By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-Chief)
Frontline Presidential hopeful in the 2023 general elections and former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, will, on Sunday, November 7, 2021, receive an award for the year 2020 Zik Leadership Prize for Political Leadership.
Anyim will be receiving the award for that category with Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, Nigeria's Minister of State for Health.
The 26th Anniversary Edition of the annual Zik Leadership Prize which is organized by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) and chaired by Prof. Pat Okedinachi Utomi, will hold at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, at 6 pm.
Other recipients of the award in different categories include the Governors of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his Nasarawa State counterpart, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, both of who will be awarded the Zik Leadership Prize for Good Governance.
For the Public Service category of the award, the trio of Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, President of African Development Bank Group (ADB); Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPC and Dr Bashir Jimoh, the Director-General and CEO of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will be honoured with the Zik Leadership Prize for Public Service.
The former First Lady of Akwa Ibom State and wife of the current Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Chief (Mrs) Ekaette Unoma Akpabio will be awarded the Humanitarian Leadership Prize, while the Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings Plc, Mr U.K. Eke MFR and the Pioneer MD/CEO of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr Uche Orji, will both be decorated with the Leadership Prize in Professional Excellence.
The Royal Guest of Honour for the occasion is the Emir of Kano, His Highness Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, while the event will be Chaired by Chief John Nnia Nwodo, the immediate-past President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo and former two-time Minister of Aviation and Information and Culture.
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim who was a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration is being recognized for his numerous leadership contributions in deepening the democratic culture in Nigeria, and particularly for his excellence in providing direction, among others, in the political leadership of the country, especially since the inception of the present democratic dispensation in 1999.
The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is being honoured with the award in recognition of his strong commitment to transforming Lagos into a Mega City using the THEMES developmental agenda, while quietly bringing back Lagos state as the Centre of Excellence.
The year 2020 26th Edition of the Zik Leadership Prize award recipients was announced in September this year at a press conference in Lagos by the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Professor Pat Utomi.
The Zik Prize in Leadership Award scheme started in 1995 and has been held consistently. It has now evolved to become one of Africa’s most respected award schemes. NNL.
