Banking professional Aumbur Kwaghter Sule was inducted as a Fellow of the Institute of Business Diplomacy and Financial Management in Abuja on 3 December 2020. The distinction recognised a career across regulation, pensions and commercial banking.

The induction recognised Ms Sule’s work across business, finance and management. She entered the institute’s Fellow grade with the designation FBDMF.

For Aumbur, the award brings together lessons learned in roles that do not always appear closely connected. She began by examining registration documents at the Securities and Exchange Commission, moved into pension administration and later became responsible for relationships with bank customers ranging from individuals to public institutions.

“My work has taken me from regulatory documents to pension operations and then to banking relationships. Each role taught me to pay attention to both the procedures and the people who depend on them. I value this Fellowship because it recognises a career built across those different responsibilities,” Aumbur said.

Her first financial services role was at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where she worked as a desk officer from September 2004 to September 2005. She processed registration and renewal submissions and checked documents against regulatory requirements. The work placed a premium on accuracy, an expectation that followed her into subsequent roles.

Aumbur spent the next phase of her career in pension administration. At Crusader Pensions Limited and Premium Pensions Limited, she worked on administrative operations, procurement, vendor relationships, budget tracking and reporting between 2006 and 2008.

She then entered banking at Skye Bank Nigeria Plc. Initially a public sector relationship manager, she later worked in retail marketing. The change took her from accounts held by public sector clients to the task of expanding a wider customer base. She handled credit applications under the bank’s procedures and reported on existing relationships and new business opportunities.

At Enterprise Bank Limited, Ms Sule returned to public sector relationship management. From July 2013 to August 2015, she managed government and parastatal accounts, identified business within existing relationships and worked with colleagues on services for institutional clients. A short period in retail banking at Heritage Bank Limited followed.

By February 2016, she had joined Union Bank of Nigeria’s sales and distribution operation. She remained there until August 2020, working on customer relationships, account acquisition, deposits and product campaigns. That period brought five internal Best Relationship Manager awards between August 2017 and June 2018.

The Union Bank awards recognised growth in current and savings account deposits, growth in term deposits, average revenue per customer, product campaign performance and the reduction of dormant accounts. Together, the categories cover both attracting customers and maintaining their use of banking services.

A dormant account presents a different challenge from a new account. A relationship manager has to understand why the customer stopped transacting and whether the bank has a service that meets a current need. The recognition for reducing dormant accounts therefore speaks to the follow-up required after the initial sale. The deposit awards, by comparison, concern customers choosing to place funds with the bank.

The distinction from the institute recognises a broader record than one set of sales results. The institute said it examined evidence of contributions in business, finance and management before admitting Aumbur to its highest professional membership grade.

Dr Gado Shehu, the institute’s President and Chairman of Council, said a candidate’s length of service alone would not secure Fellowship. “Fellowship requires more than a senior title or years in a profession. A candidate must be nominated, submit evidence of professional contributions and pass a review before the Governing Council makes its decision. The purpose of those steps is to ensure that the distinction reflects a record we have examined.”

Under the institute’s membership rules, a Fellow candidate is nominated by at least two existing Fellows. A screening committee evaluates the record, and a Fellowship Evaluation Panel considers the nomination before Council approval. The process examines evidence rather than assigning the distinction automatically after a set number of years.

Professor Mohammed Dahiru Madawaki, a finance scholar associated with the institute, described how the grade differs from other membership levels. “The by-laws set a higher threshold for Fellowship than for the other membership grades. Reviewers look for documented achievement and influence beyond an ordinary job description. The assessment must be based on evidence, and the candidate’s record must withstand examination by people with relevant professional expertise.”

The institute’s decision was communicated to Aumbur in November, before the Abuja induction. The Membership Screening and Review Committee recommended her for Fellowship, and the Governing Council approved the recommendation. The institute described a multistage evaluation involving independent experts, senior Fellows and industry leaders. Its assessment considered the quality, scale and influence of her contributions within the fields covered by the institute.

Aumbur holds a Business Management degree from Benue State University, awarded in 2004. She has also completed training in pension management and received a HarvardX certificate in Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies recently.

Her career has demanded different forms of judgment. Regulatory work required close reading of documents. Pension administration involved internal records and coordination. In banking, her responsibilities extended to customers whose needs and account histories varied widely. The induction recognises the professional record she built across those settings.

For Ms Sule, the Fellowship marked a new professional distinction. Her earlier Union Bank awards recognised specific periods of performance, while the institute considered the longer course of her work in Nigerian financial services.