Leadership (Abuja)
Amaka Ifeakandu
12 May 2008
The managing director of Unity Bank Plc, Mallam Falalu Bello, and eight other distinguished corporate titans were last weekend in Lagos, conferred with the award of CIBN honourary fellow. This is the highest award given to deserving personalities by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
According to the institute, the award to Falalu Bello is in recognition of his service, commitment and contribution to the Nigerian banking industry in particular and the nation's economy in general.
Other honourary awardees were Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, federal minister of finance, Alhaji Aliyu Kola Belgore, chairman of Afribank Plc, Mr. Babatunde Lemo, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Jim Ovia, MD/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi, MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, MD/CEO of UBA Group, Mr. Tayo Aderinokun, MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
Speaking at the event, the president of CIBN, Mrs. Juliet Madubueze, said that, "The occasion of the 2008 honourary fellows awards is a milestone for the institute, and it is the dawn of a new era in the Nigerian banking sector".
Born on February 2, 1954, at Rigachukun, Kaduna State, Bello obtained a Bachelors Degree in Law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1978, and was called to bar in 1979.
He began his legal career as a magistrate grade 1 with the Kaduna State Judiciary in 1980. Later in the same year, he took up appointment as the senior legal executive/acting company secretary of the Northern Nigeria Investment Limited.
In 1983, when he was under 30 years of age, he was appointed as the commissioner for trade & industry in his home state, Kaduna, one of the youngest persons ever to serve in such capacity. He distinguished himself in the short period he served in the public service.
Bello holds the record of being the only Nigerian citizen ever to have managed four banking institutions as chief executive. through hard work, he rose to the position of managing director/CEO of the defunct Habib (Nigeria) Bank Limited in 1994.
In 1998, he resigned his appointment with Habib to become the managing director of Intercity Bank Plc, with the mandate to re-position the bank for greater performance. Between 2001 and 2005, he was appointed as the chairman board of directors of Intercity Bank.
In 2001, the Federal Government appointed him as the managing director/CEO of the Nigerian Agricultural and Rural Development Bank Limited (NARDB), a position he held until his voluntary resignation.
Bello was the arrowhead coordinating the efforts by the nine legacy banks that eventually merged to become Unity Bank Plc. In October 2005, the committee of directors of the consolidated Unity Bank appointed him as the managing director, a position he holds till date.
Falalu Bello has led the management team of Unity Bank from inception till date, setting a world record in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) as the only known bank to have successfully merged and integrated nine banking entities within 14 months.
This rare feat was recognized by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in October 2006, when the apex bank awarded it $50 million out of its foreign reserves, to be managed in partnership with a global financial institution.
An alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, Mallam Falalu Bello, OFR, has attended many executive education programs spanning the areas of law, banking & finance and general management in Nigeria and abroad.
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