UNIZIK’s Dr Nwadinobi Wins Africa Leadership Award for Professional Excellence, Integrity, Others at Accra Summit

By Gabriel Chy Alonta

ACCRA, GHANA — Associate Professor of Guidance and Counselling at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Dr Vera Nkiru Nwadinobi, has received the Africa Leadership Award at the maiden Africa Leadership Summit & Awards 2026 in Accra, Ghana.

The three-day summit, organised by Global Skills Hub, United Kingdom, was held from October 8 to 10, 2026, at the GTEC Auditorium, East Legon, Accra, under the theme, “Building Influence through Personal Leadership.”

The event brought together leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and change-makers to examine leadership, personal influence and strategies for creating positive societal impact.

Dr Nwadinobi earned the recognition in acknowledgement of her visionary leadership, professional excellence, integrity, commitment to community development and contributions to empowering and positively influencing others.

According to her award notification, her professional journey reflects the leadership values the award seeks to celebrate.

The honour marks another milestone in Dr Nwadinobi’s career, which spans academia, educational administration, counselling, public service and community development.

She currently serves as Deputy Director II (Awka) at the School of General Studies, UNIZIK, and previously served as Executive Chairman of the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB).

Nwadinobi speaks on emotional intelligence and leadership

Beyond receiving the award, Dr Nwadinobi delivered a presentation titled “Emotional Intelligence: The Hidden Power Behind Influential Leadership,” which explored the role of emotional intelligence in effective and sustainable leadership.

In her presentation, she identified five core competencies of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

She explained that these competencies enable leaders to inspire others, manage conflict, build trust and foster collaboration within organisations.

Drawing from her experience as ASUBEB chairman, where she managed more than 9,000 primary school teachers across Anambra State’s 21 local government areas, Dr Nwadinobi illustrated how a leader’s emotional disposition can influence an entire organisation.

She stressed that effective leadership begins with the ability to understand and manage oneself before attempting to lead others.

According to her, influential leadership goes beyond issuing directives or relying on formal authority. Rather, it depends on trust, empathy, effective communication, collaboration and the ability to understand and positively engage people.

She noted that emotionally intelligent leaders are better positioned to exercise authority with sound judgement, appreciate diverse perspectives and unlock the potential of individuals and institutions.

Dr Nwadinobi also highlighted the importance of developing emotional intelligence through regular self-reflection, honest feedback, active listening, healthy stress management and learning from people who demonstrate strong emotional skills.

She emphasised that technical competence alone may not be sufficient for sustainable leadership, noting that the ability to understand and motivate people is equally important to achieving organisational goals.

Dedicates award to Soludo

Reacting to the recognition, Dr Nwadinobi expressed appreciation to Global Skills Hub UK for honouring her and providing a platform to celebrate leadership, influence and contributions to society.

She reaffirmed her commitment to supporting the development of education, leadership and the wider society through her professional and community engagements.

Dr Nwadinobi described the award as both a recognition of past contributions and an encouragement to continue serving, inspiring and positively influencing others.

She dedicated the award to Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, who appointed her as chairman of ASUBEB.

According to her, the appointment and her service at the board formed part of the professional journey that led to her nomination for the award.

The recognition places further attention on Dr Nwadinobi’s contributions to education, counselling and public service, while her presentation at the Accra summit reinforced the importance of emotional intelligence in building effective leaders and stronger institutions.

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