Timiyan Peretimiebi, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the indigenous paint manufacturing brand, Peretim Elite Global Limited, has been honoured with the Chartered Fellowship Award as a World Peace Advocate, and appointed as an Eminent Peace Ambassador by the International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA).

The award was presented to the recipient by the IAWPA during the Year 2026 Investiture Ceremony of International Peace Advocates, which held in the Jubilee Retreat and Conference Center, Enerhen, Delta State, on Friday, May 8, 2026.

Receiving the prestigious award, Timiyan dedicated the achievement to his late uncle, Chief (Elder) Tonbrapagha Paul Ukuli, who coincidentally was being laid to rest same day, for his encouragement and as a father who understood his pains.

"However, today is also a day where somebody really important to me is being laid to rest... His name is Chief Elder Paul Ukuli. He has been an amazing father, an uncle and a friend," he said in his acknowledgement speech.

He recalled how the late Ukuli helped secure a Shell scholarship for him when he was in Primary Six, and wished he was alive to witness such an honourable occasion in his life.

"So I want to dedicate this award to him personally. I just wish he is here, but God knows better. Wherever you are, I know you are in a better place, and may your soul rest in peace," he prayed.

Timiyan also thanked his nominator and appreciated the IAWPA for the recognition and honour given him, stressing that the award is "important to me" while citing his experiences with conflicts in the Niger Delta region.

"I love where I come from, but that does not mean that the environment I grew up in doesn't have its own challenges. I've experienced community crisis, inter-community crisis, inter-tribal crisis over the years, like back then on the agitation, the Niger Delta resource control and all that, where the federal government had to come in, should I say mini-war? I've experienced it.

"A famous rapper once said that, if not for pain, joy wouldn't feel so good. For people like us growing up, I've experienced some kind of hate for no reason, and so for that I understand what love is all about. In the same way, if it wasn't for this crisis and all that, I wouldn't understand what it means to live in peace. For those who experienced the civil war and all that, they can explain better. Of course, I wasn't in that era.

"It is for this reason I know that peace cannot be over-emphasized, and I think maybe that's the reason this eminent peace ambassador award is so important for me. So what I'm trying to say is, peace is non-negotiable.

"So, I want to thank the association for the honour that they've given me. Somebody just nominated me; I wasn't even aware. I just got a call that you've been nominated for this. So it's pretty amazing that why you're doing the little you are doing, somebody out there sees you and appreciates you for what you're doing. And that is what has brought me here today. So I want to thank you," he added.

The award of World Peace Advocate on Timiyan by the IAWPA will further spur the young entrepreneur to advocate for peace as he continues to contribute to the growth of society through job creation and innovation in the real estate as well as in the manufacturing sector.

The IAWPA is a world class organisation with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Special Consultative status since 2019, as well as a promoter of unity, peace, and community development. The UN ECOSOC, with 54 rotating members, is a principal UN organ coordinating the economic, social, and environmental fields, including specialized agencies and sustainable development.

View more photos from the investiture ceremony: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1PAJoAE7TH/

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