The member representing Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon. Chike Okafor has been presented with the HallowMace Foundation award for the Most Outstanding Member of the House of Representatives from the South-East zone for the year 2026.
Okafor, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, was presented the award by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Chibuzor Okereke, at a high-octane ceremony held at the NAF Events Centre, Abuja, Thursday night.
The Imo lawmaker, who was accompanied to the event by his staff and friends, dedicated the award to his family, his constituents, the leadership of the House, and the citizens of Nigeria.
Earlier in his welcome address, the CEO of HallowMace Africa, Anderson Osiebe, said the awardees for 2026 emerged following a rigorous and transparent process that combined public online voting with extensive consultations with key parliamentary stakeholder groups, including the National Assembly Press Corps, the Nigerian Conference of Speakers, the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), and the National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASLAF).
He added that the HallowMace Foundation National Legislative Awards is a credible platform to honour those who have served with distinction in the legislature at national and state levels.
Thursday’s well-attended event was chaired by the former Senate President Senator. Ameh Ebute. This is as the Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman served as the Special Guest of Honour. In his speech, Sulaiman reiterated the role of the legislature and commended the HallowMace Foundation for promoting legislative excellence
The Senate President, Senator Godwill Akpabio, who received an award, was represented by Senator Tony Nwoye. Senate Majority Whip, Senator Mohammed Moguno was also in attendance and presented awards to recipients on behalf of the organisers. Mr. Adebayo Anthony Adepoju, who represented the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas Speaker, who as well as the Senate President, was a Special Guest of Honour, said the objectives of the HallowMace Awards which include the transparent assessment of the performance of members, are in tandem with the legislative agenda of the Green Chamber. The Speaker’s wife, Hajiya Fatima, received an award for her work as the chairperson of the Association of the Spouses of members of the House of Representatives.
Other awardees on the night include Senator Enyinnaya Abribe, Hon. Awaji-Inombek Dagome Abiante, and Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki. For the special recognition segment, former chairperson of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, led the way alongside other honorees like Hon. Dozie Nwankwo.
The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, picked the Long Service Achievement Award.
Journalists covering the National Assembly were also awarded for their stellar performance, with AIT’s Onyediya Agwu Nancy, emerging as the best Senate correspondent. TVC’s Joke Adisa was selected as the best House of Representatives correspondent, and Lukman Babalola took the award as the best online correspondent reporting the National Assembly.
For the most outstanding legislatives aides, the award plaques went to Hajiya Hauwa M. Laden for the Senate and Agwudi Peter Anochie for the House of Representatives. Staff of the National Assembly were also recognised, with Dr. Cornelius Ikalume from the Senate and Paul Adara Adiwu from the House of Representatives receiving awards.