Tokunbo Abiru is a miracle worker. Unlike the middling marabou, his miracles aren’t deceptive in nature rather each one is an event that creates faith in his abilities as fiscal guru and bank chief. The Skye Bank chief is not just administrative Managing Director (MD) but a seasoned leader.
Administrators are always cheap and easy to find, and even cheaper to keep but leaders are worth their weight in gold. Leaders are risk takers and they are often in very short supply; ones with enduring vision however, like Tokunbo, are pure gold.
When he assumed the mantle of leadership at Skye Bank, pundits believed he had been to play the role of an undertaker due to the destructive plunder visited on the bank by its previous directors.
However, Tokunbo eventually rescued the bank from collapse. Besides entrenching a culture of professionalism and excellent results in the bank, he ensures that there are no more dirty deals going on within the bank’s halls.
There’s sanity in Skye bank and the bank is doing pretty well. The Skye Bank chief understands that leadership is not just about operationalising some empty formulas but establishing deep connection at group and personal levels through service, determination, uprightness, and poise.
Since he joined Skye Bank in 2016, Tokunbo has brought his ingenious leadership style to bear, thus changing the fortunes of the company for better, in 12 months to be precise.
Within the period Tokunbo has transformed the bank via visionary initiatives and he has also done a great deal to reclaim debts owed the bank by defaulting billionaire clients in particular. Since he assumed leadership at Skye Bank, he has outlawed dirty loan deals and is currently on a very successful crusade to reclaim huge loan debts from the bank’s chronic billionaire debtors.
Some of his other notable efforts within the past one year include, rationalisation of the bank’s branches, review of service contracts and cash management operations which have resulted in hundreds of millions of financial savings. Also, through some of the initiatives, the bank has successfully settled many matured trade and bilateral obligations and restructured outstanding balances with the relevant institutions and counterparties.
On his watch, Skye Bank has divested from four local subsidiaries releasing total cash value of N6.2 billion.
He is also known for his disciplined, straightforward and uncompromising approach to service delivery which keeps members of staff on their toes always. He however, rewards good work and initiative with ample perks and resource endowment in the interest of outstanding staff.
While serving as the Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, it is to Tokunbo’s credit that the state successfully floated an N80 billion bond, earning it the EMEA Finance’s Best Local Currency Bond Award for 2012. And during his tenure, Tokunbo improved the state’s tax returns.
He discovered over 5.5 million tax evaders in 2013 and his efforts also led to increased Land Use Charge revenue generations to the tune of N6.2 billion.
As the second anniversary of its intervention approaches, CBN recently in effect declared a strong vote of confidence in the management team by extending the tenure of the board for another two years till June 2020 as well as renewing its various regulatory support for the institution.
