…As 26 awards recipients shine
By Henry Akubuiro, Steve Agbota, Chinelo Obogo, Chinwendu Obienyi and Daniel Kanu
Former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has assured that the forthcoming election will not be postponed.
He added that the result will be predictable.
Ezeife, who spoke on behalf of three other Lifetime Achievement awardees: Gabriel Igbinedion, Sule Lamido and Sinatu Ojikutu, at the 20th edition of The Sun Awards ceremony held at Expo Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, said:
“I am very honoured and excited to take this award and speak on behalf of these awardees. I am also happy that God Almighty has shown us the light and the way. Our prayer is that God directs us to the right way to salvation and freedom.
“There will be no shifting of the elections; it will hold as planned and the results of the election will be predictable. Once again, I thank the people of The Sun for this award.”
Also, Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, expressed joy for the award of Governor of the Year which he dedicated to the Bayelsa people for their resilience during the flood that ravaged the state in 2022.
Diri noted: “I appreciate the award. I also appreciate The Sun management and staff. I appreciate the various arms of government: The judiciary, legislature and the entire executive.”
On his part, the Group Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, expressed confidence that The Sun Awards would be a motivation to do more for the country.
Kyari, a recipient of the Man of the Year Award, said he would stop at nothing to continue to contribute his best effort in service of father land.
“The Sun Awards is a call to do more. I appreciate the Award,” he noted.
Similarly, the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, dedicated The Governor of the Year Award to the late Prof Uche Ikonne. Prof. Ikonne, the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Abia State, died last week after a brief illness.
“I feel honoured and appreciate this award. I dedicate the award to Prof Uche Ikonne, who we lost recently.”
In his response, the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, said that the state was witnessing massive construction revolution, just as he had demonstrated courage in leadership.
This was stated by one of the governor’s aides, who received The Sun Award for Courage in Leadership award on his behalf.
Equally speaking, Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, described The Sun Awards as a reward for hardwork.
Ugwuanyi, who received The Man of the Year Award, was represented by his deputy, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo.
He said that he would continue to provide democracy dividends to the good people of Enugu State, while urging those in leadership positions to strive to work hard as the reward time would come.
Another award recipient, Olukayode Pitan,who is the Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BOI), commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing him to head the bank since 2017.
He thanked the staff and previous managing directors of the bank for making the award possible.
He commended the management of The Sun and staff for the award of the Banker of The Year 2022.
In the same vein, Ada Chukwudozie, Industrialist of the Year recipient, in her response, said that she felt humbled and honoured to receive the award, adding: “I am so happy that The Sun considered us worthy of receiving this award. I give glory to Almighty God. I thank my beloved husband who gave me wings to fly.”
Another recipient of the Industrialist of the Year Award, Festus Mbisiogu, thanked God for the award, as well as The Sun management for finding him worthy of the honour.
He thanked his wife for supporting him, while specially thanking Chief Audu Ogbe and Ambassador Nicholas Ella for contributing to his rise.
Similarly, Investor of the Year award recipient, Prof. John-Kennedy Opara, thanked The Sun management for the honour done to him. He was grateful to the farmers in the CSS Group of companies for raising the fortune of the company.
Prof. Opara is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of CSS Group of Companies, owners of CSS Global Integrated Farms.
While responding to is award as the Entrepreneur of the Year, Benjamin Igwe thanked God and the management of The Sun for giving him the award.
He also thanked his staff and bank, Keystone Bank, for supporting his growth.
At the same time, the Executive Vice Chairman of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mohammed Haruna, Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), George Moghalu and Chairman, Save-a-Life Group, Richard Okoye who all won the award of public service, said that they were very happy for the Public Service Award bestowed on them.
Moghalu, who appreciated his family and staff for the support given him, said: “I want to sincerely appreciate the board and management of The Sun for this award. I also want to thank my wife for her support and my staff at NIWA for their immense effort and encouragement.
“This is a call for greater responsibility and by the grace of God, we will build on what we have done before that made it possible for us to be recognised.”
Haruna on his part, expressed appreciation to The Sun, his family and staff for their effort at ensuring his success, saying: “I greatly appreciate my family and staff for their encouragement, and I thank The Sun for the award; I believe it will spur me to do more.”
Okoye also expressed appreciation to The Sun for the award give to him, and saying at the appropriate time, he would be able to say in detail the achievements they had recorded in the health sector.
“We have been able to develop solutions in primary health care delivery, and I want to thank God for giving us so much progress in the health sector. I want to thank The Sun for the award and it is an encouragement to do more,” he said.
Also, the General Overseer of Omega Power Ministry (OPM), Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, said that success wasn’t how much one has in their account, but how they impact people’s lives.
Apostle Chinyere who stated this while receiving the Humanitarian Service Icon Award at The Sun event, thanked God for being a recipient.
He assured that he would continue to do more for the less privileged people in the society, disclosing that he had built free schools and hospitals for the less privileged, adding that he had impacted 30,000 Nigerians who had benefited in various areas through the OPM Foundation.
