Beacons of Excellence, Beacons of a Prosperous Future! A WELCOME ADDRESS BY MR. BISI ONASANYA, GMD/CEO, FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC, AT THE 2011 FIRSTBANK CEO’S ANNUAL MERIT AWARDS (CAMA), EKO HOTEL & SUITES, VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS, MARCH 5, 2011 PROTOCOL:

Your Excellencies;

My Lords Spiritual and Temporal;

Distinguished Guests All Special;

Fellow FirstBankers;

Ladies and gentlemen:

It is my honour and pleasure to welcome you to the 2011 FirstBank CEO’s Annual Merit Awards

(CAMA). This is in keeping with our Bank’s tradition to recognise and celebrate excellence. The

need to continuously reward hard work and dedication to duty cannot be over-emphasised. We

have maintained the long service awards for decades. But as acknowledged at the inception of

CAMA five years ago, it’s not only about how long but how well. You would agree with me that

exceptional performers therefore deserve exceptional rewards. That’s the essence of this

special awards ceremony.

We are witnesses to an increasingly changing operating environment. The nature of competition

has also changed in response to the operational dynamics. The present competitive market is

more demanding, performance-driven and merit-focused than ever before. It is not surprising

therefore that the rewards system has also changed. I am pleased to inform you that this is one

of the reasons we have just reviewed our Bank’s compensation packages upwards.

Sometimes, recognition is not just about instituting an awards system. It’s also about how the

awards are executed. With the array of distinguished achievers at this august occasion, I

believe today will be etched in the history of every awardee and their families as indeed a

memorable day in recognition of their excellent contributions to the growth and development of

the FirstBank group.

In preparing for this awards ceremony, we have made tremendous effort to integrate excellent

performance, dedication and commitment, integrity, accountability, teamwork and leadership in

excellence as veritable indices for recognising and rewarding outstanding contributions to our

great institution. The awards thus provide management with a tool to recognize tangible

achievements; it is a means to acknowledge, reinforce and retain employee commitment

throughout the year and at critical milestones in the evolution of the FirstBank group. In the

course of this ceremony, therefore, we will be celebrating significant accomplishments,

collaborations and initiatives where the core values of the group were demonstrated.

Distinguished awardees, as I personally congratulate you, I urge you to remain beacons of

excellence and beacons of the prosperous future we crave. You have been thrust with an

enormous responsibility to always be worthy of emulation and personify the culture and brand

pillars of FirstBank which include leadership, enterprise, safety and security as well as service

excellence. Shortly you will be receiving symbols of your recognition, as well as carefully

worded letters that express your Bank’s appreciation of your worthwhile contributions to

corporate development. These materials are icons of excellence. Keep them well as memorials

for your succeeding generations cherish and emulate. They must learn that you did not only

make money, but that you also made a good name for yourself and for them.

Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to recognize Mrs. Remi Odunlami, our Chief Risk Officer and

the Chairman of the CAMA 2011 Steering Committee. I also salute the entire Steering

Committee and the Implementation Committee, our consultants and everyone else that has

worked tirelessly to ensure that we enjoy a memorable awards ceremony.

Once again, I thank you all for your kind support to the FirstBank group.

May God bless you and may God bless Nigeria.

Bisi Onasanya GMD/CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Plc