Breaking News
Who is After Nnamdi Okonkwo?
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo
HighLife
“It was you!” “It wasn’t me!” “But you know it was you.” “I have no idea what you mean!” This is the kind of dialogue folks are seeing between Nnamdi Okonkwo and news bodies all over social media and report networks in Nigeria. The latter keeps insisting that the former has been caught in the snare of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but the person in question insists otherwise. Truly a vertiginous experience for folks keeping up with both parties.
The last few days have been exciting for Nigerians and are beyond cheering the new corporate ‘identity tag’ of former Fidelity Bank MD/CEO, Okonkwo. His confirmed appointment as the Group MD of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Group delighted his large offline and online following. Then EFCC allegedly got involved.
The reports of Okonkwo’s alleged tango entered mainstream news on Sunday, November 14, 2021. The well-known super banker had reportedly been remanded in the custody of the anti-graft agency for his old association with former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The matter of Okonkwo participating in Alison-Madueke’s mess has been around since 2016. According to the EFCC back then, Okonkwo was a central figure in Alison-Madueke’s fraudulent gambit. Following her bidding, he allegedly transferred $153.3 million from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Okonkwo was Fidelity Bank’s MD/CEO and was already piling up awards for his achievements back then. Thus, many people were flabbergasted. The same reaction has met the allegation of Okonkwo’s arrest almost immediately after winning the FBN Holdings top seat. From his end, Okonkwo has expressed befuddlement over his purported arrest by the EFCC. The man has asked his accusers how he manages to be at two places at the same time: in EFCC’s custody, as they have alleged, and at the comfort of his home.
Not a few are stumped on who to believe. Nevertheless, considering that the allegations are coming at the time the man is wearing the FBN Holdings GMD mantle, many are convinced that someone somewhere is unhappy with Okonkwo.
