Alex Chioma Otti is the current governor of Abia State following the 2023 general elections. Otti is a 54 year-old Nigerian economist, banker, and politician from Abia State with a net worth of $5 million.
Otti, who is a banker turned politician, was recently declared governor-elect of Abia state, Nigeria. Although he held no political office prior to his election as governor, Otti has been influential in the state for many years. He is even listed among the most famous and wealthiest people in the state. Below are facts you would love to know about Alex Otti.
Summary of Alex Otti’s Bio
- Full name: Alex Chioma Otti
- Nickname: Alex
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: February 18, 1965
- Alex Otti’s Age:54 years old
- Ethnicity: Igbo
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Married
- Alex Ott’s Wife: Priscilla Chidinma Otti
- Alex Otti’s Children: 3
- Alex Otti’s Parents: Pastor and Mrs. Lazarus Weze Otti
- Alex Otti’s Net worth: $5 million
- Famous for: Abia State governor
- Alex Otti’s Instagram: @alexottiofr
- Twitter: @alexottiofr
Who Is Alex Otti?
Alex Otti is the current governor of Abia State in Nigeria. He is a Nigerian banker, economist, philanthropist, and politician. Otti began his career in the banking sector in 1989, and for over two decades, he held executive positions in several banks before retiring in 2014 to pursue political interests.
Some of the major positions he occupied while in the banking sector were as a senior manager at Societe Bancaire Nigeria Limited (Merchant Bankers), a subsidiary of Banque SBA Paris; a principal manager at the United Bank for Africa (UBA); the executive director south directorate at First Bank Nigeria and as group managing director/ chief executive officer at Diamond Bank
Otti officially joined politics in 2015, vying for the governorship seat of his state under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Otti was declared the election winner after the Court of Appeal removed Okezie Ikpeazu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). But the decision was reversed by the Supreme Court. He finally regained his seat as governor of his state after winning the March 18, 2023, governorship election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Aside from his feats both in the banking sector and in politics, Alex Otti is a member of the Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspaper. He is also a columnist. Under the title “Outside The Box”, Otti writes on a wide range of issues.
Alex Otti’s Village and Hometown
Alex Chioma Otti was born in Umuru, Umuehim village in Ehi Na Uguru Ancient Kingdom, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State. He was born on the 18th of February 1965, and he spent much of his life in Ngwa Land, where he grew up with his parents and siblings. Otti had his primary and secondary education in his state and only had to leave his state for the first time during his university years.
Alex Otti’s hometown is one of the largest communities in his local government area. His local government capital is Omoba. It has an area of 258 km2 and a population of 134,762, according to the 2006 census, and its first executive chairman is Chief Damian Ozurumb. The Abia state governor shares a close bond with his hometown in Isiala Ngwa South. He even has a mansion located in his hometown in Umuru, Umuehim, in Ehi Na Uguru Ancient Kingdom.
Is Alex Otti From Arochukwu?
Dr. Aex Otti identifies himself as an indigene of Umuru, Umuehim village in Ehi Na Uguru Ancient Kingdom, Isiala Ngwa South, but he originally hails from Atani village in Arochukwu Local Government Area, which is in Abia North Senatorial zone.
Otti’s dual identity became questionable during his early political years. His birth certificate records that he is a born native of Isiala Ngwa in Abia Central Senatorial Zone. His professional credentials record that he was only born in Isiala Ngwa but was originally a native of Arochukwu in Abia North Senatorial Zone.
Alex Otti’s father hails from Arochukwu, while his mother is from Ngwa, all in Abia State. His great-grandfather migrated from Arochukwu to Isiala Ngwa, where they settled and grew their family. Otti’s biological father and mother also met in Isiala Ngwa, as his mother is a native of Ngwa land.
Alex and his siblings were also raised in this ancient Ehi Na Uguru kingdom. Not only did Otti spend much of his life in Ngwa land, but they also became successful there and were regarded as children of the soil. Otti built his mansion in Umuru, Umuehim village, and even buried his late father there.
Alex Otti’s Family
Alex Otti was born to the late Pastor and Mrs. Lazarus Weze Otti. His father, a native of Atani in the Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State, was a teacher before he became a clergyman. His mother reportedly hails from Isiala Ngwa South, and she was a homemaker who supported her husband by frying ‘Akara’ (beancake) and selling it with ‘Akamu’ (pap).
