Peter, former Anambra governor and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, received the 2023 Champion Newspaper’s ‘Most Impactful Politician of the Fourth Republic (1999 to 2023)’ award on Saturday.

The newspaper honoured Mr Obi at the Champion Annual Awards held on Saturday night in Lagos.

The media outlet described Mr Obi as a distinguished leader widely recognised for his contributions to public policy, good governance, international business, 21st-century leadership, and human capital development.

The paper also awarded Governor Charles Soludo the ‘2023 Governor of the Year on Infrastructure and Rural Development’. It described Mr Soludo as a distinguished achiever whose dedication and excellence transformed the landscape of Anambra.

It added that Mr Soludo’s tenure had been characterised by a focus on infrastructure and rural development, driving transformative projects that revitalised communities, improved livelihoods and set new governance and public service standards.

Other awardees at the event included the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, who received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who received the ‘2023 Excellence in Service Award’.

In her speech, the paper’s managing director, Nwaduito Iheakanwa, said that the awards were about Nigerians’ responsiveness to what held the citizenry together.

“For Nigeria to get better and bigger, we will need more of this calibre of people and institutions that we set out to honour this evening because they constitute an integral part of the best.

“My simple message to us is that Nigerians should assiduously face issues of good governance and set aside politics and political meandering. For us, change comes from constructive thoughts and sound actions,“ she said.

In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, NDLEA boss Buba Marwa, said all the awardees deserved their awards.

r Marwa said, “The purpose of awards, such as these, is to encourage the citizens to do even more in their areas of expertise and callings and also let Nigerians and the entire world know that if you work hard enough, there is a reward for it.”

(NAN)