Patrons of the Gathering of Africa's Best (GAB) Awards act as Ambassadors extolling the benefits of rewarding excellence through the Awards to the Community, the Corporate world, Government and the general public.
Patrons also provide moral, strategic, financial and other varied support to the Awards - depending on their means and skill set.
Patrons serve a tenure of three years which is renewable.
Our current Patrons and their tenures are:
Alderman Prem Goyal (JP, OBE)
- (2013 - 2016; 2017-2019)
Otunba (Dr.) Dapo Williams (PhD, FRSA)
- (2015 - 2018)
Rt. Hon. Helen Grant (MP)
- (2015 - 2018)
Otunba Femi & Princess Catherine Adenuga
- (2018 - 2020)
Dr Richard Obahor
- (2018 - 2020)
Rev. Esther Abimbola Ajayi
- (2018 - 2020)
Alderman Prem Goyal (JP, OBE)
GAB Awards Patron (2013 - 2016; 2017 - 2019)
Prem Goyal (JP, OBE) founded the All People's Party (APP) in the United Kingdom - a political party to fight for social justice, fairness, meritocracy, transparency, and equality at the top of Britain's political sphere.
Prem Goyal
Prem Goyal (OBE)
He is an Alderman in the City of London, City entrepreneur, political activist and community organiser living in London.
Prem earned a first degree qualification in India, where he was born and raised, and then studied for a Masters’ in Engineering and an MBA in the US.
After working in Sales in Trading at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street and consulting with banking executives in New York, Tokyo, Zurich and London; he launched Global Markets Consultants, a management consulting firm, in 2002 and has been its CEO since then.
Working alongside senior managing directors at Deutsche Bank (DB), Prem led projects in derivatives trading which enabled GMC to win DB Preferred Supplier status every year between 2005 and 2013. Prior to launching GMC, Prem worked
He is a great believer in strong communities and dedicates a large proportion of his time to promoting community cohesion, supporting third sector organisations and serving the community through civic roles. He is a Magistrate, former college Governor, charity Trustee and active Patron to a number of charities and community organisations.
He has taken on challenges including the London Marathon and London Triathlon to raise money for charities such as MacMillan Cancer Support, Get Kids Going, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Rainbow Children’s Hospice and the British Red Cross - raising over £300,000 for charity.
Prem has travelled to more than 120 countries including the North and South Poles. In 2012, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the economy and promoting charitable giving.
He was appointed a Patron of the GAB Awards in 2013.
Otunba (Dr.) Dapo Williams (PhD, FRSA)
GAB Awards Patron (2015 - 2018)
Otunba (Dr.) Dapo Williams is a highly motivated and commercially focused property Facilities Management strategist with over 30 years experience in the industry.
Dr Dapo Williams
He is a high achiever who has demonstrated his capabilities throughout his career. He develops property and facilities management solutions in response to accommodation needs.
He is experienced in the procurement and disposal of properties, building selection, lease management, sub lettings, landlord/tenant relations, rents, rates, service charges, buildings insurance, dilapidated buildings negotiations and energy management.
He is also experienced in building mechanical services surveying, design and installation (a qualified Building Surveyor/Quantity Surveyor) with a passion for heating and ventilation (HVAC) aspects of buildings.
His expertise includes working on Oil and Gas (on-shore/off-shore) Subsea Install Base & Dehydration locations; Computer-Aided Architectural Drawing for crude oil pipeline operations and maintenance projects. He also has experience of working in the Health Services, Automotive, Construction, Education, Employment, Legal, Advice and Guidance industry sectors.
He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies from the Greenwich School of Management; a MBA / DBA from the University of Hull; and a PhD in Sustainability in the Built Environment from the University of Salford.
He is a member of numerous professional institutes including: Fellow - Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (FRSA); Member - Association of Engineering Doctorates (AEngD); Member - Chartered Management Institute; Member - British Institute of Facilities Management; Member - Association for Project Management; Member - International Facility Management Association; Member - Inst. of Maintenance & Bldg. Management; Member - Royal Institute of British Architects; Member - Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; Member - Chartered Association of Building Engineers; and Member - Institution of Occupational Safety & Health
His hobbies include Golf, Tennis, Football and Car Racing. His teams are: Arsenal for footie, Schumacher for Car Racing driver, Ferrari racing team and Tiger Woods is his man on the Golf course.
During his employment as Facilities Manager at St Martin in The Fields Girls High School - an English Heritage building, he was officially presented to Her Majesty The Queen by the Chair of Governors because of his efforts in maintaining the property to a high standard.
At a point, he was managing the tallest building in Europe at the time - which is now the European financial headquarters for many banks including Barclays, HSBC, and Citi.
