Adenuga receives Ghana’s highest national honour

Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga, has been decorated with Ghana’s highest civilian national honour, the Companion of the Star of Ghana (CSG).

Speaking at a ceremony at the Accra International Conference Centre on Saturday, President of Ghana, John Mahama, said “the award is in recognition of your unique and outstanding contribution to business enterprise both in Ghana and the continent of Africa at large.”

President Mahama further gave the reasons for giving the second richest man in Africa and Nigeria the award by saying, “through your creative business exertions, you have touched many lives in Ghana. You have provided employment for our teeming youth, artists, footballers and many more. I am particularly proud of you. This award is our way of saying a simple THANK YOU.”

In his acceptance speech, the billionaire thanked Mahama for the honour and noted that the president’s “recognition and support of my modest contributions to the development of Ghana’s economy have come as a great source of pride and encouragement to me. This is more so as it is coming from Your Excellency, whose sterling qualities of leadership I admire greatly.”

Adenuga has assets worth more than $8 billion in Ghana alone, according to a citation read during the ceremony by Mahama.

His companies are also among the largest corporate taxpayers in Ghana.

Apart from Adenuga, the only Nigerians conferred with such honour from Ghana are former presidents of Nigeria.

He becomes the first Nigerian outside government to receive Ghana’s highest national honour.

The 63-year-old also holds the highest civilian national award in Nigeria, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), awarded to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012.

Globacom, Nigeria’s second largest mobile telecoms company, has more than 25 million subscribers.

His Conoil Producing is Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil exploration company, while Conoil PLC, is a leading oil marketing company in Nigeria.

Adenuga is also the single largest property owner in Nigeria and also owns an extensive property portfolio in Ghana, South Africa, France, U.K and the United States.