Rex Terra Foundation, a multiple resource outfit set to expose leaders and potential leaders to the various aspects of leadership has honoured the Executive Director of Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Ms. Faith Nwadishi with role model of integrity award in recognition of her ardent belief in transparency and accountability and quest for sustainable development in Nigeria.
According to a release issued by the Programme and Communications Manager of CTA, Mr. MacDonald Ekemezie, the Award is also in recognition of her leadership qualities and stewardship in the organizations that she has served over the years. Presenting the award, the Foundation described her as a role model to be emulated by all Nigerians desirous of a more wholesome society.
Ms. Nwadishi was further described as a Mediator and Chartered Member of the National Peace Academy under the auspices of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ICPR). This significant award has placed her in a pole position to contribute her quota in leadership and development in communities and Nigeria at large.
Faith Ossai Nwadishi (JP) is a humanist, activist, and civil engineering technician. She is enthusiastic about women and youth and is the founder of the Koyenum Immalah Foundation (KIF), an NGO based in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria that advocates for the cause of women’s marginalization in the electoral process and communities affected by extractives. She previously served as the National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria, as well as a member of the African Steering Committee and the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) representative for civil society on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). She represented Anglophone African civil society actors as a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Global Board. She was the first-ever Nigerian member of the Board of Directors for two consecutive tenures of six years cumulative.
In addition to advocating for women’s rights and extractive concerns, Faith is the convener of the Zero Gas Flare effort and the Contract Transparency Network, among other things.
She is a fervent supporter of free, fair, credible, and peaceful elections in Nigeria. She has contributed to the establishment of a legitimate democracy in Nigeria, as evidenced by her participation in election observation since 2009. Her media appearances as a regular speaker on elections and the electoral process have made her an invaluable resource for academics and development professionals with an interest in the Nigerian electoral system.
In 2023, Faith was honored for her contributions to society by the Delta State Government with an appointment as Justice of the Peace (JP).
She has also taken the lead in advocating for election reforms and has consulted with the Election Management Board and the National Assembly on the matter. With support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation through the Resource Center for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), she brought the issue of inclusive representation of the Original Inhabitants of the Federal Republic of the Congo to the 16th session of the Expert Mechanism for the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. She has consistently advocated for the rights of minorities. The outcome of that involvement was the appointment of a more female Original Inhabitant of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the first such appointment since 1976.
She attended such institutions as Les Aspin Center in Washington, DC; Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra, Ghana; and the Institute of Public, Private, Partnership (IP3) in Virginia, USA. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies.
Faith was the first female graduate with honors in Civil Engineering at Auchi Polytechnic. She is an advocate for equality and just practices, a knowledgeable facilitator, a mentor, a motivator for women and girls, and a fervent supporter of a cleaner, greener environment.
