Pantami, Abubakar, Danbatta to be honoured at NewsDirect Awards for Exemplary Leadership

By Ibiyemi Mathew

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar, and the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta are amongst the awardees to be honoured at the Nigerian NewsDirect Awards Ceremony and 12th Anniversary slated to hold in Lagos.

The award ceremony which is celebrated annually is a combination of the anniversary celebrations and the award ceremony which celebrates organisations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields and contributed to nation building.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar, and the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta are set to be honoured with the “Exemplary Leadership Award” and “Award of Excellence in Public Service” for the roles they each played in stirring the growth of the Nigerian ICT sector in 2022.

Galaxy Backbone Limited will also be awarded an “Award of Excellence in E-Government” for the infrastructure provided in digitising the operations of Ministries, Departments and agencies of government which in turn has reduced the cost of governance.

In an acceptance letter signed by Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar, Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, he stated that Galaxy Backbone Limited is delighted to receive the recognition.

According to Abubakar, “This is indeed an eloquent testimony of our impactful work, as an essential enabler towards building a Digital Nigeria.

“We are very much aware that Nigerian NewsDirect is one of the most reliable and credible media gateways, most especially within the information, Communications and Technology space.

“We salute your courage in disseminating information across Nigeria on the milestones recorded by Galaxy Backbone Limited to reach out to our target audience,” he said.

2022 recorded the highest contribution of the Nigerian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, the highest in five years. At a record high of  20.32 per cent in Q3 2022, the sector saw an increase in growth of 9.15 per cent in 2022 compared to the preceding years where it recorded 11.2, 15.9, 11.2, and 12.1 percent, respectively.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Nigerian NewsDirect, Prince (Dr) Samuel Ibiyemi said their selection is in recognition of their purposeful and exemplary leadership which has resulted in the incredible growth of the sector.

The Anniversary Lecture and award Ceremony has been themed, “GOOD GOVERNANCE: PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS’ ROLES ON RAISING REVENUE, GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND POSITIVE TURNAROUND OF NIGERIAN ECONOMY” with the Chairman of the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Mr Tony Elumelu who is also the Nigerian NewsDirect Man of the Year slated to speak on the selected theme.

The choice of the theme for the anniversary lecture by the award committee was selected to bear significance to the demands of the non-negotiable necessity to configure the fabrics of the country along the path of lines of formidable growth and development.