The maiden edition of New Telegraph Awards holds tomorrow at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.
The award ceremony, which will start by 5:00pm, according to the management of the newspaper is to recognise a few Nigerians and some private sector players who have made outstanding contributions in their chosen fields of endeavour.
The management also said the choice of awardees came after a rigorous and meticulous consideration by the board and management of the company.
Managing Director/Editor in Chief of New Telegraph, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, said the award is in line with the newspaper’s belief in recognising personalities and institutions that have shown excellence in the drive to make Nigeria a great country.
“As the watchdog of the society, we believe the media should go beyond beaming searchlight on only the ills of the society. We also owe, as a duty, to recognise individuals and institutions that have not just weathered the storm and succeeded where others failed but, also, made visible contributions to the development of the country,” Egbemode said.
Already most of the awardees, including governors, politicians, sports personalities, actors, among others have confirmed attendance.
Prominent Nigerians and corporate organisations to be recognised at the award night slated for November 25, 2017, at The Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, are Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike (Man of The Year); Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal (Governor of The Year); Governor Abdullai Umar Ganduje (Outstanding Governor in Health and Education) and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State (Outstanding Governor in Infrastructural Development).
The list also includes business mogul and President, Dangote Group, Dr. Aliko Dangote (Businessman of The Year); Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Kennedy Uzoka (Bank CEO of The Year), and Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Nsima Ekere (Corporate Leadership Award).
Also to be recognised at the event to be chaired by former Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase, are former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and television personality and Chairman, Channels Television, John Momoh (Media Icon of The Year, Broadcast).
Others are Chief Executive Officer, Media Trust Limited, Kabiru Yusuf (Media Icon of The Year, Print); and Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede (Public Servant of The Year).
Chairman of the Nigerian Football Association (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, will be recognised as Sports Administrator of The Year while NFF Executive Committee member, Ahmed Yusuf (Fresh) will be honoured with the Grassroots Football Development Award.
Two athletes, Aruna Quadri and Oduayo Adekuoroye, will receive awards as the best male and best female sports person, respectively.
Also to be recognised are sports and showbiz personalities, including actress, scriptwriter, director and producer, Sola Sobowale (Best Actress of The Year); Richard Mofe-Damijo (Best Actor of The Year). At the corporate level, four companies are also to be recognised for their outstanding contributions to the country’s development in the face of daunting economic challenges. The firms include Zenith Bank Plc. (Bank of The Year), Access Bank Plc. (Most Innovative Bank of The Year), Aiteo (Company of The Year), and Remita (Product of The Year).