LEADERSHIP Governors Of The Year 2025

For Repositioning Zamfara State On The Path Of Peace, And For Building A Culture Of Transparency, Fiscal Discipline, And Opportunity For All In Delta State, Dauda Lawal And Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori Are…

Governor Dauda Lawal assumed leadership of Zamfara at a moment defined by fear, fragility, and fatigue after nearly a decade of insecurity. Yet, rather than allow security challenges to paralyse governance, he elevated it. Through firm resolve and clear priorities, his administration placed education, healthcare, and service delivery at the heart of a broader recovery agenda, proving that even under pressure, purposeful leadership can reset a state’s trajectory.

At the centre of this renewal are the Zamfara Rescue Projects, a sweeping intervention that has touched roads, schools, and medical facilities across urban centres and rural communities alike. The innovative Tsangaya school system stands out as a landmark reform, harmonising Islamic and Western education while equipping children with vocational and life skills for a changing world. Complemented by the rehabilitation of key institutions, including the Ministry of Women Affairs and ZACAS, these investments signal a deliberate effort to rebuild human capital and restore confidence in public institutions.

Health and security reforms have reinforced this progress. Hospitals and primary healthcare centres have been renovated and fully equipped, specialist facilities have been upgraded, and free maternal and child healthcare has been introduced, alongside the recruitment of trained personnel—measures that have begun to reverse grim health indicators. Simultaneously, improved security coordination, community protection guards, and enhanced logistics for security agencies have led to a marked reduction in killings and kidnappings. Together, these strides reflect an administration steadily replacing despair with hope and redefining Zamfara as a state reclaiming stability, dignity, and direction.

Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori had a clear governing compass: the MORE Agenda—Meaningful Development, Opportunities for All, Realistic Reforms, and Enhanced Peace and Security when he was sworn in as Governor of Delta State on May 29, 2023. He arrived not with trial-and-error impulses. Two years on, that vision has moved from promise to proof. Across Delta, roads and flyovers rise where bottlenecks once stalled growth; schools and hospitals are renewed; fiscal discipline underwrites human capital investment. Oborevwori’s leadership has demonstrated that governance grounded in planning, empathy, and equity can have a tangible and positive impact on lives.

A former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Oborevwori, brought to the executive arm a legislator’s instinct for consultation and balance. That grounding has shaped an administration marked by inclusiveness and prudence. The MORE Agenda has translated into over 513 road projects spanning nearly 1,500 kilometres, landmark flyovers redefining urban mobility, and a deliberate spread of development across all senatorial districts. Yet his ambition extends beyond concrete and steel—toward education reforms that have upgraded learning facilities, recruited over 5,500 educators, and supported more than 60,000 students with bursaries, ensuring that progress is built on opportunity and skills, not privilege.

Equally transformative has been the renewal of healthcare, social protection, and public finance. From modernised primary health centres in all local governments to world-class diagnostics at the Asaba Specialist Hospital, access to care has expanded alongside health insurance coverage for the vulnerable. Empowerment programmes have lifted hundreds of thousands of people through enterprise support and agricultural mechanisation, while digital budgeting, payroll reforms, pension clearance, and the early adoption of the new minimum wage have restored confidence in governance. With sustained peace through dialogue, strengthened security, judicial modernisation, and outward-looking investment drives, Oborevwori is not only stabilising Delta—he is positioning it to compete, prosper, and endure.

It would be recalled that LEADERSHIP, in November 2025, unveiled its 2025 awardees, with Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, emerging as the Person of the Year 2025.

According to the LEADERSHIP Board of Editors, despite the country being on the brink of another election year, there was no winner for the Politician of the Year award.

Six governors, including Governors Dauda Lawal, Sheriff Oborevwori, and four others-Governor Hope Uzodimma(Imo State), Governor Abdulahi Sule (Nasarawa State), Governor Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), and Governor Uba Sani (Kaduna)-emerged as Governors of the Year. The governors earned the award for “diligently focusing on the implementation of programmes and policies that transformed lives in their respective states.”

Governor Abiodun Oyebanji clinched the Governor of the Year 2025 award for his people-centred leadership that has transformed Ekiti State through inclusive governance.

Governor Dauda Lawal won the award for his unwavering commitment to restoring security, as well as his massive investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, which have repositioned Zamfara on the path of peace, progress, and sustainable development.

Governor Uba Sani emerged Governor of the Year 2025 for his inclusive and reconciliatory leadership that unites people across divides in Kaduna, while Governor Sheriff Oborevwori clinched the award for his visionary ‘MORE Agenda’ that has redefined governance in Delta State through peace, inclusion, and pragmatic reform.

According to the newspaper, Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Dr Benjamin Kalu, clinched the Legislator of the Year award for his exceptional record in lawmaking, representation and oversight.

The LEADERSHIP Public Service Person of the Year award was won by the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, for championing a new era of tax reform anchored on efficiency, transparency and service. The award was for a public servant(s) whose service delivery record and responsiveness made significant outcomes in the sector.

Thomas Etuh won the Business Person of the Year award for his visionary leadership in transforming Nigeria’s fertiliser and agribusiness sector.

The Banker of the Year Award went to the Managing Director/CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria, Dr Tony Okpanachi, for pioneering inclusive finance through innovation and integrity, and for empowering over 700,000 MSMEs. Meanwhile, Providus Bank clinched the Bank of the Year award for contributing to digital transformation and driving innovation in financial services.

The Founder of Tantita Security Services, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), won the Social Impact Person of the Year award for transforming conflict into cooperation, creating jobs, defending peace, and advancing social, cultural, and economic renewal in the Niger Delta.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) was named Government Agency of the Year for expanding Nigeria’s enforcement frontiers and recovering over N10 billion for consumers.

The LEADERSHIP Environmental Impact Agency of the Year award was presented to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) for championing sustainable industrialisation, renewable energy, and climate-friendly technologies that reduce carbon emissions and promote clean power solutions.

Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) won the Oil and Gas Local Content Champion of the Year 2025 for pioneering the development and operation of Nigeria’s first onshore crude export terminal.

Other winners include Fintech Company of the Year, won by OPay for revolutionising digital finance through inclusion; Product of the Year, Nestle’s Pure Life; and Company of the Year, Trade Modernisation Project.

Mrs Mabel Ijeoma Duaka and Dr Seidu Adebayo Bello jointly won the Primary Healthcare Model of the Year award, while the Outstanding Young Person Award went to David Adeyemi for nurturing innovation, empathy and excellence by developing an AI-powered app that transforms access to education for visually impaired learners.

Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu clinched the Young College Person of the Year 2025 for her outstanding achievement in elevating Nigeria’s presence on the international academic stage.

This year, the Artiste of the Year award was clinched by the duo of Raoul John Njeng-Njeng, better known as Skales and Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke.

The LEADERSHIP Sports Person of the Year award went to Justine Madugu for guiding the Super Falcons to their record-breaking 10th WAFCON title.

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 International Conference Centre, Abuja.