FIRST Bank of Nigeria Plc may pay as much as N1 billion  to Bernard Longe, its former managing director as accumulated income in the last eight years following the Supreme Court judgment on Friday   nullifying his dismissal from office by the board of the bank.  BusinessWorld intelligence can now reveal that the payment is only possible if Longe agrees to formerly retire from the bank. The payout is calculated based on estimates of his expected salaries, allowances and other benefits which accumulated since 2002. 
While Longe may be smiling to the bank after eight years, his contemporary, UzomaNwankwo will be licking his wound inflicted on him by the controversial sack as he will have nothing to collect. Unlike Longe, he did not take his case to the court as he decided to move on with his life. Both of them had taken top executive appointments with some quoted companies on different capacities over the last eight years while the battles raged at the various courts.
Longe’s victory may have been considered to be monumental based on the scenarios that played themselves out during his sack. The judgement has justified debates which it generated, most of which tried to question the possibility of the managing director approving such a facility without the approval of the board.
The apex court last Friday restored Longe to his position after over eight years of legal battles through the various rungs of the judicial system. The former First Bank MD was relieved of his duties by the board of the bank in 2002, over alleged gross misconduct while in office.
In the lead judgment prepared by Justice George Oguntade and read by Justice Funke Adekeye, the Apex Court held that Longe’s removal did not follow due process of the law and therefore cannot stand. The court further pronounced that Longe is still deemed as the managing director of First Bank not minding the purported dismissal.
In line with this, the Apex Court awarded cost of N20, 000 against the respondents in the trial court, N30, 000 against the respondents in the Court of Appeal and N50, 000 against the respondents in the final court, the Supreme Court.
The court went further to say that Longe cannot be dismissed without following the due process of the law even where he is found to have committed an offence deemed to be gross misconduct.
According to the court, “The appeal is allowed, the removal did not follow due process especially as provided in CAMA Section 266 (3) for removal of MD”.
Responding to the Judgment, Counsel to Longe, Prof. S.A. Adesanya, said the “Judgment is of singular importance because it defines the role of MD and the process of removing him”.