Chief Executive Officer of Oceanwave Group, Peter Dunia, and globally acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have emerged as the 2026 Man of the Year and Woman of the Year, respectively, at the 8th Leadership Excellence Awards (LEEX) following the conclusion of a nationwide public voting exercise monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The results released by the Local Organising Committee on Friday showed that Dunia secured a commanding victory in the Man of the Year category with 2,189,857 votes, defeating Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Femi Otedola, who polled 1,083,683 votes, and Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Oil & Gas Services Ltd., Ekeoma Ekeoma, who garnered 485,308 votes.
In the Woman of the Year category, Chimamanda Adichie polled 826,097 votes to emerge winner, ahead of Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, who received 287,569 votes, while Dr. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, secured 152,853 votes.
The online voting exercise attracted millions of votes from across Nigeria and the diaspora, underscoring the growing credibility and popularity of the Leadership Excellence Awards as one of Africa’s foremost platforms for recognising transformational leadership.
