Aisha Rimi, MD/CEO of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC); Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); and Usman Bamanga Jada, MD/CEO of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), 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 also emerged winners are Akintunde Sawyer, MD/CEO of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND); Engineer Abisoye Coker, CEO/Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC); Olanipekun Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Patience Oniha, Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO); and Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
Also emerging as winners in the poll are Farouk Ahmed, CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); Gbenga Alade, MD/CEO of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON); Ishaq Hussaini Magaji, Registrar-General/CEO of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); and Dr Olufemi Ogunyemi, MD of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).
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, at 7:00 pm at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Also to be presented with their respective awards on the same day are Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior with The Street Journal Award for Transformational Leadership in National Development; the Minister of Education, Morufu Olatunji Alausa with The Street Journal Award for Distinguished Public Service; Ambassador Yusuff Tuggar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs with The Street Journal Award for Visionary Policymaking and Meaningful Reform; Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security with The Street Journal Award for Most Effective Leadership in Public Service as well as Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment 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.
