Abia Speaker, Chinedum Orji Voted Best Speaker Of The Year’

A year after being named ‘Best Speaker of the Year’, Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon (Engr.) Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has again emerged as the ‘Best Speaker of the Year’ in the 2020 Igbere TV Leadership Excellence Awards.

Orji, alias Ikuku, beat five other nominees — including Rt. Hon. Francis Nwuifuru, Rt. Hon. Tasiu Maigari, Rt. Hon. Debo Ogundoyin and Rt. Hon. Abok Ayuba — to emerge the winner back-to-back in seven-day massive voting by Nigerians via online platforms.

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.

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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.

At a brief profiling event of the awardee Rt. Hon. Chinedum Orji on Wednesday, November 25 in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, the speaker expressed gratitude to Nigerians for finding him worthy of nomination and their votes back-to-back.

Describing the Leadership Excellence Awards as “most credible“, Orji lauded the Igbere TV management team for their sustained good works, while pledging that the 7th Abia Assembly under him will continue to do more.

“I am particularly happy that I am winning this Award category yet again. I give thanks to God, the people of my constituency, Abians, my colleagues and Nigerians at large for their support.

“The day I was sworn in as Speaker, I made a promise to myself that I must leave the Assembly far better than I met it. After the 2019 Best Speaker of the Year Award, I was motivated to do more…

“Being named Best Speaker of the Year for the second consecutive time is a great challenge for me; a challenge for us as a legislature to recommit ourselves to the task at hand, and do more for the people.

“I, therefore, wish to thank Nigerians for finding me worthy of this great honour and deserving of this prestigious award. This goes to show that we have been doing well at the House, being monitored and watched closely,” the Abia Assembly Speaker added.

This year’s Award 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); Gbene (Dr) Joi Nunieh, immediate past acting NDDC managing director (Public Servant 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 a.k.a Ushbebe, Comedian of the Year; Dr. George Moghalu, Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA (Maritime Personality of the Year) and Gelor Paul, Managing Director, Dominion Oil & Gas Limited (Outstanding Social Impact Award).

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.

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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 audiences globally.