13 CEOs bag ‘Super Federal Agency Head of the Year’

MD/CEO, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi; CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engineer Gbenga Komolafe and MD/CEO, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Usman Bamanga Jada have all emerged winners in the Ireland-based newspaper, The Street Journal’s first-ever ‘Super Federal Agency Head of the Year’ online poll.

Others who emerged winners are MD/CEO of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyer; CEO/Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engineer Abisoye Coker; Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede; Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha and Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

Also emerging as winners in the poll are CEO, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed; MD/CEO, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Gbenga Alade; Registrar-General/CEO of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ishaq Hussaini Magaji; Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd) and MD, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Dr Olufemi Ogunyemi.

The publisher of The Street Journal, Mogaji Wole Arisekola, who is also the National Chairman of the Association of Online Media Practitioners in Nigeria (AMPCON), disclosed that the aforementioned 13 winners emerged with the highest number of votes from over 50 heads of federal government agencies in the online poll organised by the newspaper.

While congratulating the winners, Arisekola reiterated that the poll was put together to recognise outstanding leadership in Nigeria’s federal agencies, adding that it was the newspaper’s contribution to national development and a way to motivate and encourage excellence in public service.

Rimi bagged The Most Outstanding CEO of a Federal Government Agency award for leading a sweeping institutional repositioning of NIPC, while Komolafe won The Best Performing and Results-Driven CEO of a Federal Government Agency award for implementing groundbreaking reforms aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency in the oil and gas sector.

Jada won The Best Results-Driven Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency award for his exceptional leadership and dedication to transforming OGFZA, while Sawyer’s strategy to boost acceptance among Nigerians —making it a programme future governments would not dare to scrap — earned him The Best Performing CEO of a Federal Government Agency award.

Coker, the second female in the lineup, received The Most Data-Driven and Operationally Effective CEO/Director-General of a Federal Government Agency award for transforming Nigeria’s digital identity landscape and positioning NIMC as a frontline player in Africa’s identity sector.

Similarly, Olukoyede’s significant reforms and record-breaking achievements across all operational fronts at the EFCC within two years of his appointment earned him The Most Consistent and Accountability-Focused Executive Chairman of a Federal Government Agency award. Oniha, the third female in the lineup, bagged The Most Strategic Director-General of a Federal Government Agency award for introducing reforms that strengthened the DMO as a critical institution in Nigeria’s public finance ecosystem.

Adedokun won The Most Proactive Director-General of a Federal Government Agency award for turning around the BPP with notable performance and achievements; Ahmed received The Most Operationally Effective Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency award for his far-reaching reforms at NMDPRA; while Alade won The Most Result-Oriented Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency award for bringing stability and measurable progress to AMCON despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.

Magaji bagged The Most Service-Centred Registrar-General/Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency award for reshaping the Corporate Affairs Commission into a business-friendly institution. Marwa earned The Best Performing Chairman of a Federal Government Agency award for adopting a multidimensional and holistic strategy in tackling drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria. Ogunyemi won The Most Impact-Oriented Managing Director of a Federal Government Agency award for initiating reforms that have driven economic growth, job creation and industrialization within two years in office.

All winners, including will be presented with their awards at a televised ceremony scheduled to take place on January 31, 2026 in Abuja.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, will also be presented with The Street Journal Award for Transformational Leadership in National Development; Minister of Education, Morufu Olatunji Alausa with The Street Journal Award for Distinguished Public Service; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuff Tuggar, with The Street Journal Award for Visionary Policymaking and Meaningful Reform; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, with The Street Journal Award for Most Effective Leadership in Public Service as well as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, with The Street Journal Award for Excellence in Public Administration.

All five ministers were earlier declared winners in an online poll organised by this newspaper.

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