Udom Emmanuel to address Nigeria on democracy at HoG Awards

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, will deliver a Democracy Lecture at the July 28 HoG Awards Dinner at the Civic Center in Lagos.
The HoG Awards, which will hold its 9th annual session, is dedicated to Nigeria’s Democracy, hence the need to have a Keynote Address on Democracy delivered during the Awards, the organisers said on Monday.
On the choice of Emmanuel, Rupert Ojenuwa, the Managing Custodian of the Awards, said: “You see, we sat down as a Board, which as you may know is headed by the esteemed Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, to discuss.
“We resorted to have the governor deliver this all-important address because of his unparalleled contribution to democracy.”
Ojenuwa said the decision of the organization not to have an elder statesman or a former president deliver the keynote was deliberate.
He said: “It would have been good to have an elder statesman or a former president deliver the keynote but I think it is even better to have Governor Emmanuel deliver it and this is because he is relatively young and also a massive performer.
“The advocacy we hope to achieve with this edition of the awards is to let Nigerians, particularly the ruling elites, know that democracy is vain without democratic dividends.
“It is okay to honour heroes of democracy because they fought for it, but it is equally good to honour those who deliver its dividends because without democratic dividends, democracy would have been for nothing and that is why we chose the governor to make that statement.”
The Managing Custodian also gave hint into other awardees at the event, some of whom include the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu; for his industrialization efforts; former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar; and Allen Onyema will be honoured for their contributions to peace, while Rev. Esther Ajayi will be honoured for philanthropy.
There will be post humus awards for the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale and Kudirat Abiola.
Entertainment icons like TUFACE Idibia, Uti Nwachukwu and Funke Akindele will also be honored for their contributions to the nation’s entertainment industry.
The statement added: “The HoG Awards continues to establish its cardinal objective of sticking to credibility which is why it has since inception honored very distinguished Nigerians who have been above board, impacting lives and contributing to society. It holds its next session on Sunday 28th of July at the Civic Center, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Lagos by 3pm.”