Immediate past acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Gbene (Dr) Joi Nunieh, has emerged ‘Public Servant of the Year’ in the 2020 Igbere TV Leadership Excellence Awards.
The prestigious Leadership Excellence Awards, recognises and honours the outstanding impacts of leaders across several sectors and industries in Nigeria. The most anticipated 2020 ‘lockdown edition’ is slated for December 10 at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers in Abuja.
The Award is endorsed by the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC), an advisory body of the African Union (AU) designed to give civil society organizations (CSOs) a voice within the AU institutions and decision-making processes.
Nunieh, who was well known for her stance against corruption while she held sway as NDDC boss, beat five other nominees — including Hadiza Bala Usman, Abike Dabiri, Priscilla Ekwere Eleje and Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye — to emerge winner in a seven-day voting by Nigerians via online platforms.
According to Nigerians, who nominated and massively voted the Ogoni-born ex NDDC managing director, the choice of Nunieh was for her defiant fight for the soul of Nigeria, despite attempts on her life and attacks on her image.
The Rivers-born daughter of the first Ogoni lawyer, as NDDC MD, carried out a contract verification exercise which required contractors to go to the states where the contracts took place to go and register it and get it verified by an interim panel; an act that pitched her against state actors.
Nunieh, who holds the highest title in Ogoni land and the only living Gbene in the Kingdom, exposed several shoddy contract deals within the Commission, revealing that one senator alone had over 300 contracts and that 120 were paid for without any scratch of work.
She followed this by disclosing that one man was pocketing N1billion every month to help collect statutory funds from the oil companies mandated by the NDDC Act of 2000 to remit to the Commission. Not a few were angry.
At a brief profiling event of the awardee on Tuesday, November 24, in Port Harcourt, the Ogoni-born Nunieh expressed gratitude to Nigerians for standing by her throughout her tenure as NDDC MD, and for finding her worthy of nomination and their votes.
Describing the Leadership Excellence Award as “most credible”, which prompted her acceptance of the nomination and vote, Nunieh lauded the Igbere TV management team for their good works.
“I am more than delighted to be named public servant of the year 2020 by Nigerians. I am particularly grateful because our people recognise our fight for the soul of Nigeria as NDDC MD”, she said.
“I, therefore, thank Nigerians for finding me worthy of this great honour and deserving of this prestigious award. This goes to show that we did the right thing, and were being watched,” the ex-NDDC MD added.
This year’s event would be one of the most outstanding and credible Award ceremonies in Nigeria, as personalities in the Presidency, State Governments, National and State Assemblies, Economic Industries, Humanitarian Affairs and Human Activism are expected to grace the occasion.
Some of the awardees include, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian President (Foundation of the Year); Chief Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Car Maker of the Year); Chief (Hon) Alex Ikwechegh, Founder of Alex Ikwechegh Foundation (Personality of the Year); Apostle Chinyere Chibuzor, General Overseer, Omega Power Ministries (Most Outstanding Humanitarian of the Year); and Chief Uche Nwosu, former Imo State governorship candidate and Chief of Staff to the Imo State Government (Hospitality Personality of the Year).
Others are: Senator Uba Sani, Kaduna Central (Senator of the Year); Rt. Hon. Chinedum Orji, Abia Assembly speaker (Speaker of the Year); Dr. Betta Edu, Cross River State Commissioner for Health (Medical Expert of the Year); Hon. Sir. Melie Onyejepu, General Manager of Anambra Bureau of Public Procurement (State Public Servant of the Year); Chief Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, Ondo First Lady (Woman of the Year on Empowerment); and former Governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, Founder of Kwankwasiyya Foundation (N.G.O of the Year).
Also on the list are, Mrs Karima Babangida, Director FDA, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Civil Servant of the Year); Valentine Ozigbo, the immediate past President and CEO of Transcorp PLC, founder of VCO Foundation and frontline governorship aspirant in the Anambra 2021 election (Empowerment Personality of the Year); Justice Nuagbe, better known as Ushbebe (Comedian of the Year); and Dr. George Moghalu, Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA (Maritime Personality of the Year).
While Dr. Alice Onyema, Vice-Chairman of Air Peace is being awarded as Aviation Personality of the Year; Hon. Princess Chinwe Nnabuife, CEO/Managing Director of Property Finders Limited, developers of Centage Estate, Lagos and Oil Spring Estate, bags Businesswoman of the Year award; with Prof. Georgewill Owunari, the former Deputy Provost, College of Health Sciences (UNIPORT) and Board member of the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, emerging as ‘Educationist of the Year’; and Olakunle Churchill as ‘ICT Personality of the Year’, among others.
The 2019 edition of the Igbere TV Leadership Excellence Awards which held 28th November, 2019 at the Sheraton Hotels, Abuja saw distinguished and prominent captains of industry, public figures and leaders cling on to the various Award categories.
Prominent awardees included President Muhammadu Buhari, United States-based Nigerian billionaire medical doctor, Dr. Godwin Maduka; former President Goodluck Jonathan, former House of Reps Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara; minister Rotimi Amaech, Senator Rochas Okorcha, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, among others.
According to Igbere TV, organizers of the Award event, this year’s edition which holds Dec. 10, has been tagged Africa’s biggest and most glamorous online media award. The programme will be transmitted live on DSTV, GOTV, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Zoom, Instagram and other social media platforms with over 10 million audience globally.
