The Executive Director, North, of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mohammed Balarabe, has been named as the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive of the bank with immediate effect, subject to regulatory approval.
The announcement was made on Monday evening by the board of directors following the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Okonkwo, the MD, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in relation to allegations of bribery of electoral officials in the 2015 general election.
Okonkwo and the Fidelity Bank officials were alleged to have received $115m (N23bn) from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to prosecute the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
While announcing Balarabe, who prior to the appointment was the Executive Director North, the bank reassured all it’s stakeholders, including over 400,000 shareholders and about 3.4 million customers, of it’s continued seamless services.
The bank had earlier issued a press statement maintaining that it duly reported all the transactions in relation to the $115 million said to have been deposited by Diezani Alison-Madueke in exchange for naira.
Balarabe was once the bank’s executive director of commercial and consumer banking (north directorate).