By Adedapo Adesanya
OPay Nigeria has appointed Mr Daudu Gotring, a former director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as its chief executive following the resignation of Mr Olu Akanmu from the position after his two years stint at the company.
Mr Akanmu, who held the role of the chief executive officer (CEO) of the digital bank, stepped down from the position as the company is celebrating its 5th anniversary in the country.
The appointment of Mr Gotring is subject to regulatory approval, which is the CBN, according to a statement seen by Business Post.
The former director of the Trade and Exchange Department of the apex bank also contested for the Plateau State gubernatorial seat in the last Nigerian general elections under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“Mr Gotring, a veteran in the financial services industry, will continue to steer the Opay ship in the direction of even greater strides,” the company said in the statement.
Although Mr Akanmu did not give any reason he was leaving the organisation, which he joined in November 2021, he lauded the milestones he helped carry out at the fintech company, which saw OPay grow to over 30 million users, 500,000 agents, and more than 300,000 merchants in the last five years of operation.
“My gratitude to all my colleagues for the good work we did deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria and ensuring that less and less number of people are left out in partaking out of the opportunities of the digital financial system,” he said.
In November 2021, the firm appointed Mr Akanmu, a former FCMB Executive Director for Retail Banking, as the new president and co-CEO of Opay. Prior to his appointment, Opay operations in Nigeria were led by Mr Yahui Zhou, chairman and co-CEO of Opera, and Mr Iniabasi Akpan, the then Nigeria Country Manager of Opay.
Earlier this year, during the cash crunch in Nigeria, Opay recorded remarkable growth taking a position as one of the two most downloaded finance apps on Google Play Store in Nigeria.
