Professor Benedict Okey Oramah; the managing director/CEO, Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, BUA Foods Plc, among others, have been shortlisted as awardees in 2022 Leadership Newspaper Award #2022LeadershipAwards.
They were shortlisted based on impacts and positive contributions they made in their respective sectors.
While Professor Benedict Okey Oramah is the LEADERSHIP Person of the Year 2022; Ebenezer Onyeagwu is the LEADERSHIP CEO of the Year 2022 and BUA Foods Plc was chosen as the LEADERSHIP Company of the Year 2022.
For Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, his extraordinary leadership and commitment to the development of the African continent as president of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), resulting in raising of the bank’s overall resources and global recognition, was instrumental to his selection.
Since he joined the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) as chief analyst in 1994, a year after the bank was formed, Professor Benedict Okey Oramah has never kept anyone in doubt that, given a chance, he would love to be an outstanding advocate for the continent of Africa. Now with 28 years of a fulfilling career at the bank, the Nigerian-born super banker from Imo State has continued to add value to humanity and the global economy with his stellar performances.
The bank’s trajectory began to assume a greater dimension from the time Prof Oramah assumed the position of president of Afreximbank in September 2015. For the first five years he called the shots at the bank, he showed an unprecedented leadership at the pan-African multilateral financial institution.
One good term deserves another: the shareholders of the bank re-appointed him as president of the financial institution for a second five-year term in 2020.
Within this period, the balance sheet of Afreximbank grew from $5billion to $25billion, a phenomenal 400% leap in growth and year-on-year double-digit return to shareholders across the globe. Prof was recently decorated with Nigeria’s national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.
Deserving of LEADERSHIP CEO of the Year 2022 award, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, who is the current MD/CEO of Zenith Bank, led the financial institution to become the No. 1 bank in Nigeria in a period of economic downturn, sustaining the bank’s tradition of contributing substantially to the community through several corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Ebenezer Onyeagwu was appointed managing director and chief executive officer of Zenith Bank in June 2019, after nearly 30 years of experience in the banking industry in Nigeria. He joined Zenith Bank Plc in 2002 as a senior manager in the Internal Control and Audit group of the bank.
Although he took the reins of the bank’s leadership at the beginning of a downturn in the global economy, Onyeagwu was able to navigate the stormy weather occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that the bank continued to uphold its stellar performance.
Under his leadership, Zenith Bank has maintained its growth trajectory, growing enormously to become Nigeria’s largest and one of Africa’s largest financial institutions by tier-1 capital, with shareholders’ funds of NGN1.28trillion ($3.03billion) as of December 31, 2021.
The bank has remained a clear market leader, growing its total assets and net income by an annual average of 15.7 per cent and 15.5 per cent respectively in the last five years.
Similarly, LEADERSHIP Company of the Year 2022 award is for BUA Foods Plc for driving food sufficiency in Nigeria, growing to become one of the leading food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in the country, BUA Foods Plc is the LEADERSHIP Company of the Year 2022
BUA Foods is a leading food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business which processes, manufactures, and distributes food produce as well as packaged food. Its business operations comprise five divisions: Sugar, Flour, Pasta, Rice, and Edible Oils.
In addition, the company commenced the processing, manufacturing and distribution of rice in 2022 and is planning to begin edible oils by 2024. The sugar segment of BUA Foods currently operates the second-largest sugar refinery in West Africa, with a total refining capacity of 1.5million metric tons (MT) per annum.
The overall performance of the sugar segment in 2021 grew by 84.5 per cent to N209.43billion from N113.53billion reported in audited 2020 results. The sugar segment contributed 62.8 per cent of the total turnover reported in 2021 as against 58.8 per cent in 2020.
The company is a leading producer of fortified and non-fortified sugar in West Africa. It operates across the value chain of the sugar industry, including the production, processing, refining and distribution of raw sugar and its by-products such as bagasse, molasses and mud cakes.
Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP Banker of the Year 2022 award is for Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe for driving Fidelity Bank to achieve a 34.7 per cent growth in its balance sheet within the short period of one year she has been the chief executive of the bank.
Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe assumed office as managing director/chief executive officer of Fidelity Bank on January 1, 2021, and within a short time she turned the fortunes of the bank for the better. For instance, Fidelity Bank Plc has posted an impressive 34.7 per cent growth in profits from N28.1billion at the end of Q3 2021 to N37.8billion for Q3 2022. This impressive result was spearheaded by the resolute leadership of Onyeali-Ikpe as the bank’s chief executive.
On the other hand, Ms Chantelle Abdul is the 2022 LEADERSHIP Business Person of the Year for building up the largest indigenous manufacturer, distributor, installer of smart metering and energy solutions services provider in sub-Saharan Africa as well as playing a leading role in government’s mass metering effort.
Ms Chantelle Abdul is the managing director and chief executive of Mojec International Holdings, a conglomerate with subsidiaries in the power, energy, real estate and retail sectors. Its operations span Africa and Asia. Its outstanding subsidiaries include Mojec Power, Mojec Meter Company, Mojec Real Estate and Mojec Agriculture.
LEADERSHIP Oil & Gas Local Content Champion of the Year 2022 goes to Engr. Simbi Wabote for championing the development of local content across Nigeria and the African continent, and building capacity to raise the indigenous content retention levels in the oil and gas industry, among others,
Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote is the incumbent executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). He was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2016 to lead the Board; he was re-appointed for a second term in 2021 due to his impressive work at the agency.
While LEADERSHIP Bank of the Year 2022 is for Lotus Bank for its drive and impact on improving financial inclusion in Nigeria, and its efforts at boosting non-oil export earnings of the country in less than two years since it obtained a banking licence; LEADERSHIP ICT/Telecom Company of the Year 2022 is for MTN Nigeria for being the first mobile network operator (MNO) in West Africa to commercially roll out Fifth Generation (5G) technology mobile service in seven Nigerian cities, offering the fastest speeds for voice, data and video to its customers.
Moreover, LEADERSHIP e-Commerce Company of the Year 2022 is for Pocket by Piggyvest for finding its way to the hearts of millions of Nigerian youths who desire a secure digital financial services platform in the ever-expanding social commerce space, rebranding, and acquiring a mobile money operator (MMO) licence from the apex bank to expand its footprints.
LEADERSHIP Brand of the Year 2022 is for Coleman Wires & Cables for maintaining the same trusted quality, standing out in the highly competitive electrical wire and cable manufacturing industry in Nigeria’s construction market due to its quality in terms of fire resistance and durability.
Other recipients of the 2022 LEADERSHIP awards are; LEADERSHIP Persons of the Year 2022: Mohammed Buba Marwa, Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan; LEADERSHIP Politician of the Year 2022: Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; LEADERSHIP Governor of the Year 2022: Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Hon Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Prince Adedapo Abiodun; LEADERSHIP Public Service Person of the Year 2022: Sir Joseph Ari, Muhammad Mamman Nami, Isah Jere Idris; LEADERSHIP Environmental Impact Person of the Year 2022: Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo; LEADERSHIP SOCIAL IMPACT PERSON OF THE YEAR: Tunde Onakoya, Solomon Folorunsho; LEADERSHIP Government Agency of the Year: NSCDC; LEADERSHIP ICT/Telecom Company of the Year 2022: MTN Nigeria; LEADERSHIP Sportsperson of the Year 2022: The Flamingoes; LEADERSHIP Product of the Year: Mama’s Pride; LEADERSHIP Outstanding Young Person of the Year 2022: Musa Sani; LEADERSHIP Artiste of the Year 2022: Kizz Daniel.
