Alex Otti
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Alex Otti (born 18 February 1965) is a Nigerian economist, banker, investor, philanthropist, and politician, serving as the current Governor of
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. He is from Umuru Umuehim in Isialangwa South LGA. Otti is the former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc, a retail financial institution in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. Otti was a gubernatorial candidate of
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
on the platform of
All Progressives Grand Alliance The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is a Nigerian political party formed in June 2002 and has governed the South eastern state of Anambra since 2003. Electoral history At the Nigerian parliamentary election, 2003, legislative elections ...
(APGA). On 31 December 2015, The
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
which sat in
Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Nigeria, Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Loc ...
removed Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party as governor of
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
and declared Otti the winner of the April 11 and April 25 Governorship elections in the state. On February 3, 2016, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
of
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
reversed the verdict of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the election of Ikpeazu as Governor. Otti is a member of the editorial board of '' Thisday'', and writes a fortnightly column, every other Monday, titled "Outside The Box". Otti continued his political aspiration and joined the Labour Party in May 2022 after leaving the
All Progressive Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, th ...
. Upon joining the labour party, he contested for the post of the party flag bearer and was declared unopposed for the governorship election in 2022. At the end of the 2023 general elections, he defeated his conterpart in the PDP and emerged as the governor of Abia State under the keenly contested governorship election as a Labour Party member. He defeated his closest rival Okey Ahiwe who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party after the results were declared by Nnenna Oti, the returning officer for the
Independent National Electoral Commission Independent National Electoral Commission may refer to: *Independent National Electoral Commission (Burundi) *Independent National Electoral Commission (Democratic Republic of the Congo) *Independent National Electoral Commission (Guinea) The Inde ...
.


Early life and education

Otti was born to the family of the late Pastor and Mrs. Lazarus Weze Otti at Umuru, Umuehim village in Ehi Na Uguru Ancient Kingdom, Isiala Ngwa South LGA of
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
. He had his secondary school education at Ngwa High School, Aba and Secondary Technical School, Okpuala Ngwa in
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
, where he finished as the best student in his set during the school certificate examinations. He thereafter proceeded to the
University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is a public research university located in Aluu and Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The Univ ...
for his university education, where he graduated with a First Class honors degree in economics in 1988. Otti earned an MBA degree from the
University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...
in 1994. He has attended various international courses including the Executive Development Programmes of the Columbia Business and Stanford Business School and
Wharton Business School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...
(
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
). He also did an executive programme at INSEAD, Fontainebleau,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In 2009 he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by
Babcock University Babcock University is a private Christian co-educational Nigerian university owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria. The university is located at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, equidistant between Ibadan and La ...
and in 2012, an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Degree by the
University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is a public research university located in Aluu and Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The Univ ...
. In 2013, he received another honorary doctorate degree from the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
.


Career

Otti began his banking career in 1989 with the Nigerian International Bank, a subsidiary of Citibank New York, where he worked in the operations department. Thereafter he moved to the then Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Ltd. While at Intercontinental Bank, he worked both in the treasury and financial services unit as well as the corporate banking division. In 1992, he joined Societe Bancaire Nigeria Limited (Merchant Bankers), a subsidiary of Banque SBA Paris where he rose to the position of a senior manager. He moved on to the United Bank for Africa (UBA) as the principal manager overseeing the bank’s corporate banking sector for the entire South Division with the responsibility of growing the oil and gas business for the bank. In May 2001, he joined First Bank of Nigeria, PLC as assistant general manager in with the sole responsibility of growing the Energy Sector for the bank. In April 2004, he was promoted to the position of deputy general manager, and a year later was appointed executive director, commercial banking. This was followed by a re-designation as the executive director south directorate, where he was responsible for over 140 branches in both the South-South and South Eastern geopolitical zones of the country. In March 2011, he moved from First Bank Nigeria PLC to Diamond Bank as group managing director/ chief executive officer and has led the bank through a major transformation. Upon expiration of his first tenure, Diamond Bank renewed his tenure in March 2014 to an additional three years. On October 24, 2014, Otti took voluntary retirement and Uzoma Dozie became the new GMD and Bank CEO.


Personal life

Otti is a member of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...
. He is married to Priscilla Otti and they have three children.


See also

* List of governors of Abia State * List of Igbo People


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otti, Alex 1965 births Living people People from Abia State Nigerian economists Nigerian bankers University of Port Harcourt alumni University of Lagos alumni 21st-century Nigerian politicians Nigerian investors Nigerian Seventh-day Adventists Labour Party (Nigeria) politicians Labour party state governors of Nigeria Igbo politicians