Wike, Others Get Good Governance Awards …As Daily Times Marks 91st Anniversary, May 16

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, will on May 16, add another good governance feather to his cap, as Daily Times honours heroes and heroines who have helped shape Nigeria’s history in different fields.
The award is part of activities designed by The Daily Times of Nigeria (DTN), the nation’s heritage newspaper, to mark its 91 years anniversary, commencing on May 16, 2017, with exhibition at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
Others to be honoured with the good governance award are Governors Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia); Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos); Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe); Bindo Jubril (Adamawa); Willie Obiano (Anambra); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); and Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi).
A statement signed by the Publisher, The Daily Times, Mr. Fidelis Anosike, and Chairman of the DTN Anniversary Committee, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, indicated that the celebration will be used to honour other heroes, including President Muhammadu Buhari, who will be given Nnamdi Azikiwe Leadership Award; President Nana Akufo-Ado of Ghana who will receive Babatunde Jose Leadership Award; the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to be bestowed with Ernest Ikoli Leadership Award; and the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to be given Politician of the Decade Award.
The statement further listed others to be honoured as Governor Dankwabo, who will get Governor of the Decade award, business icon and Chairman, Heirs Holding and UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu, to be crowned with Man of the Decade Award; Chairman, First Bank Plc, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, to be awarded Woman of the Decade while Pastor Paul Adefarasin, will bag Life Impact Award.
The rest to be honoured are Pinnacle Communications Limited and Nigerian Media icons such as Nduka Obaigbena, John Momoh, Linda Ikeji, and Chris Ubosi.
The statement noted that the celebration will be flagged-off with an AA top level National and Historic Exhibition with the theme: “Nigeria through the Times” at the entrance foyer of the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on May 16, 2017, from 3.00 pm till 6.00pm and at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, from June 1 to June 6, 2017.
The exhibition, according to the statement, is aimed at bringing back to our memories, the vision and struggles of the country’s founding fathers, who laboured vigorously for the Nigerian Independence as exclusively documented by The Daily Times and retained in its very rich archives.
“The historic exhibition shall showcase the history of Nigeria viz-a-viz the colonisation, the rise of Nigerian nationalism, pictorial exhibitions of historic constitutional conferences, emergence of political parties, the Nigerian independence pictures, The Daily Times first issue of June 1, 1926, the Daily Times independence edition, October1, 1960, landmark editorials of the Daily Times, photographs of the editors of The Daily Times publications and memorable front pages from Daily and Sunday Times,” noted the statement.
The Times Heroes Awards 2017, which comes as icing on the anniversary cake, will hold at the Abuja International Conference Centre, Main Hall from 6.30 pm on May 16, 2017.
The awards are instituted to honour deserving heroes who have distinguished themselves in various endeavours and whose activities have positively impacted lives, “a legacy the Times Nigeria has canvassed over the years.”
This year’s awards, the anniversary planning committee noted, is a consolidated in that the last awards by The Daily Times in 1996 marked her 70th anniversary.
According to the statement, “Henceforth, the Times Heroes Awards has now been instituted to be an annual award”.
It would be recalled that notable icons of the Daily Times are Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Ernest Ikoli and Alhaji Babatunde Jose.
Others are late Chief Innocent Oparadike; Araba Tola Adeniyi, Tunji Oseni, Onukaba Adeniyi-Ojo and others.
The event, expected to attract people from all walks, aims at “the promotion of humanitarian cause such as the issue of the Internally Displaced Nigerians (IDPs), the anniversary committee added.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana