Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah and his Osun State counterpart, Senator Ademola Adeleke. are among recipients of the 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Leadership Awards.

Head, Selection Committee, Prof. Pat Utomi, announced this in a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos on behalf the Advisory Board of the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC).

Mr Utomi said that both Messrs Mbah and Adeleke won Year 2024/2025 2lk Prize in Good Governance, while Founder/CEO of the Chapel Hill Denham Group, Bolaji Balogun, won the Year 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Professional Leadership.

For Entrepreneurial Leadership category, Chief Executive Officer, Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited, Dame Winifred Akpani, was announced as winner.

Mr Utomi said that the 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Humanitarian Leadership was won by wife of the Kwara State governor, Prof. Olufolake Abdulrazaq. 

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.

Mr 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 youths, in cycles of despair.

“The suppression of visionary leaders perpetuates conflicts, human rights abuses, and non-existent 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-centred 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, Mr Utomi said that Mr 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, Mr Balogun champions gender equality, renewable energy, and youth empowerment, fostering inclusive growth.

He stated, “His visionary leadership continues to catalyse Pan-African resilience.’’

On good governance leadership award, Mr Utomi said that the winners, Messrs Mbah and Adeleke remained outstanding in vision and performance.

According to him, Mr Mbah remains the dynamic architect of Enugu State’s renaissance, marked by his “Tomorrow is Here” mantra.

He said that Mr Mbah exemplified the ideals of visionary policies propelling 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 remodelled 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,” Mr Utomi said.

On Mr Adeleke, Mr Utomi said the Osun State governor “was the ebullient architect of the state’s revival, whose transparent, people-centric policies had ignited inclusive prosperity and democratic vitality.”

Mr 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,” Mr Utomi said.

On Entrepreneurial Leadership, Mr Utomi said that Ms Akpani harnessed enterprise to drive economic empowerment, integrity, and national resilience.

According to him, from a modest startup, Ms Akpani has built a multimillion-dollar oil and gas empire, operating over 70 mega filling stations nationwide.

He said that Ms Akpani had been holding upstream stakes, revolutionising Nigeria’s downstream sector with strategic acumen.

Mr 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 Humanitarian Leadership award, Mr Utomi described Mrs Abdulrazaq as a compassionate diplomat and humanitarian visionary leader.

He said that the wife of the Kwara State governor was recognised for her lifelong dedication to empowering the marginalised through health advocacy, gender equality, and poverty alleviation.

Mr Utomi said that the formal presentation ceremony of the 2024/2025 Zik Prize Awards will hold on November 16 at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos.

Mr Utomi listed past recipients of the Zik Prize to include notable leaders such as 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 ex-president Nelson Mandela (South Africa), President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), ex-president John Kufuor (Ghana), former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Dr Pius Okigbo, and the late Prof. Dora Akunyili.

 He also listed Prof. Benedict Oramah, Ahmed Joda, Yayale Ahmed, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Chief Subomi Balogun as past winners.

(NAN)