Photo caption: Senator Ireti Kingibe speaking after receiving Certificate of Award at the event.

Senator Ireti Heebah Kingibe, who represents FCT Senatorial District at the national assembly, was on Tuesday, September 30th, honoured as The Most Grassroots-Oriented Politican of the Year at the 2025 Nigeria’s Pride Awards which took place at Barcelona Hotel, Abuja.

Senator Ireti being congratulated by Chairman of the occasion, Gen. Paul Boroh rtd after receiving her award certificate.

Kingibe was 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.

Senator Ireti Kingibe with other awardees at the event.

The 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.

Founder/CEO of Nigeria’s Pride Awards, Bonaventure Phillips Melah, presenting awards Frame to an aide to Senator Ireti Kingibe at her National Assembly office in Abuja.

In an opening remark, 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.

Speaking after receiving Certificate of Award at the event, Senator Ireti Kingibe, appreciated the honour done to her by the award and reiterated her commitment to the people of the FCT, promising to continue to provide quality representation at the national assembly by ensuring that rights of residents were protected through quality legislations while at the same time pledged to attract more projects from the federal government to make the city and satellite town better.

A citation read at the event said Ireti Heebah Kingibe, a civil engineer by profession, was elected to her current position following a resounding victory in the 2023 general election under opposition Labour Party. She is a younger sister of Ajoke, wife of former Nigerian head of state, Murtala Muhammed. Since she assumed position as the face, mouthpiece and Senator representing FCT Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, Ireti Kingibe has recorded several landmark achievements that have dwarfed what her predecessor did in many years.

Apart from sponsoring Bills, forcefully participating in debates and engaging in intensive lobbying of her colleagues, ministers and others, aimed improving the wellbeing of the people, Senator Ireti has attracted numerous infrastructure projects to FCT while simultaneously executing hundreds of projects for the people, including roads, bridges, culverts, Solar Streetlights across communities, Hospital, Perimeter Fences, external work, and furnishing of Health Care Centres, boreholes in the six Area Councils and has ensured access to clean water in AMAC, Bwari, Kwali, Kuje, Gwagwalada, and Abaji.

She has also carried out numerous empowerment projects, giving out food items, seedlings and cash running into millions of Naira to farmers, women, widows, orphans and other indigent community members, sponsored women and youths in skill acquisition programmes and provided them with start-up packs and capital while hundreds of children are under her scholarship programmes; the list is endless.

Born 2nd June 1954, Ireti was educated at Emotan Preparatory School, Queen’s College Lagos and Washington Irving High School before bagging a degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. She worked as quality control engineer with Bradley Precast Concrete Inc, moved to Minnesota Department of Transportation Design Unit and returned to Nigeria where she has made immense contributions to the country’s development in diverse areas, including politics.

Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru won in two categories as Best Governor on Road Infrastructure and Best Governor on Community Empowerment, Dangote Group emerged as ‘Chief Cornerstone of Business in Africa,’ Anthony Chiejina was recognized as ‘The Most Impactful Corporate Marketing Officer of the Decade;’ Chief CDS Musa was honoured as Shield of the Nation and Aviation Minister, Keyamo as Most Impactful Minister of the Year.

Others awardees are Directors- General of NTA, and Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), Hon. Rinsola Abiola- Exemplary Young Corporate CEO of the Year; respectively as well as President of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas-Most Impactful Entertainment Personality of the Year, Gloria Okafor-Best Movie Producer of the Year, Queen Blessing Ebigieson- Most Outstanding Movie Producer of the Decade, Sandra Okunzuwa- Best Actress of the Year, among others.