By Emeka Amaefula
EZE CHUKWUEMEKA EZE BAGS SIR AHMADU BELLO LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARD
The Arewa Youth Council, a Northern Nigeria based Non-Governmental Organization on 14th of February, 2022 at Abuja Federal Capital Territory FCT bestowed the Honour of Sir Ahmadu Bello Leadership Excellence Award on Eze Chukwuemeka Eze All Progressives Congress-APC chieftain. The event was held with a Lecture organized in honour of Sir Ahmadu Bello former Premier of Northern Nigeria and selected Nigerian Citizens were recognized for their outstanding contributions in the advancement of Peace and development in Nigeria.
The Arewa Youth Council is made up of 19 chapters located in the 19 Northern states of the federation of Nigeria. The aims and objectives of the group it was gathered reflects the unrelenting efforts made by Sir Ahmadu Bello in his lifetime to develop Northern Nigeria which has been unprecedented since Nigeria gained Independence in 1960 to date. Among other awardees include the Governor of Borno state Professor Babagana Umara Zulum whose developmental strides in Borno state have been identified to be unique despite insurgencies’ activities in his state.
For Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, his role in the formation of All Progressives Congress while he was National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party nPDP that led to the merging with other political parties that ousted PDP in 2015 and formed National Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari. The group recognized Eze’s roles in the war of attrition in Rivers state chapter of APC with the return of peace in the Political party and his struggle for enthroning a Rivers state Governor of Riverine Ijaw people extraction come 2023. In a Press statement it was stated that the Arewa Youth Council “said it was based on all these feats and coupled with several others that the Council resolved to honour him with the award of an Icon of Peace Ambassador.”
The award was received by Eze C. Eze on 25th of February, 2022 at Asokoro area of Abuja in an event. Reacting to the award some prominent Nigerians including the Chief Medical Director of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Professor Henry Ugboma said “ It is not surprising that the Arewa Youth Council honoured a man of peace in a ‘war torn state’ as Rivers state whose weapon of peace ‘the pen’ has made it possible that we are not consumed.”