– 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.
