News Investigators/ Enugu State Governor, Peter Mba and his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke are among recipients of the 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Leadership Awards.
Pat Utomi, Head, Selection Committee, announced this in a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos on behalf the Advisory Board of the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC).
Prof. Utomi said that both Mr Mbah and Mr Adeleke won Year 2024/2025 Zlk Prize in Good Governance, while Mr Bolaji Balogun, Founder/CEO of the Chapel Hill Denham Group, won the Year 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Professional Leadership.
For Entrepreneurial Leadership category, Dame Winifred Akpani, Chief Executive Officer , Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited, was announced as winner.
Prof. Utomi said that the 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Humantarian Leadership was won by Prof. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, wife of Kwara governor.
The head of the awards selection committee said that the Zik Prize was established in 1995 to honour the legacy of Nigeria’s first President, Dr Nnamdi Arikiwe,
According to him, Zik Prize celebrates exceptional leadership across Africa and its diaspora.
“For three decades, this award has recognised individuals who embody the values of visionary governance, integrity, and societal impact championed by the Great Zik of Africa,” he said.
He commended the board members for their unwavering commitment to fostering transformative leadership across the continent.
According to him, Africa faces profound leadership challenges that have entrenched a cycle of underdevelopment, perpetuating debilitating consequences across the continent’s socio-economic and political landscapes.
Prof. Utomi decried Africa’s weak institutions, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and underinvestment in health, education, and infrastructure exacerbate poverty and unemployment, which he said were trapping millions, especially youth, in cycles of despair.
“The suppression of visionary leaders perpetuates conflicts, human rights abuses, and nonexistent social services, turning resource-rich nations into cases of dependency and mediocrity.
“Without bold and practicable reforms, rigorous anti-corruption measures, and the elevation of selfless leaders who prioritise people-centered development, Africa risks remaining fragmented and stagnant, unable to harness its vast potential for collective progress.
“Against this backdrop, PPRAC remains steadfast in its mission to identify and celebrate exemplary leaders who challenge the status quo and drive transformative change,” he said.
On the feats that earned each of the winners the award, Utomi said that Balogun, who clinched the Zik Prize in Professional Leadership, had driven Nigeria’s economic transformation through expertise in investment banking and telecommunications.
“Co-founding Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel) in 2001, he secured a $285 million GSM license and orchestrated its $1.67 billion sale to Celtel in 2005, a landmark African deal.
“Founding Chapel Hill Denham in 2005, he led it to win Euromoney’s “Best investment Bank in Nigeria” in 2023 and 2024, and facilitated the N26.81 billion Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund listing in 2023,” he said.
According to him, as the Chairman of Unilever Nigeria, Endeavour Nigeria, and Co-Chair of the UN’s Private Sector Advisory Group for SDGs, Balogun champions gender equality, renewable energy, and youth empowerment, fostering inclusive growth.
“His visionary leadership continues to catalyse Pan-African resilience,” he said.
On good governance leadership award, Utomi said that the winners, Mbah and Adeleke remained outstanding in vision and performance.
According to him, Mbah remains the dynamic architect of Enugu State’s renaissance, marked by his “Tomorrow is Here” mantra.
He said that Mbah exemplified the ideals of visionary policies propeliing inclusive development and unity, transforming Enugu from a civil service enclave into a thriving centre of innovation and prosperity with a $30bn GDP target by 2031.
“Mbah’s agricultural revolution has boosted harvests and contributed to a 600 per cent IGR surge.
“Over 1,000 km of roads, water via gas-powered plants, and 260 remodeled primary healthcare centres cut mortality by 400 per cent.
“Through the smart green schools and smart city platforms, he has earned the state the Renewed Hope Model Green State Award.
“Mbah’s bipartisan ethos, lauded by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, cements his legacy as a model leader,” Utomi said.
On Adeleke, Utomi said the Osun governor “was the ebullient architect of the state’s revival, whose transparent, people-centric policies had ignited inclusive prosperity and democratic vitality”.
Utomi said: “Guided by a five-point agenda focused on economic resurgence, social equity, and sustainability, he (Adeleke) has turned Osun from fiscal distress into a beacon of progress.
“Since 2022, Adeleke has transformed Osun, slashing debt by 43 per cent, cumulatively boosting IGR growth by 600 per cent, and reducing infrastructure deficits by over 40 per cent.
“His agricultural drive distributed inputs, revitalised farm settlements, and partnered with IITA, spurring harvests.
“Potable water reaches 332 wards, 3,000 access free health insurance, and maternal mortality dropped. Educational interventions, SME’s empowerment and climate policies ranked Osun 6th nationally.”
“Adeleke’s inclusive reforms in mining, digital economy, and workers’ welfare, drawing federal and NGO acclaim, fostering trust, economic resilience, affirm his role as a beacon of Zik’s legacy,” Utomi said.
On Entrepreneurial Leadership, Utomi said that Akpani, had harnessed erterprise to drive economic empowerment, integrity, and national resilience.
According to him, from a modest startup, Akpani has built a multi-million dollar oil and gas empire, operating over 70 mega filling stations nationwide.
He said that Akpani had been holding upstream stakes, revolutionising Nigeria’s downstream sector with strategic acumen.
Utomi said that as former chairman of DAPPMAN, she had helped shape policies strengthening indigenous firms.
“Recognised as an African Female Economic Champion, she is a beacon of entrepreneurial fortitude.
“Her enduring legacy, from humble origins to billion-dollar impact, proves visionary women can fuel Nigeria’s prosperity, embodying Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s vision for African progress.
On the Humantarian Leadership award, Utomi described Abdulrazaq as a compassionate diplomat and humanitarian visionary leader.
He said that the wife of the Kwara governor was recognised for her lifelong dedication to empowering the marginalised through health advocacy, gender equality, and poverty alleviation.
Utomi said that the formal presentation ceremony of the 2024/2025 Zik Prize Awards will hold on Nov. 16 at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos.
Utomi listed past recipients of the Zik Prize to include notable leaders like President Jerry Rawlings (of Ghana) President Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Dr Salim Ahmed Salim (of Tanzania) and President Sam Nujoma (Namibia),
Others, according to him, include Former President Nelson Mandela (South Africa), President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Former President John Kufuor (Ghana), President Former Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Dr Pius Okigbo, and late Prof. Dora Akunyili.
He also listed Prof. Benedict Oramah, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Chief Subomi Balogun as past winners
NAN
