Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, his Osun State counterpart Ademola Adeleke and Mr Bolaji Balogun, Founder/CEO, Chapel Hill Denham Group has emerged winners of the year 2024/25 Zik Prize award in leadership.
While Mbah and Adeleke were nominated for good governance, Balogun emerged winner in professional leadership.
Other recipients of the award include – Dame Winifred Akpani, CEO , Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited for entrepreneurial leadership and – H.E Amb Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq [ First Lady of Kwara State] for Humanitarian Leadership.
The Advisory Board of the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre [PPRAC], organizers of the award announced the emergence of award winners via a statement by its Head, Selection Committee, Prof Pat Utomi.
According to Utomi, the winners were chosen after a rigorous evaluation process which recognized their outstanding contributions in their respective categories.
The full text of Utomi’s statement is published below…
YEAR 2024/2025 ZIK PRIZE AWARD WINNERS
PRESS RELEASE
On behalf of the Advisory Board of the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC), it is with great honor that we announce the recipients of the 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Leadership Awards.
Established in 1995 to honor the legacy of Nigeria’s first President, the Rt. Honourable Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Zik Prize celebrates exceptional leadership across Africa and its diaspora. For three decades, this award has recognized individuals who embody the values of visionary governance, integrity, and societal impact championed by the Great Zik of Africa.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed Board members for their unwavering commitment to fostering transformative leadership across the continent. We also commend the media for their steadfast support in amplifying this noble mission. It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our late Chairman, Senator (Prof.) Jubril Aminu, CON, FAS in June 2025. His visionary leadership and unparalleled dedication to PPRAC profoundly shaped our work. We join his family in mourning this great loss and pray for their strength and comfort during this period.
Africa faces profound leadership challenges that have entrenched a cycle of underdevelopment, perpetuating debilitating consequences across the continent’s socio-economic and political landscapes.
Weak institutions, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and underinvestment in health, education, and infrastructure exacerbate poverty and unemployment, trapping millions, especially youth, in cycles of despair. The suppression of visionary leaders perpetuates conflicts, human rights abuses, and nonexistent social services, turning resource-rich nations into cases of dependency and mediocrity. Without bold and practicable reforms, rigorous anti-corruption measures, and the elevation of selfless leaders who prioritize people-centered development, Africa risks remaining fragmented and stagnant, unable to harness its vast potential for collective progress.
Against this backdrop, PPRAC remains steadfast in its mission to identify and celebrate exemplary leaders who challenge the status quo and drive transformative change.
Following a rigorous evaluation process, the Advisory Board is proud to present the 2024/2025 Zik Prize winners, recognized for their outstanding contributions in their respective categories.
Year 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Professional Leadership – Mr Bolaji Balogun, Founder/CEO, Chapel Hill Denham Group
Mr. Bolaji Balogun, the visionary CEO of Chapel Hill Denham, has driven Nigeria’s economic transformation through expertise in investment banking and telecommunications. Co-founding Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Airtel) in 2001, he secured a $285 million GSM license and orchestrated its $1.67 billion sale to Celtel in 2005, a landmark African deal. Founding Chapel Hill Denham in 2005, he led it to win Euromoney’s “Best Investment Bank in Nigeria” in 2023 and 2024, and facilitated the N26.81 billion Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund listing in 2023.
As Chairman of Unilever Nigeria, Endeavor Nigeria, and Co-Chair of the UN’s Private Sector Advisory Group for SDGs, Balogun champions gender equality, renewable energy, and youth empowerment, fostering inclusive growth. His visionary leadership continues to catalyse Pan-African resilience.
Year 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Good Governance – H.E Dr Peter Mbah, Executive Governor of Enugu State and H.E Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, Executive Governor, Osun State
H.E Dr Peter Mbah, Enugu State.
Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the dynamic architect of Enugu State’s renaissance, marked by his “Tomorrow Is Here” mantra, exemplifies the ideals of visionary policies propelling inclusive development and unity, transforming Enugu from a civil service enclave into a thriving centre of innovation and prosperity with a $30bn GDP target by 2031.
Mbah’s agricultural revolution has boosted harvests and contributed to a 600% IGR surge. Over 1,000 km of roads, water via gas-powered plants, and 260 remodeled primary healthcare centers cut mortality by 400%. Through the smart green schools and smart city platforms, he has earned the state the Renewed Hope Model Green State Award. Mbah’s bipartisan ethos, lauded by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, cements his legacy as a model leader.
H.E Senator Ademola Adeleke, Osun State
Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, is the ebullient architect of Osun State’s revival, whose transparent, people-centric policies have ignited inclusive prosperity and democratic vitality. Guided by a five-point agenda focused on economic resurgence, social equity, and sustainability, he has turned Osun from fiscal distress into a beacon of progress.
Since 2022, Governor Ademola Adeleke has transformed Osun State, slashing debt by 43%, cumulatively boosting IGR growth by 600%, and reducing infrastructure deficits by over 40%. His agricultural drive distributed inputs, revitalized farm settlements, and partnered with IITA, spurring harvests. Potable water reaches 332 wards, 3,000 access free health insurance, and maternal mortality dropped. Educational interventions, SME’s empowerment and climate policies ranked Osun 6th nationally.
Transparency earned a joint 5th place in 2025. Adeleke’s inclusive reforms in mining, digital economy, and workers’ welfare, drawing federal and NGO acclaim, foster trust, economic resilience and affirm his role as a beacon of Zik’s legacy.
Year 2024/25 Zik Prize in Entrepreneurial Leadership – Dame Winifred Akpani, FCA, KSS, OFR
CEO , Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited
Dame Winifred Akpani OFR, Founder and CEO of Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited, has harnessed enterprise to drive economic empowerment, integrity, and national resilience. From a modest ₦200,000 startup, Akpani has built a multimillion-dollar oil and gas empire, operating 70+ mega filling stations nationwide and holding upstream stakes, revolutionizing Nigeria’s downstream sector with strategic acumen.
A former chairman of DAPPMAN, she has helped shape policies strengthening indigenous firms. Recognized as an African Female Economic Champion, she is a beacon of entrepreneurial fortitude. Her enduring legacy, from humble origins to billion-dollar impact, proves visionary women can fuel Nigeria’s prosperity, embodying Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s vision for African progress
Year 2024/2025 Zik Prize in Humanitarian Leadership – H.E Amb Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq.
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.
Some Previous Winners:
Past recipients of the Zik Prize include notable leaders like; President J.J. Rawlings, President Nwalimu Julius Nyerere, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, President Sam Nujoma, Dr. Nelson Mandela, President Yoweri Muzeveni, President John Agyekum Kuffor, Dr Pius Okigbo, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Otunba Subomi Balogun, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, Prof Dora Akunyili, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Professor Benedict Oramah.
The formal presentation ceremony of the Zik Prize Awards, usually a celebratory event, will hold on Sunday 16th November 2025 at the Eko Hotels & Suites, V/I, Lagos.
Thank you.
Professor Pat Utomi
Head, Selection Committee
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