Eze Chika Nwokedi Receives Prestigious Award for Humanitarian Services at INRI
By Naomi Onome
Primate Elijah Ayodele, founder and head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has honoured Eze Chika Nwokedi, chairman of Igbo leaders in Lagos State, with an Award of Excellence for his kindness and contributions to humanity.
The award, 2026, which was presented to Nwokedi at the INRI church in Oke Afa, Lagos, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, is in recognition of his philanthropic efforts, particularly towards the less privileged.
The senior pastor, while presenting the award on Primate Ayodele’s behalf, said Primate Ayodele had taken note of Nwokedi’s contributions and how he’s positively impacted many lives, especially the less privileged, through his programmes. The senior pastor praised Nwokedi’s selfless work and presented the award with church leaders and press members in attendance.
However, it is noteworthy that Eze Chika Nwokedi, through his foundation, namely ‘The Eze Okpoko Foundation’, has over the years and in recent times dedicated its course to serving the less privileged in the society by fulfilling their needs. His foundation has supported hundreds of widows, built homes for the homeless, paid hospital bills, and assisted the aged.
Eze Chika Nwokedi, aka Okpoko 1 of Obodoukwu, thanked Primate Ayodele for the award, saying it would spur him to do more. Also, Eze Chika Nwokedi revealed he’s received over 3000 awards from diverse organisations, but this award is one of the most significant he’s received so far.
He appreciated Ayodele’s commitment to helping the less privileged and mentioned a past controversy over Ayodele’s comments about Igbo people. Nwokedi remarked that many Igbo individuals did not grasp the context of Ayodele’s comments, which were poorly received by most Ndigbo in Nigeria. Nevertheless, he mentioned that Ndigbo are forgiving and have moved on; the matter had been forgiven and put behind them, which is why he attended his church to accept the award.
Despite Primate Ayodele’s inevitable absence from the award ceremony, Nwokedi presented some gifts to Ayodele and a few church workers.
