N23B Diezani Scam. Fidelity Bank Sacks Okonkwo As MD Appoints Balarabe Acting MD

Following the arrest of Fidelity Bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo last week by the Economic and Financial crimes Commission EFCC, The board and Management of the bank has appointed an acting MD for the bank in person of Alhaji Mohammed Balarabe. His appointment is based on ratification and confirmation by the Central Bank Of Nigeria CBN.  Before his appointment Alhaji Balarabe was the bank Executive Director North.

Nnamdi Okonkwo was arrested in connection with the $115m scam involving the former Minister of Peteroleum Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke. Mrs Madueke was alleged to have invited the former Bank MD to her office instructing him on some funds thatbwould be transfered to the bank and how the funds would be utilized prior the 2015 Presidential Elections. According to EFCC sources, the funds were meant to be distributed to Independent National Electoral Commission INEC officials in Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States to favour the former president Goodluck Jonathan at the poll.

The distribution and utilisation of about N675m to the INEC officials was allegedly  handled by the former Minister's son Ugonna Madueke who is reported to be under investigation by the EFCC was said to have given Okonkwo the sacked MD of the bank a list containing names of beneficiary's of the funds.
The anti-graft agency had arrested Okonkwo and Izuogbe earlier in the week for their alleged role in the distribution of $115m (N23bn) to officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and election monitors about two days before the 2015 presidential election.

The bank officials were said to have handled the funds for a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Diezani was said to have met with Okonkwo before the elections and handed him $26m in cash to help her keep even though she had no account with Fidelity Bank.

We invited the MD, who then confessed to us that during the build-up to the presidential election, Diezani invited him to a meeting in Abuja. Diezani told him that some companies would deposit some funds in his bank and that she would give him further instructions on how the funds would be disbursed.
The companies who deposited money in the bank for this purposes were; Auctus Integrated deposited $17,884,000 into the bank. Northern Belt Gas Company, deposited $60m, while another company, Midwestern Oil and Gas, deposited $9.5m. Also, Leno Laitan Adesanya, deposited $1.85m, while the MD himself received $26m in cash.

Alhaji Mohammed Balarabe