Champion Newspapers’ Awards hold May 25, 2024, unveils Zenith Bank’s GMD,  Dr Onyeagwu Banker of the Year

.Rear Admiral Bushi emerges Public Servant of the Year as Chief Ifekudu, OFR, is Philanthropist of the Year

. ‘I dedicate my award to Bank’s founder, Dr. Ovia, team members’

. As independent assessors shortlist other nominees

KELVIN EGERUE and COMFORT EKELEME

All is set for the grand celebration of the galaxy of stars comprising individuals, institutions and top notch organizations adjudged as winners in the 2023 annual Champion Newspapers Awards, a memorable event structured to appreciate contributions to nation building.

Scheduled for the Convention Centre of the prestigious Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on May 25, 2024, the event which is being packaged by high profile Event Managers is expected to cascade into a panache of pump and pageantry considering the loud ovation which has come to characterize the unveiling of a few of the key nominees..

The Christmas decorations on Ajose Adeogun Street on Victoria Island which is sustained by Zenith Bank Plc bellowed more lights onto the skies recently when management of Champion Newspapers paid a historic visit to Zenith Bank head office to announce Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank  as winner of the Champion Newspapers’ 2023 Banker of the Year Award.

This is as several acceptance letters from nominated awardees for the 2023 edition of the annual Champion Newspaper Awards were received with the latest confirmations coming from Dr Kasimu Bushi, a Rear Admiral of the Nigerian Navy and High Chief Kenneth Ifekudu, OFR, the Agbalanze Onyekachukwu na Ozubulu in Anambra State.

Rear Admiral Bushi is being honoured with the Most Outstanding Public Servant on Accounting and Transparency of the Year Award while Kenneth Ifekudu  will take to the podium as Philanthropist of the Year.

The choice of Dr. Onyeagwu as 2023 Banker of the Year which is a product of the painstaking selection of Board of Editors and was largely corroborated by credible independent assessors came as an endorsement to the multiple international awards which were conferred on Zenith Bank in Europe, America and Asia as well as its subsidiaries in eight African countries recently.

Group Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Champion Newspapers Limited Dr Mrs Nwadiuto Iheakanwa who presented the award letter to Zenith Bank’s CEO praised the management team of the bank for its steadfastness in escalating the technical, financial and prudential competencies of the bank to an all time high from where Zenith Bank now benchmarks the best of global financial institutions thus helping in projecting Nigeria as Africa’s business hub.

Dr Iheakanwa had explained that the choice of Saturday, May 25, 2024 for the hosting of the 2023 Awards ceremony which is a shift from the  usual Friday evening event is meant to provide the kind of ambiance befitting of the scope and magnitude of the event which she hinted would be a marked difference from previous editions.

Justifying the emergence of Dr. Onyeagwu as Champion Newspapers’ 2023 Banker of the Year, Dr Iheakanwa observed that “Under your management, Zenith Bank Plc has remained not only a toast of the banking public, following the solid foundation laid by its founder, Dr Jim Ovia , but made adequate returns on investment to the satisfaction of both the board and numerous shareholders.

According to the letter, “Your dedication to duty as the GMD/CEO of the leading financial institution and active support of devoted management and dedicated staff in providing cutting edge services and impactful Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) since assuming duty in 2019, are commendable and enable the pearl of the financial sector retain its ranking as the number one bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the 2023 Top 1,000 World Banks’ Rankings, published by The Banker Magazine”.

Continuing she noted that “Significantly too, the reputable bank, renowned for its knack for setting the pace and raising benchmark, is undoubtedly, a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions as well as security of shareholders’ investment”.

Accepting the nomination, Dr. Onyeagwu, who expressed delight while receiving the award letter from the Management of Champion Newspapers Limited on Tuesday during a visit to the Bank’s corporate head office on Victoria Island, Lagos, commended the newspaper’s decision to confer on him the 2023 Banker of the Year Award.

