FBN Holdings on Tuesday, held its 11th annual general meeting virtually, despite a court order stopping the meeting from being held.
Last Thursday, the financial institution said it had not been served any court order stopping it from holding its 11th AGM as scheduled.
It, however, acknowledged in a notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited dated August 14, 2023, being served with an ex parte order of Interim Injunction on Friday, August 11, 2023, restraining it from proceeding with the AGM.
This was via Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1575/23 In the Matter of Olojede Solomon, Adebayo Abayomi and Ogundiran Adejare VS. FBN Holdings Plc.
FBN said that its “lawyers have filed and served on the petitioners the necessary processes and notice of appeal challenging the said order and seeking that same, as well as the entire proceedings be set aside, paving way for the AGM to proceed on August 15, 2023, as earlier scheduled.”
Another court order published in The PUNCH last week showed that the Federal High Court in Lagos had issued an order against the financial institution, barring it from holding the statutory meeting.
A petition by Olusegun Onagoruwa, upon which the order was obtained in suit No: FHC/L/CP/1271/2022, addressed to the bank and some other bank officials, said, “Take notice that unless you obey the directives in the judicial order contained in the order made on July 15, 2022, by the Federal High Court, Lagos, by refraining from proceeding with the 11th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Limited proposed for August 15, 2023, from seeking approval to issue or raise share capital in any manner whatsoever, from appointing or confirming the appointment of new directors, or in any other manner taking any step towards implementing, actualising enforcing resolution of the 10th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Plc held on June 20, 2022, or in any other manner overreaching, disobeying or undermining the said order of a court, you will be guilty of contempt of court and you will be liable to be committed to prison and to there imprisoned.”
Some shareholders protested at the headquarters of the bank last week Monday, calling for the AGM to be held, as well as soliciting regulatory interventions.
At its AGM, 98.76 per cent of the shareholders with voting rights voted in support of increasing the company’s issued share capital from N17,947,646,393 of 35, 895,292,792 ordinary shares to N22, 434, 557, 996 of 8, 973,823,198 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. Only 1.24 per cent voted against the resolution.
The bank had proposed a capital raise of N150bn via a rights issue in its amended AGM notice as well the election of directors including billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola and Samson Ariyibi.
