The Nigerian Queen

001 Entertainment president, Kelvin Joseph Amroma, established Queen of Trust in 2009, with the first edition held in Port Harcourt. Winners adopt a platform (known in Nigerian pageantry as 'pet project') during their reign – an issue affecting Nigeria. Once chosen, the winner uses her status to address the public regarding her platform. In 2015, halfway through the winner's reign, Queen of Trust was renamed The Nigerian Queen, with 2014's titleholder Onyeka Agu named deputy national director.[3] In 2020, for the first time in the pageant's 11-year history, the TNQ final was held in Lagos instead of Port Harcourt.[4]

As with most major Nigerian pageants, TNQ comprises various segments including local costume, evening gown, and interview. Although contestant pose for publicity photos in identical bikinis, swimwear does not count towards the final score. Preliminaries are held before the grand final, and both fashion and talent shows are included. Prior to 2016, contestants wore their first names on their sashes to reflect their individual personalities, but each girl now represents a state, with more than one contestant occasionally acting as state delegate. Unlike other pageants with strict rules regarding vital statistics, plus-sized girls are allowed to compete, most notably Uyime Stephen (Miss Taraba) who reached the 2020 grand final. The most consistent awards are Best Dinner Gown, Best Local Costume (formerly Best Traditional Attire), Miss Popularity, Miss Photogenic, Most Talented, Top Model, and Nigerian Queen Multimedia. Other awards have included Miss Sportswoman and Miss Amity.

Prizes for the winner and runners-up vary each year; as of 2018 the winner receives a Hyundai car, 700 square metres of land, and ₦1,000,000 plus a trip of Dubai.[5] According to the pageant's president Kelvin Joseph Amroma, during TNQ's first edition, the star prize was a television.[3]

In 2016, Cynthia Ugbah resigned from her position as reigning TNQ after accusing organisers 001 Entertainment of sexual harassment.[13] In a statement Ugbah stated "They wanted me to sleep with men for money and then given the money to them to better their own organisation. Apparently that's how it works. They are rogues, thieves, fake, and most of all broke, they need pretty girls to fetch them money." However, the organisation argued these were false claims, and Ugbah had been dethroned due to gross misconduct.[14]