Fakoyejo OlalekanAs the Presidential campaign hot up ahead of the election in March, Obi-dients, the campaign movement for Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, has switched tactics.
In a new statement broadcasted by some faction of the group, it was stated that Obi’s achievement spans across the public and private sectors.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe statement titled; ‘Let’s leave Peter Obi’s achievement in Anambra and check his records in the private/other sectors’, unfold the candidate’s achievement prior to his political career or tenure as Anambra State’s governor.
Obi-dients highlighted how Obi became the youngest-ever chairman of a Nigerian bank till date after emerging as Chairman of Fidelity Bank in 1994 at the age of 34.
Also, he was said to have chaired identity management and fintech conglomerate, Chams Plc, which owns Paymaster Nigeria LTD, the first non-bank financial institution to obtain license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate as a Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTST) for POS transactions in 2011.
Part of his achievements listed also includes becoming the chairman of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in April 2015 under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Breakdown of Peter Obi’s achievement
- Fidelity Bank PLC
Peter Obi became the highest shareholder and Chairman of Fidelity bank in 1994 at the young age of 34 making him the youngest ever chairman of a Nigerian bank till date, it was a regional bank (Tier-3) according to CBN stratification of commercial banks. Peter Obi led Fidelity to Tier 2 status by 2000 and set a blueprint for them to go public which they eventually did in 2005 even though he resigned his position as chairman in 2002 to contest for the Anambra governorship, they’ve remained one of the most consistent banks in Nigeria in its dealings with shareholders and costumers. For 17 years running, Fidelity bank has paid dividends to all its shareholders. Fidelity has never needed a bailout by the CBN even when other commercial banks crashed due to economic recessions, it has remained one of the most consistent banks and it is now a Tie 1 bank, alongside the likes of First Bank, UBA and Zenith. Peter Obi is still the highest and majority shareholder in Fidelity bank today.
- Next International (Nigeria and UK)
Peter Obi incorporated and became the Chairman and Chief Executive of Next International Nigeria Limited, an import and export franchise, in 1988, and by 1995 he had gone international by opening branches across the United Kingdom. Today, Next International is a retail powerhouse generating over £85m in annual revenue. He resigned his position as Chairman before joining politics but remains the highest shareholder in the private business which has his wife and 2 children listed as directors co-shareholders.
- Chams PLC/Paymaster Nigeria Ltd
Peter Obi is the highest shareholder and former chairman of identity management and fintech conglomerate Chams PLC which owns Paymaster Nigeria LTD, a payments solution enterprise which was the first non-bank financial institution to obtain license to operate as a Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTST) for POS transactions from CBN in 2011. Chams remains a powerhouse in electronic payment systems & solutions and has been contracted by major Nigerian and African banks to deploy their payment solutions into their operations.
- Special Advisor on Economy to the President
In 2012, whilst Peter Obi was still the governor of Anambra state, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed him as an honorary special adviser despite not being a member of his party(PDP), Obi was in APGA. Jonathan had seen how Obi revitalized Anambra state’s finances and economy thus needed him to replicate this on the national level. Upon completion of his term as governor in 2014, he defected to the PDP and President Jonathan made him a full Special Advisor to the presidency and part of the economic management team which went on to reposition Nigeria to become the 3rd fastest growing economy in the world by 2015. Buhari came in and set the country on a different trajectory.
- Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)
President Jonathan appointed Obi as the chairman of the SEC in April 2015. In his brief stint as the huncho of the commission, he revitalized the capital market, deregistered non-performers & questionable institutions and at the same time repositioning the major and performing stakeholders on the path to maximum productivity.
Also worthy of note is that during his time as SEC chairman, he didn’t take any salary or bonuses which he termed ‘bogus’ and has refused to draw pension till date.
- Guardian Express Bank Ltd
Peter Obi also served as the Chairman of Guardian Express Bank where he is also a major shareholder. It was during his time as chairman that a subsidiary was set up; Guardian Express Mortgage bank, where he also served as chairman & major shareholder
- Guardian Express Mortgage Bank
As aforementioned, under his guidance, Guardian Express bank established a mortgage bank as it’s subsidiary and served concurrently as the chairman of both banks. This bank was one of the first privately held mortgage banks in Nigeria.
- Future View Securities
Peter Obi served as chairman of this private equity & stock brokerage firm which dealt on medium & large scale enterprises. Under his leadership, they became a powerhouse in the equity market in Africa and quickly became a go-to for venture capitalists.
- Data Corp
Peter Obi also served as chairman of the data analytics company Data Corp which is the foremost data sourcing and processing institution in Nigeria. He was a non-executive director and is currently listed as it’s majority shareholder as at December 2022. Data Corp is trusted by multi-national companies and governments across Africa and frequently collaborates with the biggest data analytics in Europe and around the world for multi billion dollar projects as well as many social enterprising projects across Nigeria and Africa.
- Card Centre Nigeria Ltd
Card Centre is a pioneer in the telecommunications technology market and has a substantive market share in this industry. It is responsible for the manufacture of SIM cards, ATM cards and other forms of Identity cards. Peter Obi is a major shareholder and was one time the chairman of this business conglomerate. Card Centre accounts for about 45% of the various cards produced in Nigeria and is a major contractor with MTN, GLO and other telecommunications companies within and outside Nigeria.
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