan Auwal Buys Polaris Bank to Join Elumelu, Jim Ovia, Others

  • The Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that the banking sector consists of 21 commercial banks
  • These banks are owned by astute Nigerians who have made a name for themselves in various fields
  • Lawan Auwal is the latest addition to the list, joining Elumelu and Jim Ovia after his company completed the acquisition of Polaris Bank

Lawan Auwal has been revealed as the man behind Strategic Capital Investment Ltd. (SCIL), the company that bought Polaris bank from the Central Bank of Nigeria and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

SCIL paid N50 billion to take over the bank and will pay an extra N1.3 trillion in the next 25 years.

The money is what CBN, and AMCON spent to receive the bank after it was taken away from Skye.

Polaris bank new owner Lawal Anwal
Lawal Anwal, Polaris Bank's new owner, is a smart Businessman and son-in-law of former Nigeria head of state, Babangida. Credit: @lawal
Source: Facebook

Legit.ng reported that SCIL agreed to pay for all the expenses incurred by the Nigerian government during the deal negotiation.

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Who is Lawan Auwal

Details showed that Lawan Auwal Abdullahiis the man behind Strategic Capital Investment Limited.

Corporate Affairs Commision information shows that SCIL is owned by Ponglomerape Limited, which has on its board directors, Lawan Auwal, Lawan Abdullahi, Lawan Shaibu, and Lawan Jamilu.

Ponglomerape Limited is into the agriculture business, civil engineering and real estate development.

Lawan, who is Sarkin Sudan of Gombe is the son-in-law of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, former head of the state of Nigeria from 1985–1993.

His wife, Halima, Babangida's daughter, is his third wife, whom he married in 2017 amid great fanfare in two states, Niger and Gombe, with nine ceremonies held over four days, reportedly costing around N300 million, according to the societal lifestyle journal, Ecomium.

Lawan is also a respected businessman and philanthropist.

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Some notable bank owners in Nigeria

Zenith Bank- Jim Ovia

UBA- Tony Elumelu

Fidelity- Mustafa Chike-Obi

GTB- Tajudeen Afolabi Adeola

New board members for Polaris

Meanwhile, Polaris bank has announced a management change following the acquisition by SCIL.

The new board will be led by the existing chairman M K Ahmad, who will be joined on the board by six non-executive directors and three executive directors, it said in a statement Friday.

AdekunIe Sonola, a former executive director at Union Bank, is the bank's managing director and chief executive officer.

Members of the new board are:

  • MK Ahmad (Chairman)
  • Abubakar Danlami Suleiman (Non-Executive Director)
  • Salma Mohammed (Non-Executive Director)
  • Adeleke Alex Adedipe (Non-Executive Director)
  • Ahmed Almustapha (Non-Executive Director)
  • Francesco Cuzzocrea (Non-Executive Director)
  • Olabisi Olubunmi Odunowo (Non-Executive Director)
  • AdekunIe Sonola (Executive – M D/CEO)
  • Abdullahi S Mohammed (Executive Director)
  • Segun Opeke (Executive Director)

FG releases names of 19,847 companies that can apply for its contract in 2022

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In another report, the federal government produced a list of 19,847 Nigerian firms eligible to bid on ministry contracts.

The list was produced based on companies' compliance with employee pensions and insurance.

The companies listed are from media to health and agriculture and banks, among several others

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.