Abdul Imoyo, who rose to prominence in the world of corporate communications for his adept handling of customer inquiries and Access Bank Group infomercials, has passed away.
“It is with deepest sorrow that we inform you of the death of our beloved husband, father, brother and uncle, Abdul Kolawole Imoyo, who went to be with the Lord in the early hours of December 17, 2023, after a brief illness,” his brother, Tunde Imoyo, said in the statement. The bank has yet to issue a statement as of Sunday evening,
According to his online profile, Mr. Imoyo worked closely with Access Bank's top executive, Herbert Wigwe, while he was a newspaper editor in Lagos prior to joining the bank in 2014. He was in charge of the frontline financial services group's corporate communications.
Media professionals held Mr. Imoyo in high regard due to his ability to promptly respond to inquiries from the media and his skill in cultivating business partnerships with different agencies of media.
“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.”
According to Mr. Okeke, even in situations where a media report caused anxiety at the company's headquarters, Mr. Imoyo had learned how to be a good recipient. He understood that his job as a journalist had to be done for the greater good of society, which went beyond his job at a respectable bank.
“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.”
After attending Lagos State University, Mr. Imoyo graduated in 2002. After earning his MBA from the University of Lagos, he started working as a corporate communications officer at the United Bank of Africa after spending roughly five years working for a business newspaper in Lagos. From there, he relocated to Access Bank.
In a 2021 interview, Mr. Imoyo acknowledged his role as a media manager and stated that journalism has evolved into a 24/7 job for those who practice it. Many spokespeople, on the other hand, rarely acknowledge this reality and frequently treat journalists with contempt.
“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.”
Likewise, he found comfort in the friendly way the media handled him, which he revealed in the interview with reporter Susan Awobiye.
“The job is exciting and interesting in the sense that, given my background, first and foremost, I’m a journalist, so I think I enjoyed a lot of goodwill from my colleagues out there,” he said.
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