Today, the Award Committee set up by BusinessDay, West Africa’s foremost business and financial newspaper, will announce the winners for the different categories in the 2017 States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards.
These awards are to recognise the state governors who have made excellence, accountability and transparency the core of their administrations. The event which will hold at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, is expected to be attended by eminent personalities, in particular, Acting President, Yemi Osibajo, who is the special guest of honour.
Others distinguished Nigerians expected at the event are the executive governors who have been nominated for the different award categories, state commissioners, National Assembly members and captains of industry. This year’s event, will once again confirm the annual event as a benchmark for evaluating the performances of state governments.
The governors nominated for this year’s awards are Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano State); Nasir El Rufai (Kaduna), Ibikunle Amosun(Ogun); Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau); Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa); Benedict Ayade( Cross River); Samuel Ortom (Benue); Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); Godwin Obaseki (Edo) and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun). Others are Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia); David Umahi (Ebonyi); Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe); Lawrence Ugwuanyi (Enugu); Rochas Okorocha (Imo) and Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos).
What makes this year’s event unique, is the pedigree of the nominees that made the final list. Five of the nominees have doctorate degrees; another five are fellows of different professional bodies in Nigeria, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS); Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), among others.
Another seven nominees are management consultants, demonstrated through the possession of MBA and MPA and with rich work experience, while in the private sector.
In addition, some of the nominees have attended different courses and training programmes at the prestigious Harvard University, Columbia University USA; University of Westminster in the UK and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. NIPSS was conceived as a high-level centre institution with the primary objective of serving as the nation’s foremost policy, and only exceptional and high ranking public officials are qualified to attend it.
The States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards were introduced as a response to the need to engender competition amongst state governments in Nigeria, so that Nigerians can get the real dividends of democracy. The awards are anchored by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU).
The state governors who have distinguished themselves are nominated for different award categories after an extensive research by BRIU. The different award categories are Excellence in Governance, Transparency in Governance, Best Governor in Urban and Rural Infrastructure Development, Best Governor in Education Development, Best Governor in Healthcare Development, Best State in ICT, Best State in Sports Development, Best State in Promoting Made in Nigerian Goods and the Best Governor in Agriculture Development.
Others are the Best Governor in Tourism Development, Fastest Growing State Economy, Best Governor in Housing Development, the state with the Best Ease of Doing Business, Youth & Sport Development and the State with the most Improved Security.
The methodology for selecting the nominees consists of some quantitative and qualitative metrics. The quantitative aspects of the awards are anchored by BRIU, while the qualitative aspects, such as on the site inspections, interviews, interactions with the people and government officials, are carried out by the Award Committee, which comprises the editorial team and distinguished Nigerians. Red carpet opens by 6pm.
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