Politics

Peter Obi Before Politics; A Complete Profile

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As the 2023 presidential elections draws closer, Nigerians are very optimistic ahead of what the future holds in what many have tagged the most important election in Nigerias’ history, thus the huge voter registration turn out.

In this series, we will profile the top candidates who could emerge victorious after the 25th February 2023 polls. and also share who Peter Obi is Before Joining Politics

First in this series is the Labour Party presidential candidate who many political commentators within Nigeria and internationally have projected to win the election; Peter Obi. Mr Obi who has the backing of the select demography of Nigerian youths, has been frequently mentioned as the man to beat, and the main opposition to the incumbent/ruling party APC.

A lot has been said about his time as governor of Anambra state where a lot of positive appraisal has been given for his 8 year 2 tenures in charge of the state, however, little is known about his life before joining politics and subsequently becoming one of the best ever governors in the country.

Here is a complete work/business profile of Peter Obi before his foray into politics in 2002.

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.

See Also: Peter Obi: Over 150 Groups Drums Support For The Labour Party Presidential Candidate

2. 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.

Before its dissolution in January 2023, Next International was a retail powerhouse generating over £85m in annual revenue in its hay days. He resigned his position as Chairman before joining politics.

3. 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.

4. 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.

Peter Obi was former vice-president Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Data Corp Ltd

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.

8. 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, AT.

See Also: Why have Peter Obi’s brothers not endorsed him?

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