After The Coup, The President Asked If I Was Tired Of Hotels, And I Became Bank Chairman — Lawani

According to a video posted on Trust TV on Saturday October 10, 2026, Chief Steven Lawani, former Deputy Governor of Benue State, said that after a coup the president asked him whether he was tired of the hotel business, and that he was then appointed chairman of Savannah Bank.

Chief Lawani began his career at Nigerian Hotels Limited, which he joined in 1974 after his youth service.

By July 1984 he was chairman of the company, a post he said was close to an executive chairman, although the company also had a managing director.

In his words, Chief Steven Lawani said, “After that coup, the president asked me if I wasn’t tired of the hotel business, because he knew me when I was working as general manager.

“And I said, yeah, if you have another job for me, I don’t mind. And that was when I was appointed chairman of Savannah Bank,” he said.

He served as chairman of the bank for six years. The host noted that this was a big position for someone who was not a banker, and suggested that it must have exposed him to big money.

Chief Lawani said there was no big money at that time, but that the experience taught him a lot that still helps his private business.

When the government began planning a return to civilian rule, elders asked him to join a new party.

In the first election, he contested and became deputy national chairman of the National Republican Convention (NRC).

He later returned to business with friends and invested in a bank that became Money Bank, which he chaired until 2005. It was merged into what is today Fidelity Bank after the banking consolidation.

Watch headline quotes from (00:10:08 – 00:10:28):

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