It is not clear how many siblings Otti has, but he has mentioned growing up with his brother, with whom he hawked their mother’s beancake. Further details about Otti’s brother cannot be found. Apparently, he is neither a public figure nor a politician.
Alex Otti’s Education
Alex Otti attended Ngwa High School – an all-boys school located in Abayi, a town in Osisioma Ngwa. He also attended Secondary Technical School, Okpuala Ngwa, in Abia State, where he finished as the best student in his set during the school certificate examinations.
For his University education, Otti traveled to Rivers State, where he gained admission at the University of Port Harcourt and eventually graduated with a first-class honors degree in economics in 1988. Otti graduated Best Student of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Overall Best Graduating Student of the school for that year.
Alex also obtained an MBA from the University of Lagos. While at it, he attended various international courses, including the Executive Development Programmes of prestigious institutions such as the Columbia Business School and Wharton Business School. He even did an executive program at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, and was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by Babcock University in 2009.
In 2012, Otti also received an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Degree from his alma mater. The University of Nigeria Nsukka followed suit by honoring him with a doctorate degree in 2013.
Alex Otti’s Net Worth
There are varying estimates of Alex Otti’s net worth, but most online sources state that his net worth is $5 million. Otti accumulated much of his net worth from his earliest career in the banking sector. Otti started off his career in the operations department of Nigerian International Bank, a subsidiary of Citibank New York. He later worked in both the treasury and financial services unit and the corporate banking division of the then Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Ltd.
In 1992, he joined Societe Bancaire Nigeria Limited (Merchant Bankers) before moving to the United Bank of Africa (UBA) as the principal manager overseeing the bank’s corporate banking sector for the entire south division. From 2001 to 2010, Alex Otti worked at First Bank Plc first as an assistant general manager responsible for growing the bank’s oil & gas sector, then as the executive director of the south directorate, where he was responsible for over 140 First Bank branches in both the South-South and South Eastern geopolitical zones of the country.
When Otti moved to Diamond Bank as group managing director/ chief executive officer in 2011, he made a huge income from his basic salary and other personal investments. His retirement from the banking sector in 2014 saw him redirecting his attention to politics.
Before Alex Otti began his political journey, he was already a successful businessman with financial interests in a number of locations and buildings in a number of states. He also maintains a collection of vehicles in his garage to demonstrate his status as one of Abia state’s wealthiest men.
Otti’s Political Career
Alex Otti began his political career in 2015, running for the governorship seat of Abia State under the All-Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party. Otti was declared the election winner after the Court of Appeal removed Okezie Ikpeazu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). But the decision was reversed by the Supreme Court.
In 2023, Otti became the governorship candidate of the Labor Party (LP). He eventually emerged as the winner of the governorship election in Abia State in March 2023. Otti received 175,467 votes to defeat his closest rival, Okey Ahiwe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate who received 88,529 votes.
As governor of Abia state, Alex Otti is believed to earn an average annual salary of ₦11,540,896, with an annual basic salary of about ₦2 million and an annual leave allowance of about ₦2 million as well.
Aside from these packages, Otti, like every other state governor in Nigeria, is entitled to welfare packages, accommodation, furniture, and vehicle allowances. All these are bound to massively increase his net worth in the near future.
Who Is Alex Otti’s Wife?
Alex Otti’s wife is Priscilla chidinma Otti. She is his wife of many years, and although not much about her has been revealed, she is said to be quite supportive of her husband’s career and political endeavors. Priscilla Otti is an indigene of Abia state like her husband. She is 53 years old and was born on June 28, 1970, in Aba, Abia State.
Alex Otti’s wife attended Girls High School in Aba, after which she gained admission at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, where she studied Economics. Upon completing her four-year degree course at the University, she began to work in the banking sector before joining her husband in business.
Like her husband, Priscilla Chidinma Otti has a wide knowledge of everything related to finance and business, and although her husband is quite famous in the country, she prefers to keep a low profile. Following her husband’s new portfolio as the governor of Abia State, Priscilla also occupies the office of the state’s First Lady, where she will be helping her husband to fulfill his political campaigns to the people of Abia. Mrs. Otti is involved in various charitable activities in her community.
Alex Otti’s Children
Alex Otti and his wife, Priscilla Chidinma Otti, have three children. Unfortunately, no further detail about any of their children is known. This is so because the couple wishes to keep them off the media realm. The names and gender of Otti’s children. It is also unclear when they were born or how old they are now.