The maiden edition of the New Telegraph Awards holds Saturday at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.
The award ceremony, which will start by 5p.m., according to the management of the newspaper, is to recognise a few Nigerians and some private sector players who have made outstanding contributions in their chosen fields of endeavour.
The management also said the choice of the awardees came after a rigorous and meticulous consideration by the board and management of the company.
According to Mrs. Funke Egbemode, the Managing Director/Editor in Chief of New Telegraph, the award is in line with the newspaper’s belief in recognising personalities and institutions that have shown excellence in the drive to make Nigeria a great nation.
“As the watchdog of the society, we believe the media should go beyond beaming searchlight on only the ills of the society. We also owe as a duty to recognise individuals and institutions that have not just weathered the storm and succeeded where others failed but also made visible contributions to the development of the country,†Egbemode said.
Already most of the awardees, including governors, politicians, sports personalities, actors, among others have confirmed their attendance to the event.
Prominent Nigerians and corporate organisations to be recognised at the award night slated for November 25, 2017, at The Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, are Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike (Man of The Year); Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal (Governor of The Year); Governor Abdullai Umar Ganduje (Outstanding Governor in Health and Education) and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State (Outstanding Governor in Infrastructural Development).
The list also includes business mogul and President, Dangote Group, Dr. Aliko Dangote (Businessman of The Year); Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Kennedy Uzoka (Bank CEO of The Year), and Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Nsima Ekere (Corporate Leadership Award).
Also to be recognised at the event to be chaired by ex-Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase, are a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; and television personality and Chairman, Channels Television, John Momoh (Media Icon of The Year, Broadcast), among others.
