The Founder of Human Capital Africa and former Vice President of World Bank, African region, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has been conferred with International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award in the Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement category held in Doha, capital city and main financial hub of Qatar
The award ceremony which was the 2025 edition was transmitted live by the national television of the host country, held on December 14, 2025 in the presence of personalities across the globe.
The secretariat of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award earlier in a letter on behalf of the High-Level Award Committee chaired by the United Nations Special Advocate for the Prevention of Corruption, Dr. Ali Bin Fetais Al Marri announced Ezekwesili’s selection as a joint winner of the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award.
“On behalf of both the Secretariat of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award and His Excellency Dr. Ali Bin Fetais Al Marri, United Nations Special Advocate for the Prevention of Corruption and Chairman of the High-Level Award Committee, it gives me the greatest pleasure to inform you that your nomination has been selected as a joint winner of this year’s International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award in the category of Lifetime / Outstanding Achievement’, the letter reads
The organisers pointed out that Ezekwesili’s nomination underwent a thorough and independent assessment, adding that it was found to exemplify the values, expertise, and integrity that the award represents.
The international Anti-Corruption Excellence award, organised in support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) by the Secretariat of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence
Director, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre/Head of Secretariat of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award, Dr Yasser Refaie, explained that the amazon’s nomination had undergone an independent and rigorous review by both the Assessment Advisory Board and the High-Level Award Committee, and found to exemplify the values, expertise and integrity that the Award represents.
The awardee was former Vice President World Bank (Africa), a Nigerian economic policy expert, chartered accountant, and globally recognised advocate for transparency, accountability, and good governance.
Ezekwesili is popularly known as “Madam Due Process,” a nickname earned during her role as the pioneer head of Nigeria’s Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit, where she led reforms to clean up public procurement processes.
The awardee served twice as a minister under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, first as Minister of Solid Minerals between 2005 and 2006, and later as Minister of Education from 2006 to 2007.
Ezekwesili as Minister of Education pushed reforms aimed at transparency in budget management, improved quality assurance through the Federal Inspectorate Service, and stronger public-private partnerships in education delivery.
The awardee as a former Vice President of the World Bank for the Africa Region, between 2007 to 2012, she oversaw the bank’s operations across 48 Sub-Saharan African countries and supervised a lending portfolio valued at over $40 billion.
She is a co-founder of Transparency International, one of the world’s leading anti-corruption organisations, and has remained an influential voice in global accountability and governance reforms.
The awardee is widely known in Nigeria and beyond as a co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, which gained global attention in 2014 following the abduction of schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State.
The campaign drew sustained international focus to issues of insecurity, governance failure, and the rights of abducted persons, and beyond activism, Ezekwesili is the founder of initiatives such as FixPolitics, the School of Politics, Policy and Governance, and Human Capital Africa, all focused on leadership development, institutional reform, and citizen participation.
The career of Ezekwesili included service on the boards of global organisations and universities, as well as advisory roles to African leaders and international institutions, and over the years, she has received multiple international honours for public service, governance advocacy, and leadership.
The International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award recognises individuals whose work has made a lasting impact in promoting integrity, accountability, and the rule of law worldwide.
The awardee in her remarks on the recognition bestowed on her said the honour belongs to all citizens and reformers who insist that public power must serve the public good, noting that the fight against corruption is inherently collective
“This honor belongs to all citizens and reformers who insist that public power must serve the public good. Anti-corruption work is not about individuals, but about building institutions and norms that outlive any one person’, she emphasized
Ezekwesili, globally renowned as a public policy leader and anti-corruption reformer with decades of experience in institutional transformation across Africa and internationally received the joint recipient of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award (Lifetime Achievement) from the ruler of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The award recognizes her sustained leadership in transparency reforms, public sector accountability, and values-driven governance. Her work spans national reform efforts, multilateral institutions, and the building of next-generation leadership platforms, including the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) and Human Capital Africa.
The Jury of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award recognized Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili as a joint recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, in acknowledgment of her exceptional and sustained contribution to the advancement of transparency, accountability, and institutional integrity in public life.
The awardee over several decades, has demonstrated rare moral courage and policy leadership in environments where anti-corruption reform is often met with resistance and personal cost, while her work has combined principled advocacy with practical institution-building, contributing to reforms in public financial management, extractive sector governance, education systems, and global transparency norms.
Through service in national government, leadership within multilateral institutions, and the founding of platforms dedicated to developing ethical public leadership, she has consistently advanced the belief that corruption is not inevitable — and that societies prosper when public power is exercised in service of citizens.
