3rd October, 2022
The Rivers State All Progressives Congress Governorship Candidate, Mr. Tonye Cole has beaten Obi Cubana, Mike Adenuga, and Tony Elumelu to emerge the “Businessman Of The Year” in the 2022 Leadership Excellence Awards.
Cole was declared the winner after a 14-day online poll by Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora.
He polled 367,547 votes or 57 percent of all votes to defeat Obi Cubana who secured 166,458 votes while Chief Tony Elumelu polled 73,645 votes and Chief Mike Adenuga polled 41,096 votes.
The prestigious award, endorsed by the African Union, and African Film Institute was organized by IgbereTV.
Cole is the co-founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group, an energy conglomerate with operations spanning the entire energy chain in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries to East Africa and beyond.
He was a pioneer member of the advisory board of the Private Sector Advisory Group for the UNDP Sustainable Development Group Fund (SDG-F), The African Philanthropy Forum, amongst others.
The award, which is the fourth in a row, is an annual event that recognizes and honors the outstanding impacts of leaders across both public and private sectors in Nigeria.
The event also promotes outstanding leaders and personalities whose impacts have been felt in Nigeria’s political, social, and economic spheres.