PUNCH affirms No. 1 position with 20 NMMA awards

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Nigeria’s most widely read newspaper, PUNCH, has reaffirmed its numero uno status in the nation’s media industry again, winning top honours, including Newspaper of the Year, Editor of the Year, and Editorial Writing of the Year at the 33rd Nigeria Media Merit Award.

The awards ceremony, held at the Lagos Continental Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos, on Saturday, saw PUNCH dominate across 27 categories.

Across these categories, PUNCH had the highest number of nominations, 42, winning 20 of them — the highest number recorded this year — at the colourful ceremony attended by industry leaders, journalism veterans, top government officials and members of the public.

It is a historic win for PUNCH, as in the 33-year history of the NMMA, no other newspaper has ever won 20 awards in a single ceremony. Godfrey George, a PUNCH journalist, who left the company recently, also won eight individual NMMA awards, the highest number of individual NMMA prizes ever won by a single journalist.

PUNCH cemented its leadership position by winning two topmost awards: the Babatunde Jose Prize for Newspaper of the Year and the Dele Giwa Prize for Editor of the Year, which was won by PUNCH editor, Oyetunji Abioye, who defeated the editors of The Nation and The Guardian.

The newspaper’s journalists won in multiple categories, including the FIRS-Tax Reporter of the Year (Print), Conoil Prize for Energy Correspondent of the Year, Maritime Reporter of the Year, Money Market Reporter of the Year, Telecommunications Reporter of the Year, Real Estate and Construction Reporter of the Year, and Newspaper Features Reporter of the Year.

PUNCH columnists also stood out. Columnist Abimbola Adelakun secured the Alade Odunewu Prize for Columnist of the Year with her widely read piece, “Obasanjo and Tinubu: Two old men naked-ing each other”. The runners-up were also PUNCH columnists: Greg Odogwu “Gender-Based Loss and Damage from Climate Change” and Olumhense Sonala “Is this a country or a game?”.

This year’s feat of winning 20 awards is record-breaking and the highest at the NMMA in about a decade. A member of the NMMA Board of Trustees and professor of Mass Communication, Ralph Akinfeleye, described this year’s outing by PUNCH as unprecedented.

“No other newspaper has ever won 20 awards in a single NMMA outing, and no single reporter has won as many categories as Godfrey George did,” Akinfeleye said last night.

In 2021, 2023 and 2024, PUNCH won 11 awards each; nine NMMA prizes were won in 2022; four in 2020; seven in 2019; five in 2018; and two in 2016.

This year’s feat at the NMMA was also similar to that recorded at the 2025 Diamond Awards for Media Excellence, where PUNCH won top honours, including Newspaper of the Year and Editor of the Year, for the second consecutive year.

At DAME, PUNCH also dominated across multiple categories, including Editorial Writing, Health Reporting, Sports Reporting, News Photography, Informed Commentary, Lagos Reporting, and Judicial Reporting. The newspaper had the highest number of nominations, 15, and won nine of them — the highest for this year.

At this year’s NMMA, PUNCH won the prize for Editorial Writing with the piece “Nigeria’s imperative to end child labour”, underscoring its editorial strength and consistency. Other nominees for editorial writing were The Nation “Scam on seven floors: EFCC made its biggest cybercrime arrest ever, now let’s prosecute” and Nigerian Tribune “FG’s Tax Cheers”.

One of the standout moments of the night was the remarkable performance of Godfrey George, who won eight awards for his outstanding body of work during his time at PUNCH. George won the Olagunsoye Oyinlola Prize for Culture and Tradition Reporter of the Year, while PUNCH correspondents Victor Ayeni and Tofarati Ige were runners-up.

PUNCH Chief Correspondent and Deputy Head of Programmes at PUNCH Videos, Segun Odunayo, emerged winner of the Bashorun MKO Abiola Prize for Sports Reporter of the Year for his compelling story titled “Energy booster: Regular exercise transforms elderly people’s strength, lives”.

Others nominated for Sports Reporter of the Year were Ajibade Olusesan of Saturday Telegraph and Alimi Taiwo of The Nation.

PUNCH’s Laolu Afolabi emerged winner of the FIRS-Tax Reporter of the Year (Print) category with his entry titled “How Tinubu’s contentious tax bills widen North-South dichotomy, suppress fears”. Afolabi’s co-contestant in the category was Afeez Hanafi of Daily Trust.

In the visual journalism category, PUNCH photographer Elliot Ovadje won the News Photographer of the Year Award ahead of his colleague, Saheed Olugbon of PUNCH, and Aliu Kolawole of Leadership Newspaper. Elliot’s winning entry was titled “Rojugbokan paddles her canoe to her polling unit”.

Correspondent Naomi Chima won the Notore Chemical Prize for Environmental Reporter of the Year for her story “Agor-Egun: Where homes double as toilets and floodwaters tell stories of neglect”.

Naomi’s entry beat those of The Nation newspaper duo of Alao Abiodun and Innocent Duru.

Weekend PUNCH Senior Correspondent Chijioke Iremeka claimed the Insurance Reporter of the Year Award with his investigative piece “How pension remittance failures expose Nigerian workers to impoverished retirement”.

