13 CEOs emerge winners in ‘Super Federal Agency Head of the Year’ online poll

No fewer than 13 chief executives of federal government agencies have emerged winners in the maiden ‘Super Federal Agency Head of the Year’ online poll organised by Ireland-based newspaper, The Street Journal.

Among the winners are the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Aisha Rimi; the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engineer Gbenga Komolafe; and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Usman Bamanga Jada.

Others who made the list include Akintunde Sawyer, MD/CEO of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND); Engineer Abisoye Coker, 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 recognised 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, Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).

Publisher of The Street Journal and National Chairman of the Association of Online Media Practitioners in Nigeria (AMPCON), Mogaji Wole Arisekola, said the 13 winners emerged with the highest number of votes from over 50 heads of federal government agencies who were featured in the online poll.

Arisekola explained that the initiative was designed to recognise outstanding leadership, innovation and performance in Nigeria’s federal agencies, adding that the poll was the newspaper’s contribution to national development and the promotion of excellence in public service.

According to him, Rimi won The Most Outstanding CEO of a Federal Government Agency award for spearheading a comprehensive institutional repositioning of the NIPC, while Komolafe clinched The Best Performing and Results-Driven CEO of a Federal Government Agency award for implementing reforms that enhanced transparency, accountability and efficiency in the oil and gas sector.

Jada was named The Best Results-Driven Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency for his leadership at OGFZA, while Sawyer emerged The Best Performing CEO of a Federal Government Agency for strengthening the Nigeria Education Loan Fund and driving widespread acceptance of the scheme.

Coker received The Most Data-Driven and Operationally Effective CEO/Director-General of a Federal Government Agency award for advancing Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, while Olukoyede won The Most Consistent and Accountability-Focused Executive Chairman of a Federal Government Agency award for reforms and record achievements at the EFCC.

Oniha was honoured as The Most Strategic Director-General of a Federal Government Agency for reforms at the DMO, while Adedokun emerged The Most Proactive Director-General of a Federal Government Agency for repositioning the BPP. Ahmed was named The Most Operationally Effective Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency, and Alade won The Most Result-Oriented Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency for stabilising AMCON amid economic challenges.

Magaji clinched The Most Service-Centred Registrar-General/Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Government Agency award for reforming the CAC, while Marwa emerged The Best Performing Chairman of a Federal Government Agency for his multidimensional approach to combating drug abuse and trafficking. 

Ogunyemi received The Most Impact-Oriented Managing Director of a Federal Government Agency award for driving reforms that boosted industrialisation, job creation and economic growth.

The organisers disclosed that all award recipients will be honoured at a televised ceremony scheduled for January 31, 2026, by 7:00 pm at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

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Also to be honoured at the event are five cabinet ministers earlier declared winners in a separate online poll by The Street Journal. They include the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for Transformational Leadership in National Development; Minister of Education, Morufu Olatunji Alausa, for Distinguished Public Service; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuff Tuggar, for Visionary Policymaking and Meaningful Reform; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, for Most Effective Leadership in Public Service; and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, for Excellence in Public Administration.