Alleged $115m Election Bribery: Fidelity Bank Appoints New Acting MD

Fidelity Bank Plc has appointed an Acting Managing Director. He is Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Balarabe.
Mr. Balarabe is to act in place of Nnamdi Okonkwo, the MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank, who has been in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for close to a week now.

The bank’s Board of Directors, which approved the appointment, said the appointment followed the absence of Mr. Okonkwo.

While announcing Balarabe, who prior to the appointment was the Executive Director North, the bank reassured all its stakeholders, including over 400,000 shareholders and about 3.4 million customers, of its continued seamless services.

It said although Balarabe’s appointment is with immediate effect, it was subject to regulatory approval.

The EFCC is currently investigating the role played by Okonkwo and Fidelity Bank’s Head of Operations, Martins Izuogbe – who is also in the custody of the anti-graft agency – in the lodgment of $115 million involving the former Petroleum Resources Minister Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The EFCC believes the cash was meant for the bribery of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to change the results of last year’s presidential election.