….CLTC receives Meritorious Long Service Award

Hon. Rinsola Abiola, Director General of Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), was on Tuesday, September 30th, honoured as Exemplary Young Corporate CEO of the Year at the 2025 Nigeria’s Pride Awards which took place at Barcelona Hotel, Abuja.

Some awardees at the event

The above is even as CLTC received Meritorious Long-Service Award on Human Development. Abiola and several staff of the Centre were physically present at the event to receive the awards.

Hon. Rinsola Abiola and CLTC were honoured alongside other individuals, companies and organisations including Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, Dangote Group and its Group Head of Corporate Communications, Anthony Chiejina, Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, Sir Jideani Agabaidu, DG of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, veteran Nollywood personalities Tonto Dikeh, Empress Njamah, Rekiya Ibrahim Attah, Emeka Rollas, Gloria Okafor and Sandra Okunzuwa, among others.

Nigeria’s Pride Awards was organized by First Green White Resources (FGWR), publishers of African Leadership Scorecard Magazine and Nationwide Reports; and was chaired by Gen. Paul Boroh (Rtd), former Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta/Coordinator of Amnesty Programme while the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris was Guest Speaker with Dr. Sarah Jibrin, former Presidential Adviser on Ethics and Moral Values served as Mother of the Day.

In his opening address, chairman of the occasion, General Paul Boroh (rtd), said Nigeria’s Pride Awards was a well-thought initiative to honour those who have served well and contributed to nation-building. He congratulated Hon. Rinsola Abiola and all awardees for what he described as well-deserved honour and saluted the Chief off Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa for his efforts in rooting out terrorism and other criminalities in the country and suggested that the awards be an annual event.

Minister of Information and National Orientation who was represented by the Director, Publications, Production and Documentation, Mr. Ibidapo Okunnu, praised CDS Musa for his patriotism and multi-dimensional approach in securing Nigeria. He commended the organisers of the awards for their commitment to the unity of Nigeria and for honouring citizens who have contributed t the development of the nation.

The Founder/CEO of FGWR, Bonaventure Phillips Melah, said Nigeria’s Pride Awards was founded to identify, recognize, appreciate and celebrate citizens, other nationals and corporate citizens that distinguish themselves through selfless service, patriotism, exemplary and inspiring leadership and therefore contribute positively to the development, prosperity, peace, unity and security of Nigeria as well as overall wellbeing of humanity.

He said although Nigeria is a country in search of quality leadership, many of its citizens at home and in the Diaspora are doing well in diverse fields of human endeavour and should be celebrated as according to him, a society that does not reward good people does not deserve good people in the first place.

A citation read at the event said even though Hon. Rinsola Abiola is the daughter of Chief MKO Abiola of blessed memory, her gradual but steady climb on Nigeria’s leadership ladder is more on merit and past service records than on wings of her late father’s wings.

“Before her new role, Rinsola, had worked at the intersection of politics and civil society to promote civic education, political literacy, and the inclusion of marginalised groups in governance. She was also a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership.

“The young CEO of a federal government agency, is a certified public relations professional. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics and a Diploma in Public Relations. Rinsola is also equipped with experience garnered through international engagements that includes the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, and study visits organized by Sweden’s Embassy and the Westminster Foundation.

“She is a Champion for Women emancipation and rights, Youth Founder of the Progressive Sisters’ Network (PSN)—a grassroots network active in all 36 states plus the FCT—formed during the Renewed Hope campaign while also overseeing the Derinsola Abiola Foundation which focuses on giving scholarships and empowerment programs in Abeokuta.”

On CLTC, the citation said the Centre was established in 1951 as a human development outfit for the training and molding of Nigerians to become responsible and respectable citizens and leaders. The Centre is the only federal government’s informal educational institution that carry out experiential and outwards bound education and has training schools across all geopolitical zones of the country. For the past 74 years of its existence, the CLTC, whose motto is- “Build the Man, Build the Com­mu­nity,” has trained hundreds of thousands of citizens, many who have turned out to be presidents, heads of state, ministers, governors, senators, and other cadre of lawmakers, teachers, farmers, business and industry CEOs, administrators and other professionals. Although it is one of the oldest establishments created during colonial era, CLTC is still functional and operating at full capacity while bringing out the best in peo­ple, cre­at­ing good cit­i­zens and re­spon­si­ble lead­ers” for the na­tion.

“Apart from imparting academic, physical and moral knowledge on beneficiaries of its various programmes, the Centre also carry out empowerment activities, thus helping women and youths, to become self-sufficient as well as employers of labour, as was the case between 2006 and 2015, when, through the sponsorship of United Na­tions Mil­len­nium De­vel­op­ment Goals (MDGs), it trained and empowered thousands of people across the country.”