Following the arrest of its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Fidelity Bank Plc has announced the appointment of its Executive Director North, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Balarabe, as its acting MD/CEO.
The appointment was announced after a board meeting which ended last night. A two-paragraph statement at the end of the meeting said Balarabe appointment, which took effect last night, was subject to regulatory approval even as the bank assured its stakeholders of continued seamless services.
“In the absence of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, the Board of Directors has appointed Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Balarabe, Executive Director North as Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive of Fidelity Bank Plc with immediate effect subject to regulatory approval” it said, adding: “The bank reassures all its stakeholders including over 400,000 shareholders and 3.4 million customers of its continued seamless services.
The EFCC had arrested Fidelity Bank MD/CEO for allegedly receiving $115 million in lodgements from the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and disbursed the funds to politicians in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election that was lost by former President Goodluck Jonathan.