Buhari Confers Excellence Awards on Jonathan, Lawan, 42 Others

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday presented Excellence Awards in Public Service to former President Goodluck Jonathan and 43 other prominent Nigerians at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Excellence Awards in Public Service (NEAPS), held at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja.

Buhari said he was delighted that the maiden edition of the NEAPS was a private-sector initiative, organised by The Best Strategic Media in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to recognise excellent service delivery.

He said, “I am particularly happy to recognise His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, my predecessor, for his contribution to peace building from the Niger Delta region, which was snowballed into the Nation and now, around the world. Since leaving office, he has deployed his rich experience to ensure peace in many parts of Africa and has led mediation talks in several parts of the globe.”

While thanking organisers of the event, The Best Strategic Media (TBS), led by Ms. Mariam Mohammed, a Publisher and Public Relations expert, for the continuous support of his administration, President Buhari said the initiative was commendable “for deploying one of the best indices to determine the level of performance of Public Officers.’’

In his remarks, former President Jonathan, who received an Award for Peace Building, thanked the President for always making time to encourage initiatives that recognise the contributions of individuals and institutions to nation-building.

“On behalf of all those that have received awards, I wish to say a very big thank you to the President and organisers,’’ Jonathan said.

Describing the event as unique, the former President assured that the awards will serve as an impetus for more service to the nation and humanity.

Earlier in his speech, Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said NEAPS is an award that recognises hard work and purposeful leadership that has contributed to national development.

According to him, “The Nigerian Excellence Award in Public Service is an award that recognises and rewards innovation, purposeful leadership and other exceptional deserving individuals that have contributed immensely to the growth and development of the public service and the country at large.”

The President presented various categories of awards to 44 recipients including Jonathan; the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; 16 state governors, including those of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers and Bauchi.

Earlier, in his welcome address, President Buhari has identified nepotism, cronyism, and political patronage as some forms of corrupt practices that distract public servants from delivering on their mandates.

He stressed that the authorities must standardise their penal systems for punishing corruption in public service in order not to send the wrong signal to the public.

Commenting on how corrupt practices slow public service delivery down, President Buhari said: “At present, issues in corruption continue to affect the civil services in many countries around the world. Several reasons for these issues still exist because of the deeply rooted problems like nepotism, cronyism, political patronage as well as lack of transparency and accountability. These vices distract them from delivering on their mandate and aspirations.

“The unsystematic enforcement of law and institutional mechanisms for holding civil servants and public officials accountable for their actions will always lead to a negative impression to the citizens.”

President Buhari said leaders in the private and public sectors should be more mindful of their positions as “trustees of the people’’, urging them to always work towards leaving a legacy that will be long remembered.