By Emmanuella Opara | November 7th 2026
KEY POINTS
- Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri and Delta Governor Sheriff Oborevwori are among the recipients of the 2026 South South Media and Entertainment Awards.
- TAJ Bank and Globus Bank will receive special recognition.
- The awards ceremony is scheduled for December 6 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
- Actor Sam Dede, actress Monalisa Chinda and television host Frank Edoho are also listed among the event’s participants.
MAIN STORY
The governors of Bayelsa and Delta states, Douye Diri and Sheriff Oborevwori, are among personalities scheduled to receive honours at the second edition of the South South Media and Entertainment Awards.
The ceremony will hold on Sunday, December 6, 2026, at the Aztech Arcum Event Centre, 77 Ken Saro-Wiwa Road, formerly Stadium Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Other recipients include representatives of the banking sector, captains of industry, academics, organisations and institutions recognised for their performance in their respective fields during the year under review.
TAJ Bank and Globus Bank, two licensed Nigerian commercial banks, will receive special awards at the event.
The entertainment industry will also be represented, with actor and producer Sam Dede and actress and producer Monalisa Chinda among those to be honoured. Television host and filmmaker Frank Edoho, known for presenting the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, will serve as master of ceremonies.
The event’s red carpet will begin at 5pm, while the main ceremony is scheduled to start at 6pm and run for two hours and 15 minutes.
The awards, which began in 2024 as the Rivers State Media and Entertainment Awards, expanded its scope to cover all six states in the South South region.
President of the SSMEA, Sammy Wejinya, said the initiative was established to encourage higher standards of service delivery across different sectors of the economy.
According to him, the decision to expand beyond Rivers State followed the success of the inaugural edition and the organisers’ desire to extend the initiative’s objectives across the region.
The awards cover sectors including revenue generation, sports, health, entertainment, banking and academia. The organisers say the recognition is intended to encourage individuals and institutions to improve their performance and contribute to society.
THE ISSUES
The expansion of the awards from a Rivers State-based initiative to a regional platform reflects the organisers’ ambition to recognise performance across the six South South states.
Its coverage of sectors beyond entertainment also places emphasis on public service, business, education, banking and other areas of economic activity.
However, the organisers’ stated objective is to use recognition to encourage better service delivery and higher standards among individuals and institutions.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“Anyone who knows me knows my love for perfection and excellence,” Sammy Wejinya, President of the South South Media and Entertainment Awards, said.
“I have always been associated with excellence and my team at the South South Media and Entertainment Awards thought it wise to continue this initiative, which was birthed in 2024, as the Rivers State Media and Entertainment Awards.”
“The massive success we recorded at the inaugural edition informed our decision, as a group, to spread our tentacles and extend the vision of improving service delivery in all sectors of the economy to all six South South States in Nigeria.”
“Our activities cover virtually every sector of the economy, from revenue generation to sports, health to entertainment, banking to the Academia.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The second edition of the SSMEA will hold on December 6, 2026, at the Aztech Arcum Event Centre in Port Harcourt. The red carpet begins at 5pm, with the main ceremony starting at 6pm.
BOTTOM LINE
The SSMEA is extending its recognition programme across the South South region, with governors, financial institutions and entertainment personalities among those scheduled to receive awards at its December ceremony.
