The Association of Corporate and Marketing Communications Professionals in Banks in Nigeria (ACAMB) has described the death of its Publicity Secretary, Mr Abdul Imoyo, as a big blow to the banking and financial sector.

The President, ACAMB, Mr Rasheed Bolarinwa, said this in a statement on Monday in Lagos.

Rasheed said until his demise, Imoyo contributed significantly to the financial group’s communication strategies and public image.

“ACAMB is deeply saddened to announce the passing of its esteemed Publicity Secretary, Mr Abdul Imoyo.

“Imoyo, a highly regarded corporate media manager and Journalist, breathed his last in the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, at the First Cardiology, Ikoyi, Lagos, after a brief illness.

“Until his untimely demise, Imoyo served as the Head of Media Relations at Access Holdings, where he contributed significantly to the financial group’s communication strategies and public image,” the statement said.

It quoted a heartfelt statement earlier released by Tunde Imoyo, representing the Imoyo family, as saying, “It is with deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of our beloved husband, father, brother, and uncle, Abdul Kolawole Imoyo, who departed to be with the Lord in the early hours of Dec. 17, 2023, after a brief illness.

“We are taking sometime as a family to grieve over our loss at this time. We thank you for your prayers and support.”

The statement described the late Imoyo as a dedicated professional with an unwavering commitment to excellence in the field of corporate communications.

“His contributions to ACAMB and the broader corporate landscape, will be remembered and celebrated by colleagues, associates, and the entire banking community.

“With nostalgia, the association recalls that late Imoyo played active roles in cementing the bonds of relationship between ACAMB and other industry bodies such as the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria and the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria, while he was in the media.

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“That he emerged the Publicity Secretary of the current ACAMB exco was in recognition of his amiable traits, needed to wedge the critical stakeholders in the industry,” it said.

ACAMB extends its deepest condolences to the Imoyo family and Access Holdings Group during this difficult time and expresses gratitude for Imoyo’s invaluable service to the Association and the corporate sector at large.

It added that the funeral arrangements and memorial service details from the Imoyo family would be communicated at a later date.

Mr Imoyo was a newspaper editor in Lagos before joining Access Bank in 2014, according to his online profile, where he worked closely with the bank’s top chief Herbert Wigwe. He handled corporation communications for the frontline financial services group.

Mr Imoyo was a favourite of media practitioners for his prompt response to media enquiries and dexterity in fostering commercial relationships with business departments across several media outlets.

“He was almost unique when it came to getting a timely and useful response for stories about his organisation,” said Emmanuel Okeke, a newspaper editor in Lagos. “Hearing that such a thoroughbred professional died suddenly without any previous signs of terminal ailments made it even more tragic.”

People’s Gazette reports that Mr Okeke said even when a media report struck nerves at the company’s headquarters, Mr Imoyo had mastered the art of acceptance, recognising that journalistic duty must be carried out for the overall benefit of society — a purpose greater than his assignment at a white-shoe banking institution.

“He became a teacher to the corporate communications departments of other institutions, mostly in Lagos,” Mr Okeke added. “The vacuum his death created would endure for a while.”

Mr Imoyo studied at Lagos State University, graduating in 2002. He later obtained his MBA from the University of Lagos, promptly joining a business newspaper in Lagos, where he worked for about five years before joining the United Bank of Africa as a corporate communications officer. He moved from there to Access Bank.

In a 2021 interview, Mr Imoyo recognised his role as a media manager, saying journalism has become a round-the-clock duty for its practitioners, a reality that is rarely acknowledged by many spokespeople, whose treatment of journalists is often indistinguishable from disdain.

“I work around the clock,” Mr Imoyo said. “Because, these days, journalism, I don’t know if it ever sleeps, is more now like round-the-clock kind of, there is print, TV, radio, there is online news on the go and others.”