Mogae accepts to chair Daily Trust African Award

Former President of Botswana, Mr. Festus Mogae, has accepted his nomination to Chair the reconstituted Prize Committee of the DAILY TRUST African of the Year award.
In a letter he personally signed and which was delivered through the High Commissioner of Botswana to Nigeria, Lt. Gen. L. M. Fisher, Mr. Mogae said he accepted the appointment with humility.
He will be taking-over from Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, pioneer Chairman of the Prize Committee and former Prime Minister of Tanzania, who completed a two-term tenure of eight years this month.
A distinguished African statesman, Festus Mogae won the prestigious Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in 2008 and same year he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d’honneur by French President.
As this year’s edition of the DAILY TRUST African of the Year award has been skipped due to unforeseen exigencies, Mr. Mogae’s tenure as Chairman of the Prize Committee commences in the new year.
Other members of the reconstituted Prize Committee representing Africa’s sub-regional blocs are Ambassador Mona Omar (North Africa), Mr. Amadou Mahtar Ba (West Africa), Ms. Gwen Lister (Southern Africa), Mr. Pascal Kambale (Central Africa) and Professor  Sylvia Tamale (East Africa). The Chairman of the Board of DAILY TRUST, Malam Kabiru  Yusuf represents the award promoters.
The African of the Year Award, which was initiated in 2008 and is being supported by United Bank for Africa (UBA Plc), attracts a prize sum of US$50,000 in aid of the awardee’s humanitarian work.