Abakaliki, Nigeria – The Wife of Ebonyi Governor, Mrs Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, on Monday expressed happiness on winning the “First Lady of the Year” award by the Sun Newspapers.
Nwifuru made the remarks while receiving a letter to that effect from the management of the Sun Newspapers in her office, new Government House, Abakaliki.
The governor’s wife said she’s pleased with the award which she will receive at a ceremony in Lagos on March 1, 2025, adding that the honour will encourage her to do more work for humanity.
She commended the news organisation for finding her worthy of the honour.
“I never knew that the little things we do locally will be recognized outside the state and here you are giving me award.
“I ask God to help me to achieve what I want to achieve by empowering our women, helping them to know that they have hope and I am not doing it to receive any award, rather, I am doing it for God to take the glory.
“I want to appreciate The Sun for finding me worthy of the award , which I would have declined because I don’t know if I deserve this wonderful award but to God be the glory that you find me worthy and I know that it is the Lord’s doing.
Presenting the letter to Mrs Nwifuru, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Newspapers, Onuoha Ukeh, said her selection for the award was based on merit, after a rigorous process that lasted several weeks of debate and scrutiny by editors of the company.
He noted that Mrs Nwifuru has distinguished herself among other governors’ wives.
He stated that her passion to alleviate the plight of the downtrodden, create awareness to end gender-based violence and advocating for victims attracted the honour.
He said Mrs Nwifuru also supported second-chance education for citizens of the state, improved access to health care, empowerments programmes, among others.
“It is for these reasons and several others that our board of editors choose you as the winner of “The Sun First Lady of the Year” award for 2024.
“The sun first lady of the year award is given to the wife of a state governor who has set aside the glamour of the office and used her position to impact the lives of the people,” Ukeh said.
