1. 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.

2. 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