By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Fidelity Bank Plc has been reorganised as the financial institution prepares for life after its current Managing Director, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo.
Mr Okonkwo will retire from the company this week and would be succeeded by the current executive director of the bank in charge of its Lagos and Southwest Directorate, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, from Friday, January 1, 2021.
As Mr Okonkwo is handing over to Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank, which wants to meet the targets set for the next phase of its growth trajectory, has shopped for some of the best brains in the financial sector to be on its board.
The lender has carefully selected three persons it believes will make it achieve this goal as non-executive directors and they are Mrs Amaka Theodora Onwughalu, Mr Nelson Chidozie Nweke and Mr Chinedu Eric Okeke.
While the appointments of the first two have been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the third is yet to be authorised by the banking sector regulator.
Mrs Onwughalu, who has over 30 years’ banking experience, including over 10 years in executive management in various financial institutions, served in executive management positions in different institutions.
She was the former Group Managing Director of legacy Mainstreet Bank Limited where she led the successful execution of seamless integration of the bank with the defunct Skye Bank Plc, where she served as Deputy Managing Director until her retirement in July 2016.
Mrs Onwughalu, who holds a BSc Degree in Economics from the University of Buckingham, an MSc Degree in Corporate Governance from Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom and an MBA from the University of Port Harcourt, is currently the CEO of Blueshield Financial Services Limited.
For Mr Nweke, he had an extensive career in the financial services sector, rising to the position of executive director at legacy Intercontinental Bank Plc. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM).
The appointee, who is the current MD of Neilville Nigeria Limited, was a member of the governing council of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency between 2014 and 2018.
He is presently an independent non-executive director of Berger Paints Plc and boasts of BSc. in Political Science and an MSc. in Industrial and Labour Relations, both from the University of Ibadan.
On the part of Mr Okeke, he is the MD of Azura Power West Africa Limited and had a stellar career spanning over 19 years in a succession of blue-chip companies including Guinness Nigeria Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, and General Electric (GE).
The B.Eng. Degree holder in Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and an MBA from Imperial College, London has a strong ability to develop and maintain strategic client relationships and deliver quality results under complex conditions.
Meanwhile, Fidelity Bank has announced the retirement of Mrs Aku Odinkemelu, the executive director in charge of Commercial and Consumer Banking, South Directorate, who was appointed to the board on August 4, 2014.
Also, Mr Charles Umolu, Mr Michael Okeke and Mr Alex Ojukwu have retired from the board of the financial institution as non-executive directors.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale