Exhibit 99.1

                      STATEMENT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                       PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350


      In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2002 (the "Form 10-K") of New Peoples Bankshares, Inc. (the
"Company"), I, Kenneth D. Hart, President and Chief Executive Officer, hereby
certify pursuant to 18 U.S.C. ss. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to my knowledge:

      (a)   the Form 10-K  fully  complies  with the  requirements  of Section
13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

      (b)   the information contained in the Form 10-K fairly presents, in all
material respects, the consolidated financial condition and results of
operations of the Company and its subsidiaries as of, and for, the periods
presented in the Form 10-K.

                                   By: /s/ KENNETH D. HART
                                       ---------------------------------
                                       Kenneth D. Hart
                                       President and Chief Executive Officer


                                   Date:  March 28, 2003
                                          ------------------