LEADERSHIP Award Nomination Will Spur More Development In Edo – Okpebholo

Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has said his nomination for the LEADERSHIP Newspaper Governor of the Year 2026 award will spur him to intensify efforts towards the development of the state and improve the welfare of its people.

Okpebholo, who expressed appreciation for the recognition, said his commitment to transforming Edo was a way of life and not an attempt to impress anyone, pledging to sustain the drive to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people.

The governor spoke when a delegation of LEADERSHIP Newspaper management, led by its Vice-Chairman, Mr Mike Okpere, visited him at the Government House, Benin City, to formally present his nomination and invite him to the award ceremony scheduled for December 1, 2026, in Abuja.

Other members of the delegation were the Director of Conferences and Awards, Abraham  Ndah Isaiah; the Director of Special Projects, Paul Agbo; and the LEADERSHIP Edo State Correspondent, Patrick Ochoga.

Welcoming the delegation, Okpebholo described the nomination as encouraging, expressing gratitude to the newspaper for recognising his administration’s efforts at developing the state.

He said, “I see what I do as a way of life, and I am not doing something special. This is how I have been behaving before I contested. I am happy to continue to develop the state. I am delighted with the award and so grateful. I pray for more strength to continue to work and do more for Edo people. I will be physically present on that day.”

Earlier, Okpere said the nomination followed a rigorous assessment of governance and public service performance by a panel of 54 persons, which examined developments across the country as part of the newspaper’s annual awards process. He explained that the LEADERSHIP Awards have been held for about 19 years.

According to him, the assessment of the governors’ performance for the 2026 edition produced five nominees, compared with six in the previous year. “We have come to inform you of your nomination as LEADERSHIP Governor of the Year 2026. We examine policies and developments in Nigeria with the intention of rewarding society and deserving people,” Okpere said.

He added that the delegation’s visit was to formally invite the governor to attend the ceremony at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, where four other governors nominated for the category would also be present.

Also speaking, Ndah Isaiah said Okpebholo’s nomination was informed by his administration’s interventions in security, education, healthcare, road infrastructure and other critical sectors of the state’s economy.

He noted that the government’s interventions in the education sector included an increase in the monthly subvention to Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, from N41 million to N500 million, while Edo State University, Uzairue, receives N250 million.

The LEADERSHIP director also cited the administration’s reported construction, rehabilitation and completion of more than 500 roads across the three senatorial districts, as well as work on the Ramat Park flyover project.

He further highlighted the administration’s interventions in healthcare delivery, particularly its health insurance programme, saying the initiatives were aimed at improving the quality of life of residents and strengthening the state’s development prospects.

Ndah Isaiah said the administration’s performance across these sectors had distinguished Okpebholo among the nominees for the award. He added that the governor’s interventions were helping to protect the state’s future and create better prospects for its people.