Peter Okafor
The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had mourned the exit of the late founder of First City Monument Bank, Otunba Subomi Balogun.
He commended the icon for the great role and innovation in the banking sector.
The banker died on Friday, according to a condolence message issued in Abuja by his media officer, Tunde Rahman.
Tinubu said his death would create a vacuum that will be difficult to fill in the banking industry and among his Ijebu people, where he was a symbol of unity and traditional values.
He noted that the FCMB founder achieved what many considered impossible when he pioneered investment banking in Nigeria.
“Through his vision, he changed the financial services sector of the economy.The news of the death of Otunba Subomi Michael Balogun in London yesterday was indeed a sad one. Even though he lived to the advanced age of 89, we didn’t expect that he would leave us at this time.
“Otunba Subomi Balogun lived a life full of many accomplishments and for this, we are grateful to God. He was a giant among men who changed the course of history and lived life on his terms as a reputable investment banker. He blazed the trail for others to follow”, he added.
From a lawyer who joined the Western Region Ministry of Justice and later as Parliamentary Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice, he moved to Nigerian Industrial Development Bank to start a banking career that blossomed into pioneering merchant banking in our country. What started as First City Merchant Bank in 1979 transformed into First City Monument Bank, one of the most admired banks in Nigeria today.
