When First City Monument Bank (FCMB) set-out to execute its 30th anniversary promo, it did not fully appreciate the social responsibility value the exercise would present as a life-saving and changing opportunity. What an observer described as an intervention has directly provided a platform, which ministered timely aid to Nigerians, including the underprivileged beyond gender, religious and geographical location and limitation. While a business-minded critic would have been calculating the numbers in terms of returns to the bottom-line to the institution, men and women who never in their wildest dreams expected to become millionaires and Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) owners so soon and in this era of harsh economic difficulty have  thanked their stars, sharing their testimonies across the regions of the federation.
Even after several weeks of taking delivery, the newly married Oluyomi Victor Temidayo is yet to come to grips with the fact that he has now become the proud owner of a brand new Hyundai ix35, full option jeep, courtesy of FCMB promo.
Although prior to settling down, he had prayed and believed in God for a better life as a married man, he never envisaged the way and manner luck eventually smiled on him. He was just going about his business when a call came through to his telephone line.  Reluctantly, he picked only to be intimated by the voice on the other end, that he had won a brand new SUV courtesy of a customers’ promo conducted nationwide by FCMB.
Like most of the other winners who spoke with Daily Sun, Oluyomi’s initial reaction was one of doubt and suspicion, more so because he had only dealt with the bank for about five years, so how would winning a jeep come into the picture? Somehow, he followed up on the call and reported at an FCMB branch as directed. The long and short of it all is, he truly emerged as one of the winners of the series of mouth-watering prizes put up by the bank to reward loyal customers.
His first reaction to Daily Sun’s question on the matter was to exclaim: “Wao”, and then he added: “Any time I am driving round in this vehicle now, people always stop to admire me. Some people wonder whether it is real; I tell them yes, it is real.
“Even when I broke the news to my wife, she asked me if I was dreaming. I told her I was not dreaming. In fact, we even drove the car to the church yesterday for people to see it,” he told Daily Sun in an interview.
Temidayo, who operates in the oil and gas sector of the economy, described the process that saw him and five others winning SUVs for their decision to bank with FCMB as very transparent, urging the bank to sustain the promo and its good banking practices. Other beneficiaries include Dangero Adamu from Kebbi, Udo-Afa Gabriel Udoh in Calabar, Ajitena Saidat Mojirike in Ibadan; Unuarhe Onovughe Francis in Warri as well as Abubakar Adamu from Gombe.
In the case of Udo-Afa Gabriel Udoh, another winner of an SUV in the FCMB Millionaire promo, he had only been an FCMB customer for three years within which period he had done transactions with the bank over and again, without any hassles or regrets whatsoever. But expectedly, the icing on the cake was the promo booty.
“I think it is a very good bank to rely on. I saw sincerity in the process. Even when I was not there, I was called from Calabar to pick the car in Port Harcourt.”
Udoh is a lecturer at the University of Calabar and he stated that the car has further enhanced his social status, and for this, he thanks the management of FCMB.
If today you were to wake Mr. Williams Onyemaechi Onwubuike, who resides in the Abuloma area of Port Harcourt in Rivers State from a deep sleep, he would not waste time before declaring to you that any day, FCMB is a bank of first reckoning, in terms of general banking services and also in view of the level of transparency surrounding the bank’s promo, which has made him a millionaire.
Onwubiko said, “if I should award them marks in terms of transparency, I should say 101 per cent. I was not even there during the promo; not even aware that a promo was taking place. They only called to alert me that I had won. And lo and behold, it was true, and my money was instantly given to me with ease.”
What was his initial reaction when he was called that he had won N1 million? He said, “Because of things that happen in this part of the world, I thought someone was about to dupe or kidnap me; I was ready to run but behold, it was true. My money was given to me. Describing FCMB as a wonderful bank, he said his conviction was based on its level of sincerity, transparency and high integrity, and for the singular feat, FCMB had won his heart.
