Press Releases

Lagos State Adjudged Leader In Good Corporate Governance

Aug 8, 2009 - Lagos State has been adjudged leader in Good Corporate Governance by a panel of distinguished Judges drawn from across Africa which held that the State has shown exemplary leadership in the way it conducts business in all its activities.

In a citation read at the African Business Awards 2009, held in London on July 6, 2009 and organized by IC Publications, publishers of African Business Magazine and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), the Judges declared, “Lagos has shown exemplary leadership in the way business is conducted in all its activities, ensuring results, transparency and accountability, changing procedures and setting standards which need to be adhered to from its suppliers and in the running of its activities”.

Other nominees for the Award for Good Corporate Governance at the event which was organized “to celebrate excellence and best practices in African business and recognize those who have driven Africa’s transforming economy”, included British American Tobacco, BHP Billiton and Youngstars Development Initiative.

According to the organizers, the Award was presented to “the government or organization that has displayed exemplary leadership in the way business is done; exhibiting transparency and accountability, embracing change and adopting new policies; showing results and setting new standards which are being adopted by peers”.

The awards were presented by Rwandan President, Mr. Paul Kagame who was joined by top Government officials and African leaders from all regions of Africa who gathered to celebrate the achievements of prominent businessmen and women driving growth and development in Africa.

Other winners at the prestigious event include Mr. Paschal Dozie who was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the development of the private sector in Nigeria, Morocco which won the Tourism Destination of the Year Award, Ethiopian Airlines which won Airline of the Year Award and MTN which won the Telecoms Company of the Year Award among other countries and organizations.

It is noteworthy that Lagos State was the only sub-national entity to be so honoured from a list which paraded three nations, a national airline and several multi-national organizations.

The Publisher of African Business, Mr. Afif Ben Yedder while speaking on the significance of the awards said: “Investments in Africa are safe and very profitable. The opportunities for the private sector are limitless in all sectors of the economy and not only in telecoms or banking. Africa continues to grow at a fast rate despite the slowdown”.

Lagos State Attorney-General and Honourable Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN), who represented the State at the event also attended by top government, business and media leaders from Africa and all over the world, said the recognition would be taken as a challenge to work even harder.