Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, the fifth democratically elected Governor of Abia State and the proud and worthy son of Late Pastor and Shepherdess Lazarus Weze Otti of Umuru, Umuehim village in Ehi Na Uhuru Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, is 60 years old today (Tuesday).
A man of honour, integrity, candour, and determination, Otti has been a marvel to many since his impressionable age, known for his exceptional performance in all aspects of life.
Uniquely charismatic, visionary, dogged, and a stickler for his convictions, he remained steadfast in his ambition to become Abia State’s Chief Servant despite two previous attempts. And, to God’s glory, on 22 March 2023, following a hotly contested gubernatorial election, the Returning Officer, Prof. Nnenna Oti declared Otti the duly elected governor of Abia State. Following his declaration as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Otti assumed leadership of the state as the fifth democratically elected Governor of Abia State at 12:19 pm on 29 May 2023, realising his long-held dream of occupying the Government House.
A super corporate boardroom tactician with a successful banking career, Otti rose to the pinnacle of his profession as Diamond Bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. His outstanding performance as the bank’s GMD/CEO earned him a second term when his first term expired in 2014.
His Royal Highness Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, the then Chairman of the Board of Directors of Diamond Bank, who has since become the Obi of Onitsha, described Otti’s era as the bank’s brightest years, citing his ingenuity in engineering major transformations.
Otti voluntarily resigned his well-paying job and entered politics just eight months after his tenure was revalidated in order to serve humanity on a larger scale. After conducting a thorough investigation and concluding that the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state would not give him a ticket, the calm and calculated Otti sought refuge in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and became its governorship candidate in the 2015 gubernatorial election.
He was not successful, but he fought hard from the Election Petition Tribunal in Umuahia, the state capital, to the appellate tribunal in Owerri, the Imo State capital, and finally to the Supreme Court, where the case was decided against him.
Undeterred, Otti sought the people’s mandate to govern the state once more in 2019. The electorate’s vote did not appear to have counted for the second time. However, Otti, who represented the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 governorship election, won by a landslide. His courage, determination, and tenacity of purpose paid off. A seasoned and astute technocrat who worked in numerous banks for nearly 30 years, Otti left Diamond Bank to pursue politics.
Otti, who began his banking career in 1989 with Nigerian International Bank, a subsidiary of Citibank, New York, went on to work for Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Limited, Societe Bancare Nigeria Limited (Merchant Bankers) — a subsidiary of Banque SBA Paris — and United Bank for Africa before joining First Bank.
He joined First Bank PLC in May 2001 as Assistant General Manager, was promoted to Deputy General Manager in 2004, and then to Executive Director, Commercial Banking, and was later redesignated Executive Director South Directorate, where he oversaw up to 140 bank branches in the South-South and South-East geopolitical regions, before joining Diamond Bank as GMD/CEO in 2011.
Young Otti, a gifted intellectual, attended Ngwa High School in Aba and later Secondary Technical School in Okpuala Ngwa, Abia State. He graduated as the top student in his class in the West African School Certificate Examinations. At the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, witty Otti not only graduated with First Class Honours in Economics, but also as the Best graduating student of the Faculty of Social Sciences and overall Best graduating student of 1988.
As an undergraduate at the University of Port Harcourt, Otti developed his political activism and writing skills. In 1986, he served as treasurer of the university chapter of the Nigerian Economics Students’ Association, and a year later, in 1987, he rose to the position of President. A prolific writer, Otti also edited the school’s in-house journal, The Mirror. Much later, Dr Alex Otti became a member of the Editorial board of ThisDay newspapers. He wrote a fortnight columns titled, Outside the Box on the back page of the tabloid. The analytical and incisive column interrogated those in leadership position particularly then in Abia State.
An erudite scholar, Otti graduated with an MBA from the University of Lagos in 1994. He has also received Honorary Doctorate degrees. Babcock University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2009, and his alma mater, the University of Port Harcourt, honoured him with a Doctor of Science degree in 2012, followed by another doctorate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2013.
Otti, who was named the First United States African International Banker of the Year by Congressman Al Green, attended a variety of international courses, including the Executive Development Programmes at Columbia Business and Stanford Business Schools, as well as Wharton Business School (University of Pennsylvania). He also completed an executive programme at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Otti, a renowned economist, banker, investor, and philanthropist, whose core mandate for venturing into politics is ‘to rescue Abia State from decades of misrule and set it on the part of progress and shared prosperity’, could be said to have lived a fulfilled life, made profound impact on the lives of innumerable people, and, above all, put the state on the part of progress through his change mantra.
Happy Birthday, His Excellency, and many more years of good health for the better Abia State of our dreams.
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