With about five weeks until the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards, the event has spiked excitement on social media as members of the public engage with the newspaper’s different platforms to express their views.
Senior vice chairman/editor-in-chief of LEADERSHIP, Azu Ishiekwene, said in a statement on Sunday that users of the newspaper’s social media handles, including its Hausa language title, have inundated the platforms with expressions of their good wishes.
“This engagement and sense of expectancy deeply gratifies us,” Ishiekwene said. “We are taking steps to ensure that the event lives up to its billing as the gold standard of recognitions and awards in the country.
“It will also afford us the opportunity to reflect on a vital subject – the challenges and opportunities of fiscal federalism- in a keynote speech that Vice President Kashim Shettima will give.”
LEADERSHIP has nearly 3.7 million followers across various social media platforms, including its Hausa platform.
As of Sunday, many of the followers on these platforms were either giving the thumbs-up sign, liking, or offering congratulations on news related to the forthcoming awards ceremony.
Last week, the newspaper said it had added a unique edge to this year’s ceremony, which also marks the company’s 20th anniversary, by showcasing the forthcoming event in the Financial Times, the world’s leading business and financial newspaper.
The campaign, which started in the first week of February, will be on until March, ending just ahead of the 17th edition of the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards ceremony slated for April 8 at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The company said the advert for the conference in the Financial Times newspaper would be seen by CEOs and people in top managerial positions who read the Financial Times in the US, UK, Canada, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
The campaign also covers Egypt, Algeria, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Over 35,000 Financial Times subscribers in any of these countries can click on the banner ad to visit the website of the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards.
It would be recalled that the LEADERSHIP Board of Editors, in November 2024, nominated 26 distinguished individuals and organisations who made exceptional contributions to governance, business, social impact, and public service in Nigeria in 2024 for the newspaper’s gold standard awards.
The nominees include Alhaji Aliko Mohammad Dangote, Nigeria’s foremost industrialist and philanthropist, as the winner of the Person of The Year Award for his immense contributions to the nation’s economy. His philanthropic and groundbreaking efforts make him a deserving recipient of this highest honour.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, won the 2024 Quinquennial Award for Governance and Infrastructure, a rare recognition by the LEADERSHIP Group Limited, an award to be conferred once every five years.
Also, for the year 2024, apart from Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, five other state governors were jointly nominated for the award of Governor of the Year. They are Bala Mohammed of Bauchi; Pastor Umo Bassey Eno of Akwa Ibom; Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah of Enugu State; Mallam Umar A. Namadi of Jigawa State and Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke of Osun state.
The governors were recognised for driving sustainable growth, infrastructural development, and policy innovations in their respective states.
Former governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (CON) won the Politician of the Year award for his political influence in Edo State where he frontally led the campaign that led to the emergence of Governor Monday Okpehbolo, and for his advocacy for democratic growth in Nigeria.
Benedict Peters, founder and CEO of AITEO, won the Business Person of the Year award for massively investing in the mining and hydrocarbons sector in Africa, while Dame (Dr) Adaora Umeoji, GMD/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, clinched the Banker of the Year award for her role in transforming the banking industry.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Bashir Adewale Adeniyi (MFR), emerged as the Public Service Person of the Year for his exceptional leadership in improving the efficiency of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Other remarkable business leaders, including the CEO of NORD Automobiles Ltd, Oluwatobi Ajayi, won the CEO of the Year award for the Private Sector, while Bamanga Usman Jada, MD/CEO of the Oil & Gas Free Zone Authority, clinched CEO of the Year award for the Public Sector.
In other award categories, AVSATEL Communications Limited won the Company of the Year award, while ARCO Engineering Limited is the Oil & Gas Local Content Champion of the Year.
The Social Impact Person of the Year award will be presented to Olori Ivie Atuwatse III for her tireless efforts in championing education and healthcare initiatives. OPAY won the Fintech Company of the Year award for promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria, while Alternative Bank clinched the Most Innovative Bank of the Year award for its pioneering work in digital banking.
Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawal will be honoured as the Environmental Impact Person of the Year for his leadership in advancing environmental policies and addressing climate change.
The Outstanding Young Person of the Year 2024 award will go to the ENACTUS team from Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi. They are recognised for championing innovation and sustainability. Terra Cube will receive the Product of the Year award for its innovative solutions in sustainable living.
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