Former two-time Minister of Industry and former President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief (Dr) Onikepo Akande; Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr Mohammed Shehu; Founder of Channels Media Group, Dr John Momoh; and Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua were among distinguished Nigerians honoured for their contributions to leadership, public service, business, media and national development at a prestigious international leadership and academic ceremony in London, United Kingdom.
The Nigerian honourees were among an array of prominent public officials, business leaders, academics, diplomats, media proprietors and professionals from across Africa, Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East recognised at the 2026 Honorary Doctorate and Distinguished Fellows Conferral Ceremony organised by the EuroKnowledge Institute in partnership with Richmond College, United Kingdom. The high-profile ceremony, held on July 17 at One Great George Street, Westminster, London, celebrated outstanding achievements across diverse fields of human endeavour and provided a global platform for recognising excellence, leadership and service.
Other recipients of honorary doctorate awards included former United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade Policy, Sir Conor Burns; Executive Group Chairman of KGL Group, Ghana, Alex Apau Dadey; Founder and President of Focus Initiatives and Senior Pastor of Christ Embassy International Church, Pastor Afolabi Oketunji; Managing Director of Kolie Mobs Ventures Limited, Col Kolawole Shaw (retd.); and Founder and President of Phuket9, Papachsorn Meepa.
The prestigious honours cut across public administration, business, media, education, healthcare, technology, law, diplomacy, faith-based leadership and humanitarian service, underscoring the international character of the ceremony and the diverse contributions of the recipients to their respective professions and communities.
The event also featured a leadership and enterprise dialogue chaired by Momoh, which brought together an international panel to discuss leadership, innovation, education and the future of business in an increasingly interconnected global economy.
The session formed one of the central discussions of the ceremony, coming amid growing debates about the ability of institutions, governments and businesses to respond to technological, economic and social changes across national borders.
The keynote address was delivered by Burns, who spoke on “Innovation, Education & Global Impact.”
While opening the ceremony, Head of Academics at Richmond College, Dr Baha Altay, addressed participants drawn from different professional and institutional backgrounds, while internationally recognised event strategist, Linda Pereira, anchored the proceedings.
According to a statement issued by the Event Manager, Tokunbo Fayomi, the recipients were selected for what the organisers described as their contributions to leadership, professional practice and public service.
Apart from the honorary doctorates, the institute also inducted a separate group of professionals into its Distinguished Fellows, recognising their work in governance, communications, entrepreneurship, education, technology and public service.
The distinction between the two categories placed public figures with established careers alongside professionals being admitted into an international fellowship network, with recipients drawn from organisations and institutions across several continents.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Chairman of the EuroKnowledge Institute, Alex Itkin, said recognition should carry an obligation to contribute beyond individual achievement.
“Recognition becomes meaningful when it strengthens responsibility, inspires others and creates a wider culture of leadership and service,” Itkin stated.
For the Nigerian recipients, the recognition brought together figures from different areas of national life, including public finance, media, politics and industry.
Shehu heads RMAFC, the federal agency responsible for monitoring and reviewing the allocation of revenue among the three tiers of government and recommending changes to the revenue allocation formula.
Momoh is the founder of Channels Media Group and has been a prominent figure in Nigeria’s broadcast media industry, while Akande served as Minister of Industry and held other senior public positions.
Yar’Adua, a senator, was also among the Nigerian recipients honoured at the London ceremony.
The event concluded with a networking reception involving participants from government, academia, business and civil society, with discussions on possible partnerships, knowledge exchange and collaboration in education, enterprise and sustainable development.
The organisers said the ceremony was part of EuroKnowledge’s broader recognition and fellowship activities, through which it seeks to bring together individuals working across public service, academia, business and other professional fields.
