LEADERSHIP Award Shows Nigeria Moving Towards Meritocracy – Kalu

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has described his selection as Legislator of the Year 2025 by LEADERSHIP as an indication that Nigeria is moving towards merit-based systems.

Speaking after the management of LEADERSHIP formally presented the award letter to him in Abuja, Kalu thanked the organisation for the recognition and honour.

He said that for Nigeria’s most influential newspaper to honour him without him having a personal relationship with it or lobbying for the award showed that those doing their jobs the way they should are being recognised.

The lawmaker representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State said that with the unsolicited recognition, he was inspired to put in more efforts in the discharge of his duties as a lawmaker for the socio-economic advancement of the country.

Kalu urged LEADERSHIP and other media organisations to continue to uphold the journalistic ethics of truth, fairness, balance and the sacredness of facts, especially in the face of emerging technologies disrupting the status quo of information dissemination.

“I must commend LEADERSHIP Newspaper for the great work you’ve been doing, especially in projecting leadership. Because for me, one of the things that brought me back to the country remains the fact that I saw a gap in leadership.

“We have everything; it is just strengthening our leadership that will make us convert everything we have to solve our problems. I noticed that we are blessed with human and natural resources, but the leadership needed to harness these resources towards achieving the definite objectives of this country was missing.

“I also understood that one person cannot solve it, but if we all play one small role or the other in whatever little space we find ourselves in, gradually we’ll make the change that everyone is looking for. So I chose the parliament…

“Usually, I don’t take this kind of award. I have not had any personal relationship with any of you. I didn’t lobby for this. It’s just based on merit, and I like that a lot — that Nigeria is moving towards meritocracy. If you are a leadership newspaper, you should project that element in leadership where only what you work for will be used to attract the reward that you desire.

“I want to thank you for recognising the work we are doing. It’s not been easy because, like I always say, though we are three arms of government, we are one government. So our job is to make sure that there is strategic partnership for the sake of the nation, ensuring that laws guide the aspirations of the executive so that they will get the expected result.

“I want to encourage you to keep reporting without bias. We cannot do without great platforms like yours which communicate what we do to those who may not have access to us. You are great builders on the wall of the advancement of our democracy,” Kalu added.

Earlier, the Vice Chairman of LEADERSHIP Group Ltd, Mike Okpere, accompanied by a Director of the group, Abraham Nda-Saiah, said the award is in recognition of Kalu’s outstanding performance in lawmaking, representation and oversight, as well as his role as Deputy Speaker of the House.

It would be recalled that LEADERSHIP, in November 2025, unveiled its 2025 awardees, with Deputy Speaker Kalu emerging Legislator of the Year 2025.

Also, Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, emerged as Person of the Year 2025, while six governors — Uba Sani (Kaduna), Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Hope Uzodimma (Imo State), and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) — emerged as Governors of the Year, among other categories of awardees.

The awardees will be celebrated for their outstanding leadership, vision and commitment to national development at the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards ceremony scheduled to take place on 12 February 2026 at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.