Deborah Moses, a graduate trainee at United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), has described her interaction with the UBA chairman Tony Elumelu as a long-cherished dream.

Ms Moses attracted the attention of the bank’s Chairman, Tony Elumelu, after she shared observations and ideas on how the lender could address recurring problems faced by its customers.

Ms Moses made the observations on Thursday during a question-and-answer session at UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP), where she spoke about her experience during her on-the-job training (OJT).

She told Mr Elumelu, who is finishing his tenure as the bank’s chairman in August, that many UBA customers repeatedly encounter similar problems but often do not know the documentation required to resolve them before visiting a branch.

According to her, this often leaves customers having to return home to obtain the required documents before their complaints can be addressed, creating frustration and discouraging some from returning to the bank.

“During my OJT, I observed that our customers all have repetitive problems. They will come back for the same complaints, and then most of them do not know the required documentation that they need to bring so that their problems would be attended to smoothly.

“Mostly, they will realize that the customer service will now tell them, so you need this and you need that. Please, can you go back and bring it? And they’ll be like, I don’t have time. I cannot come back to this bank again. That’s a very big problem,” she said.

Ms Moses therefore suggested that the financial institution introduce a “UBA journey guide” for customers during onboarding, containing information on the documents and steps required for different banking-related complaints and requests.

“So I want to suggest, how about we have a UBA journey guide for our customers during onboarding, when they are registering with us. We give them maybe a PDF that contains what you need to do at a particular time,” the graduate trainee said.

She explained that the guide could be available in both digital and hard-copy formats, particularly to accommodate customers who are less comfortable with digital products.

The guide, she said, could cover issues such as changing a phone number and the documents customers need to bring to the bank to ensure prompt and smooth responses to their requests.

“And we can also have it in hard copy for some of our customers who do not really like the digital product.

“This way, they are informed of what they need to bring to the bank. They don’t always have to come and go back or have to come,” she said.

Ms Moses, an agricultural economics and extension graduate, also proposed that the lender create a department responsible for capturing customers’ experiences in real time across its branches.

She said such a system would enable the bank to track the number of customers visiting its branches, those attended to and those who were not, while identifying recurring complaints.

“At the end of the day, we know this number of people came to the bank; these people were attended to, and these were not, at the branch level. Daily reports, in a way, will help us know the recurring problems, the ones that are the highest, and then we will know how to solve them and reduce inflow,” she said.

Reacting to Ms Moses’ suggestions, the UBA chairman, Mr Elumelu, invited the graduate trainee to the podium, extolled her ideas and exchanged a handshake with her.

“If we hand over to people like you in UBA, we will be safe,” Mr Elumelu said, expressing his enthusiasm to continue monitoring her career at the bank.

Meanwhile, in a Facebook post on Friday, Ms Moses said the moment reinforced her belief that ideas, initiative and the courage to speak up can create an impact, regardless of where one is in their career journey.

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“I always imagined the day I’d shake hands with the outgoing Chairman. Yesterday, I got more than a handshake; I got a hug, encouragement, and his recommendation.

“During my GMAP OJT, by the Grace of God, I identified a problem, suggested a solution, and dared to speak up. He loved the idea.

“That moment reminded me that ideas matter, initiative matters, and your voice can create impact; regardless of where you are in your journey,” Ms Moses added.

The UBA graduate trainee previously worked as a Human Resources Assistant at Bank of Agriculture (BOA) after graduating in 2023. She also worked with NEAT Microcredit before joining the UBA internship programme.

The bureau has consequently issued four immediate safety recommendations to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) as part of its ongoing investigation into the 23 July incident.

The recommendations, numbered A-2026-039 to A-2026-042, were contained in the preliminary report disclosed by the NSIB in a statement issued on Friday by its Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Funke Arowojobe.

The report concerns an Embraer ERJ 170-100LR aircraft, registration number 5N-ENR, operated by Enugu Air Limited on scheduled passenger flight ENU4264 from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to the Oba Akenzua II Airport, Benin.