A civil servant in Minna, Abubakar Isah Saba, receives his monthly salary via FCMB and that was how he came into the relationship with the bank. Although he has accounts with other banks, he told Daily Sun that the high level of performance in FCMB’s service delivery made him move all his accounts to the bank. And this paid off on the long run. Not only has he enjoyed impressive customer experience at FCMB, he has also become N1 million richer courtesy of the FCMB promo.
The promo held across the 26 zones and three regions of the bank nationwide.  The draws were executed through electronic selection of winners. Three lucky customers of the bank were rewarded with N1 million at the regional draws, while five others went home with other fantastic gifts such as generating sets, LCD television sets, DVD players and consolation prizes at the zonal draws. The main drive of the promo was to encourage a savings culture and drive financial inclusion through the provision of rewards and prizes. At the end of the first phase of the promo, a total of 402 customers won prizes such as three Hyundai IX35 SUVs, cash and other gifts.
FCMB, as a socially responsible corporate organisation, announced another season of its promo series at the end of the one linked to its 30th anniversary campaign to appreciate and reward its customers. At the end this 2nd phase, another set of 646 customers of the bank were rewarded with cash and other gifts at the grand finale draws of the bank’s millionaire promo.
According to the bank, three lucky customers of the bank were each rewarded with the star prize of N5 million, while three others won N1 million each at the regional draws held in Lagos, Uyo (Akwa Ibom State) and Abuja.
A total of 640 other account holders of FCMB went home with LED televisions, generating sets, decoders, tablets, smart phones and other consolation prizes at the zonal draws held in different parts of the country.
At the Abuja/North draw, Mr. Adamu Oseni received N5 million for emerging as the star prize winner, just as Dorcas Terfa received N1 million. The winners at the South-East/South-South draw were Mr. Peters Emmanuel who won N5 million and Mr. Oke Owhubetine, who smiled home with N1 million. In all, a total of 1,932 winners emerged during this particular FCMB Millionaire Promo through the three draws in the season.
The Senior Vice President/Divisional Head of Retail, FCMB, Mr. Olu Akanmu said, “We are excited to once again reward our customers for their patronage and loyalty. Our customers are the reason FCMB exists and as a bank that is committed to continuously satisfy their needs, this promo is to further show appreciation to existing and potential ones by expanding the reward opportunities the promo offers them.”
One Okafor won the star prize of N5 million at the Lagos/South-West Regional draw, which took place at Matori in Lagos, while Odulawa Tolulope received N1 million. At the Abuja/North Regional draw held in Abuja, Umaru Augustine emerged as the star prize winner of N5 million, just as Aikay and Franscisca Oduoza (a joint account) smiled home with N1 million. In the same vein, Eke Michael won N5 million at the South-East/South-South draw held in Enugu and Stella Taribi was rewarded with N1 million.
The bank has said that beyond the various prizes it provides winners, the promo also presents an opportunity to encourage savings culture, financial inclusion and ultimately empower customers.
“We have more positive offerings in various developmental stages for our customers. We therefore urge the general public to seize the opportunity of the current promotion to commence a relationship with us so as to benefit from our various rewarding and empowering initiatives,” Mr. Olu Akanmu, who drives the Retail Division at FCMB reiterated.
With the first draws of FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 3 around the corner, the bank’s customers are excited as many look forward to emerging winners. This season, which runs till November 2016, is open to customers, to non-customers of FCMB and members of the public who can open accounts with the bank with specified amount saved. This deliberate corporate social responsibility exercise, as informed by an official of the bank, is one of the ways FCMB adds to the nation’s socio-economic development.
For the current promo, individuals would need to increase their savings account balance by N50,000 and maintain it for 30 days to stand a chance of becoming one of the four customers to go home with N2 million each at the grand draws. Or  customers can increase their savings accounts by N10,000 and maintain it for 30 days to stand a chance of becoming one of the 12 customers to go home with N1 million each or any of the consolation prizes at the regional draws.

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