Society Gists

There is an ongoing messy legal battle between Wema Bank plc and its former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jeremiah Adebisi Omoyeni bothering on the unlawful termination of his appointment by the bank on October 23, 2008.

Mr. Omoyeni, claimed that he was begged by the board of the bank to resign his appointment as the deputy governor of Ekiti State in 2005 to help salvage the dwindling fortunes of the bank. He had earlier served the bank from 1987 to 2005, where he rose through the ranks to the post of an executive director, before he was appointed deputy governor in the first coming of Governor Ayo Fayose. According to the findings of LagosTimes, Mr. Omoyeni had a distinguished career at the bank and was on record to have had the most rapid promotion in the history of the bank.

He was promoted every year for 8 straight years; he had one promotion in two years, and a double promotion from Assistant General Manager to General Manager in August 1998, bypassing the position of Deputy General Manager. It was on the strength of the foregoing that he was identified as the only person who can help address the dwindling fortune of the bank, even while he was serving as a deputy governor.

Part of the grouse of Mr. Omoyeni is the believe that after helping to stem the decline in the fortune of the bank, growing the gross earning of the bank from N14 billion to N26 billion in 2007 and profit after tax also rose from a loss of N6.6 billion in 2006 to a profit of N2.5 billion in 2007, all of these upon his return from serving Ekiti State to pilot the affairs of the bank, he was unceremoniously relieved of his duties and his allowances and emoluments denied him.

The embittered former managing director of the bank pointed accusing fingers in the direction of Mr. Babatunde Lemo and some other people of influence who has vested interest in the bank and wanted the bank liquidated so as to acquire it for themselves and their cronies.

It is in the light of all the above, LagosTimes further gathered that Mr. Omoyeni has instituted a law suit which has been running for sometimes against the bank and his seeking a redress and payment of his entitlement, salaries, allowances and bonuses totaling about N7 billion .