Tokunboh Abiru: Reaching for the sky
Following the resignation of the chairman of Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni, and the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Oguntayo, which led to the dissolution of the Board of Directors of the bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria in July this year; Mr. Adetokunbo Mukhail Abiru was appointed Chief Executive Officer.
Born on March 25, 1964, Tokunbo as he is fondly called, holds a B.Sc in Economics from Lagos State University. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School (Advanced Management Programme) and Lagos Business School (Senior Management Programme).
A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an Honorary Senior Member of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Tokunbo has had a distinguished career in banking spanning about 26 years, and has held positions in both Nigeria’s public and private sectors.
Tokunboh began his banking career at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), where he spent 10 years before moving to First Bank of Nigeria Limited where he spent another 14 years. While at First Bank, he held various positions including Relationship Team Leader, Retail Banking; Business Development Manager, Lagos (Ikeja1); and Group Head, Corporate Banking.
In 2011, Tokunboh was appointed the Honourable Commissioner of Finance for Lagos State by the then Governor, Babatunde Fashola. Two years later, he resigned to take up a position as the Executive Director, Corporate Banking of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, a position he occupied till he retired in 2016.
While at First Bank, In those years, he also served as a Non-Executive director in Airtel Mobile Networks Limited; FBN Capital Limited (now FBN Merchant Bank Limited); and FBN Bank Sierra Leone Limited.
During his tenure as Commissioner for Finance, the State successfully floated an N80 billion bond, earning it the EMEA Finance’s Best Local Currency Bond Award for 2012. Under his leadership, Tokunboh made the state’s tax efforts cohesive, and the discovery of over 5.5 million tax evaders in 2013 opened up the discussion regarding taxation in Lagos State. His efforts also led to increased Land Use Charge revenue generations to the tune of N6.2bn.
Tokunbo is a member of the Lagos HOMs Committee, which is in charge of the Lagos State Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (HOMs) instituted to reduce the housing deficit in the State.
After his appointment, Tokunbo affirmed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement that Skye remained healthy and strong. Speaking after taking over from his predecessor, Tokunboh in a statement, said the bank’s fundamentals remain strong and virile, assuring customers and other stakeholders of the safety of their funds and investments.
He said his team would leverage on the bank’s reputable information technology platform to make the bank not just a frontline retail and commercial bank, but also an industry leader. Abiru, who outlined his vision for the bank, said his team would harness the expertise and skill sets of the bank’s employees and the reconstituted board to take the bank to new and higher heights. He noted that being a Systematically Important Bank (SIB), Skye Bank occupies a sensitive role in the financial life of Nigerians and West Africa.
The reconstituted Board of Skye Bank Plc has Mr. M.K. Ahmad as new Chairman. Other members of the reconstituted board are Bayo Sanni, Idris Yakubu, Markie Idowu and Abimbola Izu, all of whom were serving in the Executive Director capacity before now.
Skye Bank is one of the 26 commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. With headquarters in Nigeria, the bank maintains subsidiaries in Sierra Leone, the Gambia, the Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
The origins of Skye Bank date back to 1989 when Prudent Bank Plc., was incorporated as a limited liability company. In 1990, the bank was issued a license as merchant bank. That same year, it rebranded as Prudent Merchant Bank Limited. In 2006, Prudent Merchant Bank Limited merged with four other banks (namely EIB International Bank Plc, Bond Bank Limited, Reliance Bank Limited and Co-operative Bank Plc) to form Skye Bank Plc. In 2014, the bank acquired Mainstreet Bank Limited.
Tokunboh is happily married to Feyisola, the Managing Director of Home & You Limited, a truly indigenous furniture manufacturing company, and they are blessed with children.
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