LEADERSHIP has announced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Man of the Year 2023.
According to a statement by the Chairman Zainab Nda-Isaiah issued by the company on Monday, LEADERSHIP chose Tinubu because of his irrepressible spirit which saw him overcoming significant obstacles both within and outside his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to emerge president in the February general elections.
The statement also cited the difficult but necessary decisions Tinubu took, especially shortly after assuming office, to reposition the country.
“It was like walking through a minefield unscathed,” the statement said. “This award is in recognition of his courage, perseverance and resilience.”
LEADERSHIP Awards, managed by LEADERSHIP Conferences, a subsidiary of the LEADERSHIP Group Limited, is in its 16th edition. It is Nigeria’s most prestigious annual awards for public and private individuals and organisations.
The selection process, hosted in November, involves top members of editorial and business management, including members of the advisory board who are professionals in different fields.
Tinubu, a former senator, two-term civilian governor of Lagos, and twice a recipient of LEADERSHIP honours, was instrumental to the formation of the APC which brought the 16-year reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre to an end in 2015.
He was, however, frozen out of the party, barely able to get any favours for nearly eight years, and left to carry the fancy label of “national party leader.”
When he indicated interest in running for the presidency, he faced a backlash of opposition both from within his party and from within the government, including a controversial and expensive currency redesign believed to have been targeted at his candidacy.
The government of Muhammadu Buhari barely tolerated him, until a group of Northern APC governors forced the government’s hand to concede to a southern candidate.
During the campaigns, however, some expressed concerns about his health and his academic credentials. Yet, he surmounted these challenges, including fears of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, to win both his party primaries and the presidential election on the platform of the APC.
Also, LEADERSHIP announced that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, emerged the Politician of the Year, a prize which he shared jointly with the senator representing the central senatorial district of Kogi State, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Obi won the prize because of his ability to galvanise swathes of relatively politically indifferent youths, recalibrate his campaign within a short time and also make significant inroads into areas thought to be sacred grounds of more established candidates.
He is the best third place finisher in Nigeria’s presidential elections in decades.
Akpoti-Uduaghan tied with Obi as Politician of the Year because of her tenacity in the face of serious, even malicious institutional obstacles to dispossess her of her mandate.
Also, for the year 2023, four state governors were jointly nominated for the award of Governor of the Year. They are Governors Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State; Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State; Fr Hyacinth Iornem Alia of Benue State; and Oluwaseyi Makinde of Oyo State.
The governors were awarded for “providing exceptional leadership at a time the people of their states were in dire needs”.
Governor Bago jointly won the award for his leadership, especially his effort in kickstarting the process of transforming his state into what is now termed the New Niger through urban renewal, rural transformation and huge infrastructural investment.
Governor Radda won in the Governor of the Year category for his focused and audacious efforts at prioritizing security by pioneering community -driven and intelligence gathering.
Governor Makinde clinched the Governor of the Year award for investing in infrastructural development to keep up with the growing population of his state and creating jobs in both the formal and informal sectors.
Governor Alia was awarded the Governor of the Year for demonstrating leadership, ensuring prudence, blocking waste and fighting corruption to a standstill in Benue state.
In another category, the Award for Public Service Person of the Year 2022 went to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo for his bold, extensive and exceptional reforms in tackling the perennial passport booklet debacle at the Nigeria Immigration Service. He jointly won the award with the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr Mrs Abimbola Akinnajo whose extra-ordinary leadership and commitment culminated in the delivery of the Lagos Blue Rail line, 40 years after its conception.
The Business Person of The Year Award was won by chairman of Gerewa Group of Companies, Isa Mohammed Gerewa for building one of the most successful companies that helped in the achievement of economic diversification.
CEO of the Year was jointly clinched by a trio of the Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Pharmaceutical Company, Dr Stella Chinyelu Okoli; CEO of Transcorp Hotels, Dupe Olusola, and the CEO of Marvelous Mike Press, Engr Micheal Bayo Akinola.
The Banker of the Year Award went to the Managing Director/CEO of First City Monument Bank Plc, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, for driving a significant increase in lending to small businesses and steering the Bank towards SME financing.
Bank of the Year was clinched by United Bank for Africa (UBA) for embarking on key initiatives to turn around the lives of its customers; Social Impact Person of the Year went to the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu CFR, for greatly touching and shaping the fabric of the social life of his subjects through peace and security.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) won the Government Agency of the Year for promoting fairness, regulatory stability and consumer protection.
Other winners are Company of the Year, won by Zeberced Group for providing quality products and services in the built industry; Oil and Gas Company of the Year, Seplat Energy Plc; Oil and Gas Local Content Champion of the Year, Aradel Holdings Plc; IT Company of the Year, CWG Plc and Brand of the Year, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc. Fintech Company of the Year was won by MoniePoint.
The Artiste of the Year award went to Nike Okundaye Davies for her unwavering dedication to promoting and empowering Nigerian youths and women through arts and craft.
The LEADERSHIP Sports Persons of the Year award went to D’Tigress who for winning a historic fourth consecutive AfroBasket title; while Awwalu Sani, for displaying honesty when he found and returned N15 million to Chadian merchants who forgot it in his tricycle, won the LEADERSHIP Outstanding Young Person of the Year award.
The awards would be conferred on all the recipients at the next edition of LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards ceremony billed to in the first quarter of next year on a date to be announced soon.
