Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of Interior, and Festus Keyamo, minister of Aviation and Aerospace, have been announced as joint winners of an online poll recently organised by The Street Journal.
They have also been presented with their respective ‘Super Minister Awards.’
The duo emerged winners in the third edition of the online poll after collectively winning the majority votes in the poll.
The publisher of the Ireland-based Newspaper, Mogaji Wole Arisekola, who is also the National Chairman of the Association of Online Media Practitioners in Nigeria, made this known in a statement.
Congratulating the recipients during their award presentations, Arisekola said that organising the poll was the newspaper’s own contribution to national development and as a means of spurring the ministers to reach for the skies in the discharge of their national duties.
He reiterated that the poll is credible and was not manipulated or influenced by internal or external forces as the poll has been designed in such a way that one cannot vote more than once, and one can see how the votes are cast. So, voters can be rest assured that their votes will count.
While receiving the award presented to him on recently, at his office in Abuja, the aviation minister thanked the organisers for the award, but did not fail to point out that he is not one to get carried away by awards for doing his job as he believes that one should only receive accolades at the end of one’s tenure in any position which will be evident to all.
Keyamo also said that despite rejecting some awards, he felt compelled to accept that of The Street Journal’s because the media outfit is the voice of the people.
The minister thanked The Street Journal for its dedication to the Nigerian project and for what he referred to as the good work done by the newspaper. He also prayed God’s blessing for the company.
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“First of all, I want to say thank you for your patriotism, altruism and dedication to the Nigerian project. I want to say thank you to all those who think we are doing well here (Aviation ministry).
“Next year, come back again and tell me whether my rating is dropping, so I will now fire up again,” he said.
According to him, “The Street Journal is now my barometer, once the temperature (high rating) drops, I will know people are complaining through The Street Journal votes. Today, I officially appoint you (The Street Journal) as my barometer.”
Tunji-Ojo, who was presented with his own award at his Abuja office, was equally ecstatic about receiving the award. He thanked the team at The Street Journal for using their platform to project the numerous goodness that abounds in Nigeria and prayed that they do not deviate from being on the good side of Nigeria’s history.
He added that the award is a booster for him to continue to give his best shot in the interior ministry.
While Festus Keyamo was voted by disabusing the minds of many who never gave him a chance, by showing with his innovative reforms and policies which are in line with global best practices, that he is up to the enormous task of running a ministry as large and as complex as the aviation ministry, Tunji-Ojo won the hearts of voters with his unwavering commitment to promoting national security interests, national growth and the development of the ministry. This is in addition to successfully restoring dignity and confidence to the interior ministry.
In its third edition, the inaugural edition of the poll saw the Minister for Women’s Affairs, Uju Kennedy emerge winner in October 2023. The minister came tops ahead of other ministers including Dave Umahi, Minister of Works, suspended Humanitarian Minister, Betta Edu and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite.
The second edition saw the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, emerge winner.
