Distinguished Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong representing Cross River Southern Senatorial District has been named alongside prominent figures such as former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Senate President, David Mark, former Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, among others, as winners in the tightly contested THISDAY Group’s Commemoration Awards.
The Board of Editors of THISDAY Group, last night, unveiled the promising young men and women as winners in the “Young Global Leaders” category of the Group’s Commemoration Awards.
According to THISDAY Group, the awardees are good ambassadors for Nigeria, men and women majority of who rose organically to the very top in their respective callings. A coterie set apart by their shared commitment to excellence.
Applications for this category were legion, attesting to the nation’s growing youth strength, especially those doing well for themselves in different fields of human endeavour. But the THISDAY Board of Editors pruned the number down to a lucky few.
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Starting with the Queen of Warri Kingdom, Olori Ivie Atunwase III, the other winners in the category include the CEO of Niger Delta Power Company, Jennifer Adighije; Chairman of Sun Newspaper, Neya Uzor Kalu; and co-founder and CEO of Paystack, Shola Akinlade.
Also making the list are CEO of Konga Group, Nnamdi Ekeh; Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Halilu; CEO of AA&R Investment, Abdullahi Bashir Haske; and CEO of Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola.
Founder of Flutterwave, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji; singer and songwriter, Temilade Openiyi, professionally known as Tems, and her colleague, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, with the stage name, Ayra Starr, Folake Akindele, founder of Tiffany Amber.
A renowned chess player, Tunde-Onakoya; Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong from Cross Rivers State; and a member of the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Bello Mohammed, also made the list of the lucky winners.
The winners, who cut across different walks of life – from tech to music, finance, art and politics, among others – are established to have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields and, by their choices, put the country on the world map, particularly, in positive contexts.
Closely following this category is the Philanthropist of the Year Award, which boasts heavyweights, like the Dangote Foundation, NLNG Prize for Literature, United Bank for Africa Foundation, Fidelity Bank Foundation, and the MTN Foundation.
In recognition of their contributions to nation-building and their respective accomplishments in the course of their careers, some prominent Nigerians have been named winners of the THISDAY Lifetime Achievement Awards.
They are former President Goodluck Jonathan; advertising guru, Biodun Shobanjo; Aminu Bello Masari; Olusegun Osunkeye; Atedo Peterside; Fola Adeola; Udoma Udo Udoma; Chris Okeke; Hakeem Belo-Osagie; former Senate President, David Mark; Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi; Martin Luther Agwai; Mustafa Chike-Obi; and Professor Ango Abdulahi.
This award category recognises and pays homage to these living patriots, who have done the country proud in many respects and in spite of their ages and current dispositions, have not ceased to put the nation first.
In the category for Transaction of the Year, the nominees are the Mobil-Seplat deal, AGIP-OANDO deal, TotalEnergies-Chappal transaction and the Shell-Renaissance Spa and Bank of Industry, BoI’s 2billion Euro transaction.
The Nominees for Government Agency of the Year are Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), National Orientation Agency (NOA), and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).