Two persons have received the 2021 Public Service Integrity Award, while another has been named the Citizens Anti-corruption Volunteer Group Icon at the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption In The Public Service.
The awardees were presented to President Muhammadu Buhari, by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, at the Summit which held earlier today, 30 November, 2021 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
TheFact Nigeria reports that the awardees were being recognized for demonstrating stellar ideals and standards in the course of discharging their responsibilities.
One of the recipients of the Public Service Integrity Award, Muhammed Tukur Ahmad, who is the Assistant Commander of Narcotics at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, is said to have, over the years, demonstrated the highest ideals and standards of public service in the discharge of his duties.
A recipient of the Chairman/Chief Executive’s award for Outstanding Performance and Integrity on 31 May, 2021, Ahmad recently recovered and declared to the Agency the sum of USD24,500 offered to him as bribe by a drug baron to compromise an investigation of 27.95kg of cocaine worth billions of naira.
Mr. Nelson, Orji Okonkwo, Deputy Director, Legal, of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture also received the Public Service Integrity Award at the event.
His involvement as a Committee member on Fertilizer distribution and racketeering led to the recovery of billions of naira from the racketeers, and exposed collaborators within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Okonkwo was also a member of the Investigation Committee on Supersulphate Fertilizer Company Limited, Kaduna, that led to the refund of billions of naira. He is also said to have reported corrupt practices that led to the Ogoni Clean-up Investigation in the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Furthermore, he headed the Committee on illegal recruitment, which led to the detection and removal of over 3,000 fake employees from service in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, thereby saving the government millions of naira in salaries and emoluments. Okonkwo has received several awards and commendations for his acts of integrity, and is being recognized for his consistent acts of integrity in the different Ministries where he served.
Ikenna Steve Nweke took home the Citizens Anti-corruption Volunteer Group Icon award. A Ph.D student from Imo State studying in Japan, he found a wallet containing a huge sum of money and other valuables, and returned the wallet and its contents to the Japanese Police. Furthermore, he turned down 10% of the money he found when a reward was offered to him.
According to a written profile on him, he is being recognized for his acts of honesty and integrity, which have affirmed the fact that Nigerians are good people.
Other public servants were also recognised and issued the ICPC Certificate of Integrity for exhibiting the much needed virtue in the line of duty. The recipients include Ifalolu Stephen Ifabiyi, Chief Technical Officer, Ecological Fund, Office of the Secretary General of the Federation, OSGF, Umar Adamu Tsoho, Assistant Director, Steel, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Okoli Elizabeth Ukamaka, Director, FCT Pensions, Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, and Sebastian Tsenke Zoemlong, Assistant Chief Admin. Officer, OSGF.