The aircraft had 63 passengers and five crew members on board when it landed on Runway 05 at about 2:55 p.m. It subsequently continued beyond the runway end into an unpaved area, where it struck approach-lighting installations and two fixed concrete structures associated with a decommissioned localiser installation.

All 68 occupants were evacuated safely using the aircraft’s emergency escape slides, with no injuries reported.

The latest findings provide the first detailed account from the accident investigation since the occurrence temporarily led to tbe shutdown of the Benin Airport runway and disrupted scheduled flights.

What happened before the overrun

According to the preliminary report, the aircraft departed Lagos at about 2:19 p.m. for Benin and completed its take-off, climb, cruise and descent phases normally.

The crew was initially cleared to conduct an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to Runway 23 but later requested and received approval for an RNAV approach to Runway 05.

During the approach, the crew raised concerns about rain around the airport. The control tower subsequently advised that the approach path to Runway 23 appeared to have better conditions.

The crew, however, continued with the RNAV approach to Runway 05.

At about 2:48 p.m., the tower informed the crew that visibility was approximately 1,500 metres in moderate rain. The aircraft was subsequently cleared to land on Runway 05, with the crew also cautioned that the runway surface was wet.

The NSIB’s preliminary report does not, however, establish that any of these factors individually caused the runway overrun. The bureau said its investigation remains ongoing and that further technical examination and analysis are required.

The report was compiled from information obtained through several sources, including witness statements, flight recorder data, air traffic control communications and preliminary inspection of the aircraft.

NSIB flags airport safety issues

The four recommendations issued by the bureau focus on the conditions and systems surrounding the runway rather than assigning responsibility for the occurrence.

The NSIB identified the runway-end environment, the control tower’s line of sight and the availability of meteorological information as areas requiring attention by the relevant aviation agencies.

The recommendations are intended to address safety issues identified during the investigation and reduce the possibility of similar occurrences.

The bureau also released a preliminary recreation of the aircraft’s flight path based on information available at the current stage of the investigation.

It said the video was part of its effort to improve transparency and communicate relevant safety information to the public while the investigation continues.

The NSIB cautioned against treating the preliminary findings as a final determination, stressing that the information remains subject to further review and could change as investigators obtain and analyse additional evidence.

The final report, according to the bureau, will contain its conclusions and any further safety recommendations arising from the completed investigation.

The incident had consequences beyond the aircraft and its occupants.

Following the occurrence, FAAN temporarily closed the Benin Airport runway to facilitate the recovery of the aircraft and allow authorities to conduct safety assessments.

The closure disrupted scheduled flights, forcing airlines operating to and from Benin to cancel or adjust their services.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the runway reopened after 12 days, with ValueJet announcing that its flights to and from Benin would resume from 5 August, confirmed by FAAN.

The reopening restored the runway to operational use, but did not signify the conclusion of the NSIB investigation.

In aviation, an airport can resume operations after safety assessments while a separate accident or occurrence investigation continues. The operational reopening is aimed at establishing that the facility is safe for use, while the investigation seeks to determine what happened and identify measures that could prevent a recurrence.

NSIB says investigation is not about blame

The bureau said the preliminary report should not be interpreted as an attempt to establish liability against the airline, flight crew, airport authorities or any other party.

It said the investigation is being conducted in accordance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, whose primary objective is the prevention of future accidents and incidents.

The NSIB therefore urged the public and other stakeholders to avoid drawing conclusions about the cause of the occurrence before the investigation is completed.

The bureau said further technical work would be undertaken before its final conclusions are reached.

For Benin Airport, the recommendations come 16 days after the reopening of the runway following nearly two weeks of disruption. They also provide aviation authorities with specific areas to examine as they work to strengthen safety around the airport.

While no passenger or crew member was injured in the Enugu Air occurrence, the NSIB’s preliminary findings show that the incident exposed issues beyond the aircraft itself, particularly around the conditions, visibility and information available during the approach and at the end of the runway.