– Says closure hurts rural economy
Fidelis David in Akure
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State and former Chairman of Irekari Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Steve Otaloro, has appealed to the management of First Bank of Nigeria Plc to reopen its Idoani branch, saying the decision would restore banking services to thousands of residents and preserve the legacy of the bank’s first indigenous Managing Director, the late Chief Samuel Oyewole Asabia.
Otaloro made the appeal in a statement titled, “Asabia’s Legacy Deserves Better: Why FirstBank Should Return to Idoani,” arguing the bank’s return to the historic community would revive economic activities while paying tribute to one of Nigeria’s most celebrated banking icons.
He recalled that Asabia, an indigene of Idoani, in Ose council area became the first indigenous Managing Director of FirstBank in 1975 and played a pivotal role in expanding banking services across the country under the Federal Government’s Rural Banking Programme introduced during the military administration of former Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to him, Idoani was one of the communities selected to benefit from the initiative, leading to the establishment of the FirstBank branch in the 1980s during Asabia’s tenure.
“While there is no public evidence that the branch was established solely because it was Asabia’s hometown, its establishment during his tenure remains historically significant and symbolises the philosophy of taking banking services to the grassroots,” Otaloro said.
He noted that unlike many rural branches that initially operated from rented premises, FirstBank demonstrated its long-term commitment to Idoani by constructing a purpose-built banking hall and an official residence for the branch manager.
According to him, for decades the branch served as the financial hub for communities across the Irekari LCDA, including Idogun, Imeri, Owani, Afo, Ikun, Oba and neighbouring settlements.
He added that the branch also provided banking services to key institutions such as the Federal Government College, Idoani, the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Imeri, as well as farmers, traders, artisans, transport operators, cooperative societies, public servants and other business owners.
Otaloro lamented that the branch was shut down following the April 8, 2019 armed robbery attack and the bank’s subsequent branch rationalisation exercise, leaving thousands of customers without access to conventional banking services.
He said the closure had compelled residents and businesses to travel long distances to conduct banking transactions, while many now depend on Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators for services previously offered by the bank.
While acknowledging the security concerns that followed the robbery incident, the APC chieftain argued that the attack should not have marked the end of FirstBank’s presence in the community.
“If FirstBank considers Samuel Asabia worthy of a Professorial Chair at one of Nigeria’s foremost universities, it should also consider him worthy of maintaining a FirstBank presence in the very town where he was born, nurtured and ultimately laid to rest,” he said.
Otaloro maintained that reopening the branch would not only honour the memory of a distinguished banker but also restore essential financial services to thousands of residents across Irekari LCDA and neighbouring communities, while reaffirming FirstBank’s commitment to financial inclusion and grassroots development.
He urged the bank’s current management to review the decision taken by previous administrations, stressing that history would judge the present leadership not only by the decisions it inherited but also by its willingness to correct them.
“The present management may not have ordered the closure of the Idoani branch, but history will remember whether it had the vision to restore it.
“There is still time for FirstBank to return to the historic town of Idoani, where its first indigenous Managing Director, Chief Samuel Oyewole Asabia, began his remarkable journey and now rests. Reopening the branch would be a fitting tribute to the doyen of Nigerian banking and a practical demonstration that the bank remains committed to the ideals of rural banking and financial inclusion that he championed,” Otaloro said.