Chijioke’s entry was deemed best in the category, which had Isioma Madike of New Telegraph and Gbenga Akinfenwa of The Guardian.

Sodiq Ojuroungbe bagged the Ernest Ikoli Prize for Newspaper Reporter of the Year for a story written during his time at PUNCH titled “Tales of women disabled by health workers’ negligence during childbirth”. Other nominees for Newspaper Reporter of the Year were Innocent Duru of The Nation and Ladelokun Ladesope of New Telegraph.

PUNCH’s Dare Olawin won the Oil and Gas Reporter of the Year award for his report “Economy suffers as illegal refineries defy government efforts”.

Two entries by Jeremiah Kingsley of The Guardian trailed that of Olawin.

PUNCH’s Olasunkanmi Akinlotan, with his entry titled “Governments prioritise unviable airport projects to drain lean state resources”, won the Aviation Industry Reporter of the Year award. He beat Okunbor Kelvin of The Nation to the prize.

George, who stole the show at the event, went home with the Conoil Prize for Energy Correspondent of the Year with his report “Uncovered: How desperate homes, businesses bypass meters in massive electricity theft”; Nigerian Ports Authority Prize for Maritime Reporter of the Year “Lost at sea: How Nigeria’s waterways drown business owners in debt”; and UBA Prize for Money Market Reporter of the Year “Tale of the absurd: Bank customers groan over naira scarcity as currency hawkers swim”.

George’s wins also included the MTN Prize for Telecommunications Reporter of the Year “NIN-SIM linkage: Subscribers, MTN clash over sudden line blockage”; Nigerite Prize for Real Estate/Construction Reporter of the Year “Shelter with tears: Tough times for potential tenants”; and Abubakar Imam Prize for Newspaper Features Writer of the Year “Silent agony: Deep scars left by randy men who rape, impregnate helpless daughters”.

In an all-PUNCH category, George beat Ismaeel Uthman to the Alex Ibru Prize for Investigative Reporter of the Year with his entry titled “Inside Nigeria’s day-care system, where caregivers drug, starve kids”. At the fifth award, George got a standing ovation and rapturous applause for each of the remaining four awards.

The Minister of Information, Mr Muhammed Idris, who was represented by Mr Garba Kankarofi, harped on the need for ethical journalism and the media to commit to upholding the nation’s democracy. He assured the media of the government’s support for press freedom.

Speaking on the significance of the awards, the Chairman of the NMMA Board of Trustees, Prof. Dayo Duyile, described the initiative as a landmark achievement in Nigerian media history. He said, “It has become a successful project in the history of Nigerian media. It’s a fantastic idea, which was derived from the British Media Awards, to highlight the best of the best.”

Duyile added that the awards were designed to elevate the profession, noting, “The whole idea is to portray journalism and broadcasting as professions of intellectualism and ethical undertaking in the world.”

Also shedding light on the credibility of the process, Trustee and Chairman of the Eminent Panel of Assessors of the NMMA, Mr Dele Adetiba, emphasised the panel’s commitment to fairness and transparency. “For us, it’s a sacred duty to be transparent and fair to all our nominees,” he asserted.

He revealed that the competition was keen. “This year, we had about 800 entries, which were shared into various groups, based on the background of our assessors.” Adetiba further explained the diversity of the judging panel, stating, “We have experts from academia and experienced professionals in the media world.”

The audience was thrilled by band performances and light music.

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, in his keynote speech at the event, described the role of the media as critical to the implementation and success of the new tax law and broader economic reforms. Oyedele warned that misinformation, weak reporting and public distrust could derail even the most well-designed policies.

He described the media as a central pillar of governance and nation-building, noting that sustainable reform was impossible without credible, independent and professional journalism.

“It is a pleasure to join you at the Nigeria Media Merit Award, a platform that has, for over three decades, recognised excellence, courage and professionalism in journalism.

“Tonight, we celebrate the media not just as storytellers, but as one of the most powerful institutions helping to move our society forward,” he said.

Congratulating the organisers, award recipients and journalists whose work often goes unnoticed, he stressed that excellence in journalism is not a luxury but a public good that strengthens democracy and governance. Noting the media’s place as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, Oyedele said the title comes with responsibility rather than prestige.

He added that platforms such as the NMMA serve as important reminders that journalism plays a foundational role in sustaining public confidence and accountability. Turning to Nigeria’s ongoing tax and fiscal reforms, he argued that tax policy goes beyond laws and revenue targets, touching directly on the social contract between the state and its citizens.

“Tax reform is not just about laws, rates or revenue generation. At its core, it is about trust. People ask simple but powerful questions: why should I pay tax, how is my money used, and is the system fair?” he said.

According to him, these questions cannot be answered by the government alone. “They require credible, independent and informed media engagement,” he added, noting that journalists play a decisive role in explaining reforms in human terms, challenging misinformation, demanding accountability and helping citizens understand both their obligations and their rights.

He warned that without accurate reporting and thoughtful analysis, reforms are easily misunderstood or resisted, often to the detriment of the same citizens they are meant to benefit.

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