Linda Ochugbua, a Digital Marketing Executive, has been honoured with an Award of Recognition by the University of Benin’s Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences.
The recognition came after she delivered the keynote address at the institution’s Annual Lecture and Award Ceremony, where she told an audience of academics, students and business leaders that Nigeria’s next generation of executives must build their success on integrity as deliberately as they build it on innovation.
The event, held Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at Professor Iyayi Hall, was themed “Excellence in Business Leadership: Driving Innovation, Ethics, and Sustainable Development,” bringing together the university’s leadership, distinguished honourees and rising business students for a day that combined scholarship, recognition and industry insight.
In her keynote, Ochugbua urged the university’s rising business leaders not to treat ethics as a constraint on ambition, but as the foundation that makes ambition sustainable.
“Innovation without integrity does not last; it collapses under its own weight,” she said. “The leaders who will shape Nigeria’s next economy are the ones who understand that doing what is right and doing what is profitable are not competing goals; they are the same goal, pursued with patience.”
Her recognition placed her among a distinguished list of honourees celebrated at the ceremony, including Rt. Hon. (Barr) Omosede Gabriella Igbinedion, whose Award of Recognition cited her for “building a legacy of excellence, opportunity and meaningful societal impact”.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Edoba Bright Omoregie, SAN, welcomed guests and commended the Department of Business Administration for consistently using the annual lecture to connect students with leaders shaping real-world industry.
“A university’s value is measured not only by what happens in its lecture halls, but by the calibre of minds it exposes its students to,” he said. “Today’s conversation on ethics and innovation is exactly the kind of engagement that prepares our graduates for the realities they will face.”
Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Prof. Sunday Osaretin Igbinosa, said the theme reflected a deliberate response to the pressures facing Nigerian businesses.
“Our students are entering a business environment that will test their values as much as their skills,” he said. “Lectures like this remind them that leadership is not just about strategy; it is about character under pressure.”
Dr. Darlington O. Ogbeide, Head of the Department of Business Administration, said the ceremony reaffirmed the department’s commitment to bridging academic learning with practical industry insight. “We want our students to leave this hall with more than notes; we want them to leave with conviction,” he said.
Organisers said the ceremony reinforced the department’s broader mission of shaping ethical, innovative leaders equipped to drive sustainable development across Nigeria’s business landscape.
