I appreciate The Sun award – Onasanya, First Bank GMD

Group Managing Director (GMD) of First Bank Limited, Mr Olabisi Onasanya, has commended the management of The Sun Publishing Limited over its commitment and focus in recognizing Nigerians and institutions  that are making outstanding contributions to the economic development of the country.

Onasanya, who was responding after receiving his nomination letter as The Sun Banker of the Year award 2014 from The Sun management team led by its Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Mr Femi Adesina , in his office in Lagos yesterday, said he was delighted at being elected  for the honour, stressing that it was such sterling leadership qualities that have combined to make the newspaper a market leader in the Nigerian media industry.
He said: “I appreciate this recognition because I know it is a special award from a reputable organization like The Sun.” He assured that the award would be a further inspiration for First Bank management to continue to partner Nigerian businesses that are committed to its economic and social development.
“We must, however, be willing to encourage production of local items, defend local industries and in the process reduce the amount of goods imported into the country which will compete with Nigerian products. If we continue to import all manner of goods to come into the country in such a way that such goods become much cheaper than locally produced goods, then, you are killing your own industries.  I would say that we need to encourage local manufacturing and reduce imports. We spend a lot of money importing rice into Nigeria when we have the capacity to produce the staple food locally”
Earlier, Mr Adesina said that the Board of Editors of The Sun, had voted for Onasanya based on his ability to pull through several large ticket transactions in the economy during the year under review  including the $450million subordinated Tier 2 debt of July 18, 2014 which he described as the largest subordinated Eurobond ever issued by any Nigerian financial institution.
He said The Sun was also impressed by Onasanya’s impeccable credentials that have seen him sustain First Bank’s growth trajectory not only in Nigeria, but also within the African continent. Adesina also noted that the editors were delighted to see that First Bank under Onasanya has grown to enviable heights with its total assets now at over $30.3billion while profit before tax (PBT) for the first six months of the year stood at N48.3billion as against N54.8billion in December 2013