Anthony Akaeze, a Senior Assistant Editor with TELL magazine, has been named winner of the Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Award for 2015. At the award ceremony Friday at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Akaeze was announced winner of the ultimate prize ahead of Lawrence Njoku of the Guardian newspaper and Mojeed Alabi of the New Telegraph who emerged first and second runners up. The story that won Akaeze the prize was a 2014 investigative piece titled The Ivory Towers of Rot. For his feat, Akaeze was rewarded with N1 million Naira, an Iphone and plaque by the brewing company while Njoku got N300,000, a Samsung S5 and plaque and Alabi, N200,000, Samsung S5 and plaque.
Apart from the Golden Pen award, awards were also given out for photo journalists as well as for the best report on Nigerian Breweries.Godwin Irheke of New Telegraph won the photo journalist of the year and was rewarded with N300,000, a Samsung phone and plaque; Isaac Ayodele of the Nation, first runners up, received N250,000, a Samsung mobile phone and plaque while Stanley Ogidi of the Punch got N200,000, a Samsung Mobile phone and plaque.
The best Nigerian Breweries report went to Canice Nwanna Opara of Businessworld who went home with N500,000, an Iphone and plaque.
The announcement of the winners was preceded by the selection process of the panel of assessors comprising Yemi Ogumbiyi, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, Gbenga Adefaye and Nkechi Alli Balogun.
The event, the seventh in the series of the award, was spiced with music and had Tee A as master of ceremony. Among the dignitaries were Okezie Ikpeazu, the Abia State Governor, Kola Jamodu, chairman of the board of Nigerian Breweries and eminent journalists like Ray Ekpu of the Newswatch fame, Dare Babarinsa, a founding member of TELL Magazine, Taiwo Obe, formerly of the Guardian, Ademola Oyinlola, deputy editor in chief of TELL, Tony Iyare, a former media adviser to Adams Oshiomole and Niran Malaolu who also delivered a paper on the day titled the Role of Journalism in Nigeria’s Development: The Road Less Travelled.
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