Kwara First Lady, Prof. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, emerges winner of Zik Prize in Leadership Awards

Prof. Abdulrazaq

First Lady of Kwara State, Prof. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, has been named the winner of the 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Humanitarian Leadership.

According to the Advisory Board of the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC), organisers of the awards, Prof. Abdulrazaq was honoured for her compassionate leadership and humanitarian impacts through the Ajike People Support Centre.

In a statement signed by PPRAC’s Head of Selection Committee, Prof. Pat Utomi and made available to Business Hallmark, Abdulrazaq has demonstrated exceptional vision and service to humanity.

“Her Excellency, Ambassador Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq, the compassionate diplomat, humanitarian visionary, and First Lady of Kwara State, is recognized for her lifelong dedication to empowering the marginalized through health advocacy, gender equality, and poverty alleviation. She embodies these timeless virtues, transforming lives across Kwara and Nigeria

“Since 2019, her Ajike People Support Centre has empowered thousands of indigent women, youth, and school leavers with skills training, agricultural inputs, and anti-drug campaigns.

“A Rotary Humanitarian Service Award recipient, she has slashed malaria prevalence in Kwara, championed TB eradication, and driven the Kwara Health Insurance Scheme rollout.

“As Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Wives’ Forum and matron of the National Council of Women Societies, her advocacy for gender equality and poverty alleviation extends globally. Abdulrazaq’s empathetic leadership weaves diplomacy and humanity, forging resilient futures for Africa’s most vulnerable, echoing Zik’s legacy of unity and upliftment

Apart from the Kwara State First Lady, for other distinguished Nigerians were also honoured with the Zik Prize in Leadership awards.

They are Governors Peter Mbah and Ademola Adeleke of Enugu and Osun States; Founder and CEO, Chapel Hill Denham Group, Bolaji Balogun and Founder/CEO, North-West Petroleum and Gas Company Limited, Winifred Akpani.

According to Utomi, the 2024/2025 honorees embody the ideals of visionary leadership, ethical governance, and societal transformation espoused by Dr Azikiwe.

“These laureates represent the best of African leadership: bold, people-centred, and transformative. They remind us that Africa’s destiny lies in the hands of leaders who serve with courage, compassion, and integrity”, Utomi said.

The announcement of the awards was accompanied by a solemn tribute to the late Chairman of PPRAC, Prof. Jubril Aminu, who passed away in June 2025.

The Centre praised its visionary leadership and lifelong dedication to promoting excellence in public service across Africa.

Established in 1995 to immortalise the legacy of Nigeria’s first President, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Zik Prize continues to celebrate transformative leadership across Africa and the Diaspora.

Over the years, it has honoured outstanding figures, such as Dr Nelson Mandela, President Julius Nyerere, Prof. Dora Akunyili, and Dr Akinwumi Adesina.

This year, the awardees were recognised for their trailblazing achievements in governance, entrepreneurship, professional excellence, and humanitarian service.

The formal presentation ceremony of the Zik Prize Awards would take place on Sunday, November 16, 2025, at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.