Emma Okonji
Personalities in the technology ecosystem were celebrated at the third edition of the CIO Awards, with the theme “Honouring Digital Eminence.”
Organised by Edniesal Consulting Limited, an enterprise governance firm, the awards took place at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island in Lagos, at the weekend.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, who was represented by the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz, said the award ceremony was a true reflection of the contributions of those who have greatly shaped the industry, disrupted the ecosystem, and immensely added to the economy with their creative ideas and solutions.
According to him, the projects and initiatives of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy and its commitment to the digital transformation of Nigeria are being enabled through the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), whose focus is for the digital economy to drive other sectors in the economy, while facilitating the digitalization of all sectors in Nigeria.
“In essence, we need a digital government, a digital society, and also a digital economy for a digital transformation to improve the lives of our people and support stronger communities. The task at hand requires a nationwide coordinated effort. For stakeholders, it must be a collaborative effort to reorganize administration and governance. I want to implore all stakeholders to study the strategy and see areas of collaboration to transform Nigeria,” Pantami said.
In her welcome address the convener, CIO Awards and the CIO Club Africa, Abiola Laseinde, said the CIO Awards remained the first of its kind in Nigeria and it has now embarked on an African expansion to include digital leaders from Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.
“This year, the awards categories have been increased to include Media, Education and Social Services. Our special awardees are transformational leaders who are running the most successful projects, winning initiatives, and driving transformational growth in the industry,” she added.
All the finalists were selected under strict evaluation processes.
“I need to let you know that all the nominees are highly distinguished people and notable contributors to the technology ecosystem. We invited independent members of the Jury from Nigeria and other African countries to assist us to objectively examine and make qualified assessments of the shortlisted entries and nominees. The evaluation exercise was done in conjunction with our technical partners; Deloitte and KPMG,” she said.
President of the Executive Leadership Council of the CIO Club Africa, Obinna Ukonu, said the need to recognize, celebrate, and appreciate digital personalities had never been this important
“When we consider the mass exodus of talents that we are currently witnessing leave Nigeria for other countries, platforms like this and events like this provide an opportunity to recognize these talents for their outstanding contributions to the Nigerian IT ecosystem. This kind of platform, The CIO Awards can retain and sustain the talents that we have,” Ukonu said.
Founder/MD of System Specs Nigeria, John Obaro, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, while, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Country Manager Google and Victor Onyedineke of A.G Leventis were awarded the Female Leader in Technology and Digital Award and Overall CIO of the Year, respectively.
Other awards are in the Banking, Consumer goods, Education, Fintech and OFIs, Insurance, Media, Social and Public and Tech and Telco categories.