According to him, the credit for the award should go to the Founder/Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Jim Ovia for his pioneering role and vision for the financial institution.

He said, “If you look at it, a brand was built and a legacy is handed over to us. There is also a pattern and there is a protocol to follow.

“So,  it is such that things are so diligently mapped out that if you follow it in the spirit and the letter, it will be difficult for you to go wrong; which is why when awards like this come, we dedicate it to him for his pioneering role, for the vision and for everything he did to put the Zenith Bank where it is today.

“Hopefully, we expect that even subsequent leadership of the institution will continue to rely on this very noble and credible virtues and values laid in the system to continue to lead the brand to higher heights”.

He however, maintained that the bank appreciates the award from Champion Newspapers, adding that it is an encouragement to do more.

He said,  “yes, it is given to me as Banker of the Year, but it is the privilege of being the CEO. Actually, it is given to the bank, it is given to our team collectively. So I believe the team will be motivated to hear this, and we will also ensure that we will be there in full force”.

Speaking further, Dr. Onyeagwu recalled that “I know it  was 2020 that I first got an award from Champion Newspapers, but because of COVID-19 one couldn’t go, but this one, I will be there in person” he hinted.

Meanwhile, Rear Admiral (Dr) Kasimu Bushi, a multi-disciplinary professional, security master strategist and renowned author had in accepting the award as Most Outstanding Public Servant on Accounting and Transparency praised Champion Newspapers for encouraging the development of  a better Nigeria through her dedication to purposeful journalism and propagation of the culture of free speech, equity and fairness.

“I am indeed touched by your resolve to encourage hard work, transparence and absolute commitment to the growth and development of our dear country which is what the concept behind this annual award is all about. To imagine that I can be qualified for this kind of award which can be likened to the Nigeria’s national honours is a thing of joy to me and my family.

“In accepting this award, I am mindful of the weight of responsibilities which it confers on me which basically is to say that I now have greater responsibility of doing more work in partnership with other individuals and organizations in ensuring for a better society which has been the major focus of Champion Newspapers Limited since its inception in the late 1980s” he noted.

Continuing he said, “I am convinced that through this kind of awards which seek to identify, acknowledge and celebrate individuals and corporate organizations which mean well for the country, Nigeria can be said to be on the right part to encouraging competence and sacrifice thus improving on human capital development.

“Permit me the pleasure of congratulating Champion Newspapers Limited for its nationalistic outlook in its operational model, substance and dedication considering that the newspaper had been in the forefront of the propagation of developmental journalism in the country. Your newspaper is among the very first set of publications to go into colour printing, the first to make sports reporting a delight as well as carving a niche for itself in business reporting”

Voting High Chief Kenneth Ifekudu as Champion Newspapers’ 2023 Philanthropist of the Year is not unconnected with his invaluable contributions as a frontline businessman who have helped in bringing sanity in such critical areas as human capital development. By his actions and activities, he stands tall as a man of the people who have worked so hard to improve on the quality of human existence. Diamond Leeds Limited founded by him has executed a number of outstanding architectural projects  in the areas of construction of buildings, bridges, road projects, sinking of boreholes, drilling, electrification, solar powered light and among others for his community and its environs.

“As an outstanding philanthropist, you have involved yourself in such human development projects as skill acquisition, medical outreach programmes,  grants, capacity building, entrepreneurship and management skills, erosion control in most affected part of the communities, construction of lock-up shops, lighting up villages with all-in-one solar powered street light, giving scholarship to people, conducted essay competitions on effects of drug abuse, distribution of gifts such as deep freezers, grinding machines and construction of roads among others”, the letter conveying his award nomination read in part.

High Chief Ifekudu who said that he looks forward to joining the other awardees at the May 25, 2024 award ceremony had confessed that “this award will spur me in my avowed commitment towards uplifting the lives of our citizens while making positive impacts in our nation. It is truly humbling to be recognized among so many outstanding Nigerians, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a distinguished group of nominees”.