Nigerian banks spend over US$500 million on buying private jets – Otedola laments

Nigerian tycoon Femi Otedola has expressed concern about the excessive spending of the country's banks.

He argues that Nigerian banks spend an estimated $50 million annually just on maintaining private jets, with over $500 million spent on purchasing nine private jets by four banks.

Otedola, who is also the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), believes that banks operating in the country should reduce their lavish spending.

He expressed strong support for imposing a new windfall tax on banks to rebuild public trust and support the domestic economy.

“Nigerian banks are spending an estimated $50 million annually just on maintaining private jets, with over $500 million gone into purchasing nine private jets by four banks,” he said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.

“This level of extravagance significantly erodes public trust in our financial institutions and diverts crucial resources away from vital areas,” the billionaire businessman said.

Additionally, Otedola mentioned that he supports increased minimum capital requirements for banks operating in Nigeria.

Femi Otedola is one of the wealthiest individuals in Nigeria with a diverse portfolio of businesses in the energy sector, real estate, finance, and banking, among others.

MA/AE

Watch the latest edition of BizTech below:



Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

Click here to follow the GhanaWeb Business WhatsApp channel