Alex Otti, Diamond Bank MD
The Managing Director of Daimond Bank Plc, Dr. Alex Otti, has denied media reports that he had declared interest in the Abia State governorship race.
The Diamond Bank boss, who did not rule out the possibility of such a run in future, but said that any such decision would be communicated to stakeholders.
In a statement, the bank said, “There have been several reports in the print and electronic media that the Group Managing Director/CEO Diamond Bank Plc, Dr. Alex Otti has formally declared his intent to contest Abia State gubernatorial election under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Since then we have received several phone calls from people wanting to know if the media reports are correct.
“For the avoidance of doubt, and to put the records straight we want to state as follows:-
1. Dr Alex Otti has not declared his candidacy for the 2015 gubernatorial elections nor any elective post for that matter. He is, however, not unaware of the media speculation around his possible candidature, a situation he has preferred to ignore in order to concentrate on his principal responsibility of managing the day to day operations of Diamond Bank, and in particular ensuring the success of the ongoing rights issue to raise additional capital.
2. The recent speculations are not unconnected with the pressure that has been brought to bear on Dr. Alex Otti by stakeholder groups in Abia State and beyond, urging him to contest for governorship of the state. This is understandably due to his hardwork, integrity managerial ingenuity and track record of performance in the corporate world. The achievements of Diamond Bank Plc in the past three years is a testament to his commitment to excellence and competence in managing men and resources towards superior results.
3. As a law abiding citizen, Dr. Otti is also mindful of the electoral laws of the land and knows it is premature, if not illegal to at this stage, take actions that are in breach of provisions of the electoral act.
4. If in the future, Dr. Alex Otti decides to run for the governorship seat of Abia State, which becomes vacant in 2015, this will be made public, and communicated to all stakeholders of the bank.
5. We hope that this statement will serve to clear the air about the misleading press reports this week.
