2019 Zik Award for Professional Leadership.
Uzoka clinched the much-coveted award alongside the Executive Vice
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer at the Nigerian Communications
Commission, Prof Umar Danbatta.
The Zik Leadership award is organised by the Public Policy Research and
Analysis Centre (PPRAC) and is instituted 25 years ago, in 1995, in
honour of the first President of Nigeria, Late Dr Nnamdi Azikwe,
primarily to encourage and nurture leadership on the African Continent
and in the Diaspora.
The UBA GMD and others were announced winners in a letter signed by the
Member Advisory Board, PPRAC, Professor Pat Utomi, and Executive
secretary, Emeka Obasi, which stated that Uzoka was chosen as a result
of his outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the
Banking and Financial Services Industry and unblemished record of
service as a banker of international repute.
The letter read, “The GMD/CEO, of Africa’s global bank, UBA Plc, Mr.
Kennedy Uzoka is a banker’s banker and an astute player in the Nigerian
financial services sector. He has consistently led the Bank to set a
year-on-year track record of profitability, wealth creation, and
innovative financial products across its operations in the African
continent despite global economic challenges.
Continuing, it said, “Kennedy Uzoka continues to lead his team in
chalking newer and higher credits by the day. Not even the current
challenge of COVID-19 has been a dampener as the bank under his watch
continues to scale new frontiers and post assuring results.”
Apart from Uzoka and Danbatta, other winners in various categories of
public service, good governance, business, and professional leadership
included Senate President Ahmed Lawan; Borno Governor, Professor
Babagana Umara Zulum; Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa; Oyo State
Governor, Seyi Makinde; SGF, Boss Mustapha; Dr. Stella Okolli amongst
others.
The PPRAC which is celebrating the silver jubilee anniversary of the Zik
Prize in leadership awards pointed out that in the last 25 years, some
other notable leaders have been recipients of the prize such as;
President J.J. Rawlings, President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Dr Salim
Ahmed Salim, President Sam Nujoma, Dr. Nelson Mandela, President Yoweri
Museveni, President John Agyekum Kufuor, Senator David Mark, Alhaji
Yayale Ahmed, Otunba Subomi Balogun, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
Alhaji Ahmed Joda and Mr Godwin Emefiele.
Whilst congratulating Uzoka and the UBA family, the organisers noted
that the formal presentation ceremony of The Zik Prize awards will be a
celebratory event to be held on Sunday 6th December 2020.
Uzoka is a renowned African business executive, with vast experience in
banking, business development, financial and business advisory,
strategic planning, and execution as well as human resource management.
He is an advocate of disruptive technology and has led to much game
changing innovations in the African banking industry over the past two
decades of his career.
Kennedy holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Benin and an MBA from the University of Lagos. He is an alumnus of the
Advanced Management Program (AMP) of the Harvard Business School, Boston
USA, the International Institute of Management Development (IMS) in
Lausanne, Switzerland, and the London Business School, United Kingdom.
Kennedy is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in
Nigeria (CIBN).