TheCable

Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, has expressed delight over the appointment of Anthony Okpanachi as the pioneer managing director/ CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria.

In a statement by Kingsley Fanwo, his spokesman, the governor thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for giving the people of Kogi the opportunity to serve their fatherland.

Describing the banker as “Kogi’s intellectual credit to the banking industry”, Bello expressed confidence in Okpanachi.

He said Okpanachi would use the bank to achieve “monumental development for the nation in line with the change agenda of the President Buhari administration.”

“I congratulate Mr. Anthony Adejo Okpanachi for his light in the banking industry for the past 26 years, 18 of which he has been on the management levels; has illuminated through to earn him a place in our vehicle of change and development. I congratulate Nigeria for identifying this exceptionally cerebral technocrat to be the pioneer pilot of the Development Bank of Nigeria,” he said.

“Under my watch, Kogi state has continued to put her best forward in the service of our fatherland and we shall continue to contribute meaningfully to our bid at bridging leadership deficiency in all the sectors of the economy.

“As the chief executive officer of ECOBANK Kenya and regional head for East Africa, comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi within the Ecobank Group, your heroics in development financing were monumental. I urge you to replicate the ingenious performance for the betterment of the common interest of Nigeria.”

Before his appointment, Okpanachi, 51, was the deputy managing director of Ecobank Nigeria.

He holds an MBA from Manchester Business School (UK), B.Sc Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and an M.Sc in the same field from the University of Lagos.