He is the Otunba Fiwagboye of Arigidi Akoko in Nigeria's Ondo State and the Bashorun of Igbobisabe, Yaba in Lagos State. He is married to Yeye Fiwagboye Tina Williams and they are blessed with children.
A previous Chairman of London-based Buhari-Osinbajo Diaspora Organisation, he was appointed a Patron of the GAB Awards in 2015.
Otunba Tajudeen Obafemi Adenuga
GAB Awards Patron (2018 - 2020)
Otunba Tajudeen Obafemi Adenuga is the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Femade (UK) Limited, a freight forwarding and export services company that was established in 1997. Femade (UK) Limited is a previous GAB Awards recipient.
He graduated from the London Metropolitan University, London, UK with the degrees of LLB (Hons.) Business Law, and LLM (International Commercial Law) respectively.
His work career began in December 1975 as a Fireman at the Federal Fire Service, after which he worked with the Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta (now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic), and the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB) between December 1980 and June 1990.
He served as a member of the Nigerians in UK Olympic Committee (NUKOC), a special committee set up by the Central Association of Nigerians in UK (CANUK) in association with the Nigerian Olympics Committee (NOC) to help mobilise for the 2012 London Olympics.
A member of the Chartered Management Institute, UK (CMI), and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, UK (CILT), he has attended numerous management courses both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, and has won numerous awards.
Otunba Femi & Princess Catherine Adenuga
Princess Catherine Adefunmilayo Adenuga
GAB Awards Patron (2018 - 2020)
Princess Catherine Adefunmilayo Adenuga is a Director of Femade (UK) Ltd. She has being working alongside her husband since the inception of the Company and has over 20 years working experience in the freight industry.
She did her National Youth Service Corps in Ondo State in 1981 where she performed marvellously well to win a special award of the State NYSC. She worked at Union Bank Plc, Lagos, was an Executive Secretary at SCOA Trading Nigeria Limited and then at National Bank of Nigeria before her relocation to Britain.
Princess Adenuga has attended further management courses in the UK where she has lived and worked since relocating to the UK. Through her untiring efforts at Femade (UK) Limited, Princess Adenuga has earned alongside her husband, honours of excellence from their immediate community. Her vision is to continue working conscientiously, so as to see the company attain the status of an international organisation.
Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi
GAB Awards Patron (2018 - 2020)
Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi is an accomplished Christian leader, Philanthropist and Author with a real passion for the power of prayer and giving as foundational pillars in her life.
Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi
She was born and grew up in Lagos Nigeria, where before dedicating her life to full time ministry, she excelled in the corporate world as a successful business woman. It was in Nigeria that she developed her Christian faith within the Cherubim & Seraphim Church.
As an avid theologian and scholar of the Bible, she holds a BA degree in Biblical Theology from Faith Bible College Sango-Otta along with other academic honours.
She has made significant contribution to the work of the church physically, financially and spiritually and across many denominations and many continents.
Recently, she launched her own charitable organisation - The Esther Ajayi Foundation to holistically cater for people in need of help.
In 2007, she was led by God to start her own church named: Love of Christ Generation Church C&S in London. In 2015, the church moved into a newly renovated Cathedral in Clapham, London, where she now pastors a congregation with hundreds of worshippers and thousands of social media followers.
She is the Visioner and Sponsor of the Revival jointly powered by the Celestial Church of Christ and the Cherubim & Seraphim Church - tagged: Celebrate The Comforter.
After her own personal transformation, she has become a crusader for healthy living across our communities. Last year, she created The Fit-Faith Club, an initiative that provides free gyms, free personal instructors and free nutrition advice.
Recently, she was honoured with the Freedom of the City of London - the most established Borough Freedom that is conferred in England. She is a 2017 recipient of the GAB Awards.
She has been happily married for 35 years to Rev. Dr. Ademuyiwa Ajayi and they are blessed with two boys, two girls and an adopted daughter.
Dr Richard Ejiro Obahor
GAB Awards Patron (2018 - 2020)
Dr Richard Ejior Obahor is the CEO of real estate company - Purple Premium Ltd, with a dye-in-the-wool attitude to accomplishment, doggedness, resilience, determination and success.
He set out about 12 years ago as a Buy-To-Let Landlord, and within two years, he had acquired a multi-million pound property portfolio owing to his outstanding and unique acquisition skills.
Richard Ejiro Obahor
He set up his first real estate company in 2008, offering property acquisition, property development, and property management services to high net worth clients. The deviant, disruptive, and unconventional businessman has, over the years, not just proffered UK real estate services to his broad-spectrum customers, he has also integrated into the Nigerian property market where his company now develops quality luxury homes.
Obahor who holds an MBA from the prestigious Plymouth University, UK; is a notable public speaker who is also known for his sartorial dressing.
He is a 2016 recipient of the GAB Awards.