Obiano’s wife, Ebele wins 2017 Zik Prize Award

OBINNA EZUGWU

Chief (Mrs.) Ebele Obiano

Wife of Anambra State governor, Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano (Osodieme), has won the prestigious Zik Prize Award for Humanitarian Leadership.

Mrs. Obiano who runs a non governmental organisation, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFE) through which she has built houses for widows in the state and touched lives of the downtrodden, would be presented with the award alongside wife of Bauchi State Governor, Hajia Hadiza Abubakar Mohammed who also won in the same category, on April 15, 2017.

Other prominent Nigerians to receive awards on the night include Chief Bisi Akande, first National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Osun State governor who won the Zik Prize for Political Leadership; Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers State for Good Governance; Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director, NNPC along with Mr. Ernest Ebi, for Professional Leadership, among others.

Announcing names of the winners for year 2017 in Lagos, Member, Advisory Board, of Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre, (PPRAC), organisers of the annual award, Professor Pat Utomi, said the Zik Prize Leadership Award was instituted 24 years ago in honour of the first President of Nigeria, Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, primarily to encourage and nurture leadership on the African Continent and in the Diaspora.

He disclosed that an exhaustive appraisal of nominees in various award categories have been done before the official announcing of their names.

He noted that the Mrs. Obiano’s award was in recognition of his selflessness service to humanity.

Other winners in various categories include the governor of Katsina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello-Masari; Agric minister, Audu Ogbe and Adedeji Adeleke

Some recipients of the prize in the past include; President J.J. Rawlings (1995), President Nwalimu Julius Nyerere (1997), Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim (1998), President Sam Nujoma (1999), Dr. Nelson Mandela (2000), President Yonweri Muzeveni (2003); President John Agyekum Kuffor (2008), Senator David Mark, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed (2010), Otunba Subomi Balogun (2010), President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2011), Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan, Rabiu Kwakwanso (2012); Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (2013) and Alhaji Umar Tanko Al Makura (2014).