Building and giving away edifices for religious activities seems to be the favourite pastime of some of Nigeria’s female bank executives. Less than two months after Alhaja Mosun Belo-Olusoga, the immediate past Chairman of Access Bank donated a sizeable ultra-modern mosque to Olabisi Onabanjo University Muslim Community, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, in her capacity as the institution’s Pro Chancellor, another bank chief has built and given out a well-furnished structure for religious activities.
The Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Dame (Dr) Adaora Umeoji, built and donated the world-class building for the use of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Dobi, Abuja. The commissioning/dedication of the new parish building to the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja took place recently. Umeoji was reportedly moved to build and donate the new church building after the temporary edifice used for worship at the church was destroyed by a windstorm on May 17, 2018. She was said to have been approached to support a new building project for the parish. It was learnt that she looked at the building plan and remarked that the proposed structure was not good enough, requesting that a more sophisticated architectural drawing be designed.
Dame Umeoji’s desire to assist the parish to build a new and more befitting church building was an offering to God for the healing of her beloved mother, Chief (Lady) Ngozi Umeoji, it was further learned. However, her mother’s eventual passing on to glory did not make her renege on her promise to help build a new structure for the people of God to worship. She said that she felt that God wanted her mother to now live through the church and therefore dedicated the church to her mother’s blessed memory.
Well known for her philanthropic activities, Umeoji’s home state, Anambra, is not left out of the largesse she doles out regularly. This and many of her feats in the banking industry obviously led to President Muhammadu Buhari conferring her with the national award, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), thereby distinguishing her as one of the top pillars of Nigeria’s growth and development in recent times.
Although there are many women whose impact in the corporate sector, specifically the banking industry resonates, Umeoji happens to be one of the few who have remained strong and whose influence has not waned. Instead, she has continued to grow and moreso, supported by the immense trust the chairman of the bank, Jim Ovia reposes in her in assisting the managing director steer the affairs of the bank. For Umeoji, the sky is no doubt the limit.
