Business
Winner Lauds Bank’s Customer Reward Initiative
Diamond Bank Plc has been applauded for developing a reward scheme aimed at showing appreciation to its numerous customers for their unalloyed loyalty to the brand.
Miss Habiba Mona Salisu, winner of the cash prize of N50 million in the second half year Diamond Savings-xtra Draw, stated this while responding to the news of her emergence as the winner of the highest ever prize money won on a single draw in the country.
“Words alone cannot express my profound gratitude to God and Diamond Bank for this fabulous customer reward scheme.
It is something I never expected and the mind boggling amount involved is something I had never dreamt of less owning it,” she said.
According to her, that was the first time she has ever won any draw related competition, attributing her emergence to the “unforeseen hand of God.” “I will not say I am lucky. I will not say I worked hard for it. I will not also say that I deserve it. It is simply the handiwork of God and I am delighted with it,” She said.
Miss Habiba a 23 year old 100 level under graduate of the University of Maiduguri, Bornu State and a customer of Diamond Bank Maiduguri, Shehu Laminu way branch, becomes the second person to win the biggest reward even of N50 million in the Diamond Savings-xtra draw.
According to her, she opened the account with Diamond Bank in April 2009 and expressed her excitement over the Bank’s gesture of giving back to the society through the savings-xtra draw scheme.
“Truly, from this development, I now appreciate in clearer terms the virtues of savings culture the bank is trying to imbibe on Nigerians. If I did not open a savings account, definitely, I would not have been in the race for this N50 million. As it is unbelievable, it is equally unprecedented. But I can tell you from my little conversation with the bank, it is genuine.”
Miss Habiba further stated that many people have been calling and visiting her since the news, broke to know if it is true and her plans for the future adding that even her father, retired civil servant who resides in Kogi state was dumbfounded when she broke the good news to him.
Meanwhile, also in the draw, twenty-six others emerged winners of various prizes, including Mr. Ezealisiji Christian, a customer to Dei-Dei Abuja, Building Materials Market, who won a brand new Toyota Camry car 2009 model. Amazing, all the winners qualified by keeping a minimum balance of N10,000 or more in their savingsxtra account.
One of the world renowned anditors KPMG, who supervised the draw process to ensure that every customer that qualifies entered the draw, affirmed that the draws so far have been well organised, transparent and in line with the laid down criteria governing the exercise. According to Mr. John Anyanwu, a 17 Advisory officer of KPMG to the draw, “over 6 million customers who were eligible to partake in this draw were all part of it and we can assure everybody that all valid e-tickets had an equal chance of emerging as a winner.”
It could be recalled that in January 2009, Mr. James Umaru Mbugadu, a civil servant and Lafia Doma Road Customer of the bank became the first Nigerianto win N50 million at once in a customer reward scheme. Since the presentation of the cheque to him in a well attended ceremony by top government dignitaries, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Lafia, Nassarawa State, the bank’s savingsxtra account has been swelling up, resulting to greater customer confidence in the brand.
The savingsxtra scheme is Diamond Bank’s strategy of rewarding customers who operate a Diamond savingsxtra Account. Since the inception of the draw in July, 2008, N140 million has been given away to customers from the promised N200 million earmarked for the exercise during the one year.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh said this at the 8th annual induction and conference of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that abandoned projects continue to lock up public funds that could have been used for infrastructure development, industrial growth, job creation and essential social services.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, he said the impact goes beyond financial losses, as incomplete projects affect communities and limit access to important public services
He cited examples of that remain unopened, schools that cannot accommodate students, roads that fail to connect communities and electricity projects that have not delivered their intended benefits.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, also identified poor project management as a major challenge affecting development in Nigeria.
He revealed that the institute had developed a project management curriculum for Nigerian universities, which has received approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The programme is expected to enable universities to offer project management as a bachelor’s degree.
Mbadiwe further referenced findings by the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which identified 11,886 ongoing federal capital projects in 2011, with an estimated financial commitment of ?7.78 trillion.
He noted that inadequate planning, supervision, accountability and implementation were among the factors contributing to the abandonment of projects across the country.
The minister called for stronger project management structures across ministries, departments and agencies to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had introduced a 90-day implementation reporting cycle to strengthen transparency and monitor the progress of government programmes.
Ikenga said the company remained committed to Nigeria’s power sector and would continue investing in its operations despite the challenging business environment.
He spoke in Lagos at the third edition of the Shell Power Conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Progress: Turning Ambition and Action into Sustainable Impact”.
The Transcorp Power chief said the company would sustain electricity generation, invest in its facilities and deliver value to shareholders.
“Transcorp Power is a long-term player, not a short-term player. This year has been challenging, but what is important is getting power to schools, hospitals and businesses to power progress,” he said.
Ikenga said the company’s focus on operational efficiency and investment had strengthened its contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He disclosed that since acquiring the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State in 2013, Transcorp Power had quadrupled its available generation capacity.
He also said the company became the first privatised power generation firm to receive a post-privatisation discharge certificate after fulfilling all its privatisation obligations.
The company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, showed a profit before tax of N83.1 billion, while its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its total assets rose to 11.7 per cent amounting to N629.5 billion, while shareholders’ funds grew 8.9 per cent to N199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to N10.3 billion, supported by improved collections.
On the company’s contribution to grid stability, Ikenga said Transcorp Power’s black-start capability enabled it to restart operations without relying on electricity from the national grid.
He explained that the capability allowed the company to support power restoration following grid disturbances, helping to restore electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Ikenga noted that Nigeria had an installed electricity generation capacity of about 13,000 megawatts, with an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, adding that realising the potential would require effective coordination across the entire value chain.
“Everything in the value chain has to work,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators and private-sector operators, alongside increased private investment, to build a sustainable electricity market.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Maryann Duke.
The statement said Oyedele pointed to “improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record of N33tn in government revenue collected between January and October 2026.”
The minister said the performance demonstrated the potential of technology to improve revenue administration, strengthen compliance and increase efficiency across government institutions.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ Oyedele warned that Nigeria risked losing substantial economic opportunities if it continued to depend heavily on foreign digital infrastructure.
Citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures, he disclosed that the country recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
He explained that these connections generated significant volumes of information through financial transactions, healthcare, education and taxation.
However, citing estimates from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Oyedele said as much as 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted abroad.
According to him, the situation has implications for foreign exchange expenditure, employment opportunities, technological skills and Nigeria’s control over information generated by its citizens.
He compared the country’s reliance on foreign digital infrastructure with its historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products, warning against a situation where Nigerian data would be processed abroad and the resulting services sold back to domestic users.
The minister consequently advocated greater investment in local data infrastructure, technical expertise, cybersecurity and predictable regulations to enable Nigerian businesses to capture more value from the digital economy.
He clarified that digital sovereignty should not translate into technological isolation but should strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to participate competitively in international markets.
Addressing graduating students, Oyedele urged young Nigerians to become developers of technological solutions rather than remain primarily consumers of products created elsewhere.
He identified artificial intelligence as both a disruptive force and an opportunity for innovation, advising graduates to acquire relevant digital skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, sound judgement and integrity.
The minister also cautioned against irresponsible online behaviour, explaining that digital footprints increasingly influence employment prospects, commercial relationships and professional credibility.
Oyedele outlined five priorities for graduates, including continuous learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in national development.
“Your degree is evidence of what you have learned. Your competence will demonstrate what you can do. Your character will reveal who you truly are,” he told the graduating students.
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