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.