First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON, has described her selection as Person of the Year 2025 by LEADERSHIP as a call to service, saying, “There is still more for me to do.”

Speaking after the management of LEADERSHIP formally presented the award letter during a courtesy visit, Senator Tinubu thanked the organisation for the recognition.

“With this, I am fired up for the year,” she said, noting that she was focused on serving ordinary people, and not on chasing awards.

The First Lady said she was encouraged that her efforts as a woman were being recognised, even though the government still had some way to go to the end of its first term. While acknowledging that society is male-dominated mainly, she said this reality only calls for women to work harder.

“I have never seen men as a challenge,” she said. “But it makes me know that I have to work three times as hard to get ahead. I tell girls all the time that you have to be confident, focused and hardworking to get ahead.”

Senator Tinubu also paid tribute to the late founder of the LEADERSHIP Group, Sam Nda-Isaiah, describing him as a man of integrity.

She commended the organisation’s current management for sustaining his legacy, thanking them for their continued leadership.

Earlier, the Chairman of the LEADERSHIP, Zainab Nda-Isaiah, said the choice of the First Lady as Person of the Year 2025 was a unanimous decision of the nomination board.

She explained that the decision was based on the evidence and the impact of Senator Tinubu’s various interventions across the country, particularly through the Renewed Hope Initiative since the beginning of the Tinubu administration in 2023.

Also speaking, the Senior Vice Chairman of the Group, Azu Ishiekwene, said Mrs Tinubu had redefined the office of the First Lady, transforming it into a force for stewardship and national development.

He noted that through her philanthropy and humanitarian interventions, the First Lady impacted lives across the country, regardless of tribe, religion or political affiliations.

It would be recalled that LEADERSHIP, in November 2025, unveiled its 2025 awardees, with Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, emerging as the Person of the Year 2025.

According to the LEADERSHIP Board of Editors, despite the country being on the brink of another election year, there was no winner for the Politician of the Year award.

Six governors, comprising Uba Sani (Kaduna), Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Hope Uzodimma (Imo State), and Abdulahi Sule (Nasarawa), emerged as Governors of the Year.

The governors earned the award for “diligently focusing on the implementation of programmes and policies that transformed lives in their respective states.”

Governor Abiodun Oyebanji clinched the Governor of the Year 2025 award for his people-centred leadership that has transformed Ekiti State through inclusive governance.

Governor Dauda Lawal won the award for his unwavering commitment to restoring security, as well as his massive investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, which have repositioned Zamfara on the path of peace, progress, and sustainable development.

Governor Uba Sani emerged Governor of the Year 2025 for his inclusive and reconciliatory leadership that unites people across divides in Kaduna, while Governor Sheriff Oborevwori clinched the award for his visionary ‘MORE Agenda’ that has redefined governance in Delta State through peace, inclusion, and pragmatic reform.
Governor Abdullahi Sule won the award for focusing on infrastructure and human capital development.

The Banker of the Year Award went to the Managing Director/CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria, Dr Tony Okpanachi, for pioneering inclusive finance through innovation and integrity, and for empowering over 700,000 MSMEs. Meanwhile, Providus Bank clinched the Bank of the Year award for its contributions to digital transformation and innovation in financial services.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) was named Government Agency of the Year for expanding Nigeria’s enforcement frontiers and recovering over N10 billion for consumers.

The LEADERSHIP Environmental Impact Agency of the Year award was presented to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) for championing sustainable industrialisation, renewable energy, and climate-friendly technologies that reduce carbon emissions and promote clean power solutions.

Green Energy International Limited (GEIL) won the Oil and Gas Local Content Champion of the Year 2025 for pioneering the development and operation of Nigeria’s first onshore crude export terminal.

Other winners include Fintech Company of the Year, won by OPay for revolutionising digital finance through inclusion; Product of the Year, Nestle’s Pure Life; and Company of the Year, Trade Modernisation Project.

Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu clinched the Young College Person of the Year 2025 for her outstanding achievement in elevating Nigeria’s presence on the international academic stage.

The LEADERSHIP Sports Person of the Year award went to Justine Madugu for guiding the Super Falcons to their record-breaking 10th WAFCON title.

The awardees will be celebrated for their outstanding leadership, vision and commitment to national development at the LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards ceremony scheduled to take place on 12 February 2026 at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.