Speaking earlier at the awards ceremony, former governor of Ogun State and media icon, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, expressed appreciation to the management and staff of The Sun Publishing Limited for keeping faith with the arduous task of conferring honours on Nigerians who have done well.
Osoba, who was the chairman of the 20th edition of The Sun Awards, noted: “For an organisation to follow a painstaking process to select people adjudged to have accomplished something that deserve awards says a lot. It means that such an organisation believes that, with great effort, the best will always be found. I commend The Sun for being consistent in giving awards.”
Acknowledging that he had been following The Sun Awards for many years, he noted that the choices of award winners had been profound, adding that the country had produced people with towering credential – men, and women who had done outstanding things.
He said: “In all fields of human endeavours, Nigerians have recorded great accomplishments. This gives us hope that our nation has the human resources to excel more. Extending honours to those who have excelled is a great feat. This would rekindle the spirit of hard work and determination to reach greater heights among our countrymen and women.
“I am one of those who believe in Nigeria. I believe that our country is made to be great. I believe that we have all it takes to be a great nation. I believe that our tomorrow will be better than today. I believe that as Nigerians, we are the ones who will make this happen.”
Speaking on the forthcoming general elections, the former governor urged Nigerians to fully participate in the exercise in order to be part of history by electing credible leaders for the country at all levels.
“This year, we have the opportunity to lay the foundation for a greater Nigeria. It is an election year. Without mincing words, this year’s elections are significant. We are transiting from one government to another. The whole world is looking at us as a nation and as Nigerians. We must all strive to fully participate in the exercise to be part of history in electing credible leaders for the country at all levels. Participating in elections is a civic duty, which all eligible voters are enjoined to perform without any material inducement or coercion.
“We must vote according to the dictates of our conscience, bearing in mind that the choice we make may make or mar the country. It is by making the right choices that we can nurture and deepen our democracy and help the nation achieve the dreams of our founding fathers and our heroes past,’’ he declared.
Calling on political leaders, politicians, and their supporters to play the game by the rule, Aremo Osoba implored security agents deployed for election duties to be apolitical, and neutral in the discharge of their duties.
Congratulating the awardees for having scaled the rigorous selection process, he said: “When you receive awards for what you have done, it is a challenge to do more. It is my hope that The Sun Awards will spur you to do more in your specific fields, in particular and for our fatherland, in general.’’
Also speaking, the Chairman/Publisher of The Sun Publishing Company, Barr. Ogbonneya Kalu, in her welcome address, declared that the basic focus of The Sun Awards is excellence, hence the winners must be excellent in their endeavours for them to be honoured.
She said that the focus had always been on excellence, adding that it was a tradition that the company had maintained over the years.
While congratulating the award winners, she said that they must have proven to be exceptional in their undertaking for them to have been chosen for the honours by The Sun Board of Editors.
She implored the awardees to continue to do the good things that earned them the awards.
Expressing her delight that this year’s awards took place a few weeks before the general election, she said that the election was a civic duty for all eligible voters.
According to her, “as we go into the general elections, it is my fervent wish that, in deciding who to vote for, we should pay less attention on divisive issues, and focus more on competence, uniting tendencies and ability to do whatever that is necessary to lead Nigeria into its desired era of excellence. We must all work together to ensure that the general elections are violence-free, transparent and credible. This ought to be the basic minimum that Nigerians look up to.”
In his speech, the Managing Director/Editor-in Chief, The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr Onuoha Ukeh, said that the awards was held to celebrate 26 Nigerians who had proved that things work in the country.
According to him, “despite the challenges the country faces, these Nigerians have done a race, kept the faith, and won the diadems. They braved the odds, surmounted obstacles and snatched success from the jaw of the tiger. By their successes and accomplishments, they told a good Nigerian story, to the effect that there are great potentials in the country. They have made Nigeria proud.’’
He described the awardees as “the Pride of the Nation,” pointing out that they had done extraordinary things that benefited the majority in Nigeria, ranging from governance to business, public service to entrepreneurship, and hospitality to entertainment.
Declaring that The Sun Awards 2022 was coming at an auspicious time, he said: “It is the 20th anniversary of The Sun Awards. It is coming in a year that The Sun, as a publishing and entertainment company, is 20. It is coming in a year that The Sun is going to unveil a book on Nigeria, entitled Making of Modern Nigeria, a book that elegantly sketchs the metamorphosis of Nigeria, from a colonised territory to independence and now the giant of Africa.
“The book is a sequel to the Golden Book which The Sun earlier published to commemorate Nigeria’s 50th anniversary. It is The Sun’s contribution to scholarship, at a time when History is coming back in our schools’ curriculum, in collaboration with Compact Communications Limited and Bridgehead Communications Limited.”
He recalled that the first award by The Sun was given to the Chairman of Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga, in 2003, while the second one was won by the then Chairman of the Economic, and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, adding that, since then, The Sun Awards had grown to an Oak tree, becoming bigger every year.xx