INAUGURAL EDITION. 2026
The Honourees
Eko Honours is deliberate by design. Each year, recognition is bestowed upon exactly two individuals — one from public leadership, one from the world of enterprise — whose impact on Lagos and Nigeria has been profound, sustained, and beyond question.
POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwa-Olu
15th Executive Governor, Lagos State
Serving since May 2019. CON. BSc Surveying, MBA - University of Lagos
Babajide Sanwo-Olu has governed Lagos with
the conviction that Africa's largest city deserves infrastructure, security, and social services that match its ambition. Since taking office in 2019, his administration has delivered LAGBUS network expansions, landmark road
infrastructure, and a visible elevation of the state's security architecture.
A career that began in corporate banking, spanning Lead Merchant Bank, UBA, and First Inland Bank, before transitioning to public service as a three-time Commissioner has given Sanwo-Olu an unusually precise understanding of what cities require to function and to grow.
As pioneer board chairman of the Lagos Security Trust Fund and a pivotal figure in LSDPC, his public-sector record was
extensive even before the governorship. The CON national honour, awarded in recognition of his service, is one among many acknowledgements of a career defined by genuine contribution.
Eko Honours recognises Governor Sanwo-Olu not for a single achievement but for the consistent application of competent, empathetic governance across one of the most complex cities on earth.
EDUCATION
BSc Surveying, MBA - UNILAG
RECOGNITION
CON. Media Nite-Out Best Governor 2020
Tony Elumelu, CFR
Chairman - Heirs Holdings . UBA Group . Transcorp PLC
CFR . Time 100 Influential (2020) . Officer, Order of Leopold, Belgium
Tony Elumelu is not merely a successful businessman — he is the architect of a philosophy. "Africapitalism," as he defines it, is the conviction that African private capital, deployed with intention, is the most powerful tool for African development. He has spent three decades proving it.
In 1997, Elumelu acquired Crystal Bank of Africa and transformed it into Standard Trust Bank — a top-tier institution. In 2005, he engineered the largest banking
merger in Sub-Saharan African history, creating the UBA Group that now operates across 20 African countries and in London, Paris, and New York.
Beyond banking, Heirs Holdings spans power,
oil and gas, real estate, and hospitality. Transcorp Plc, under his chairmanship, has become Nigeria's largest quoted conglomerate. And the Tony Elumelu Foundation has, since 2010, committed $100M to 10,000 African entrepreneurs across 54 countries — producing jobs, businesses, and a
generation of founders who would not otherwise exist.
Eko Honours recognises Tony Elumelu as a man who understood that building an institution is not enough — that the most durable legacy is building an ecosystem.
EDUCATION
BSc, Economics — Ambrose Alli University · MSc Economics — UNILAG
RECOGNITION
CFR (2022) · CON (2012) · MFR (2003) · Time 100
INDUSTRY DISTINCTION
SELECTION PROCESS
Bestowed. Not Applied For.
Eko Honours honorees are identified by an
internal advisory process guided by criteria of demonstrated impact, leadership
integrity, and lasting legacy. The recognition carries weight precisely because
it cannot be lobbied for or voted into existence.