JCI shortlists 50 for TOYP award

Junior Chamber International (JCI) Nigeria has shortlisted 50 persons for the 2021 edition of Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) Award.

The chairman of JCI Nigeria 2021 TOYP Award Planning Committee, Oluwakemi Irinoye, said shortlisted 50 nominees were selected from a total of 1,027 entries received and would compete for honours in the 10 categories of the award.

The 10 categories of the TOYP award include business, economic, and/or entrepreneurial accomplishment; political, legal, and/or governmental affairs; academic leadership and/or accomplishment; cultural achievement, moral and/or environmental leadership; contribution to children, world peace, and/or human rights; humanitarian and/or voluntary leadership; scientific and/or technological development; personal improvement and/or accomplishment and medical innovation.

Irinoye disclosed that a selection committee made up of respected individuals, including JCI members and non-members alike, carried out the first grading and selection process that produced the 50 shortlisted nominees.

She explained that the shortlisted 50 nominees would be passed on to a panel of judges made up of eminent personalities that would further assess and scrutinize qualification and suitability of the nominees for the award. She added that the judges would prune down the list to top 20.

According to the 2021 JCI Nigeria TOYP chairman, the members of the panel are JCI Senator Jokotade Odebunmi, CEO Aqualib Limited; Dr Mukhtar Abdulkadir, Past JCI Nigeria TOYP Honoree, Associate Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering Department, School of Infrastructure, Process Engineering and Technology (SIPET), Federal University of Technology, Minna; Prof. Gloria Chukwudebe, Dean, School of Engineering and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Dr Gloria Udoh, Social Performance/Investment Manager, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd., Port Harcourt; Aisha Augie-Kuta, Special Ad
viser on Digital Communications Strategy to the Federal Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and Mr Akin Oyebode, Commisioner for Finance and Economic Development, Ekiti State.

Irinoye noted that the list of the Top 20 would be announced through the media for the final phase of voting by the members of the public, which would be supervised and audited.