By John Ikani
President Muhammadu Buhari has presented the 2021 Public Service Integrity Awards to three Nigerians.
The President on Tuesday in Abuja honoured two civil servants, Muhammad Ahmad and Nelson Okoronkwo, as well as a Nigerian student in Japan for exhibiting exemplary acts of honesty and integrity.
Heritage Times gathered that Ahmad, an officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was recognised for demonstrating the highest ideals and standards of public service in the discharge of his responsibilities.
He recently recovered and declared to the Agency 24,500 dollars offered as bribe by a drug baron.
The money was meant to compromise an investigation of 28kg of cocaine worth billions of Naira.
Okoronko, currently a staff of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, was recognised for his consistent acts of integrity in the different ministries where he previously served.
He was a committee member on fertiliser distribution that led to the recovery of billions of naira from racketeers with collaborators in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He was also credited to have reported corrupt practices that led to the Ogoni clean-up investigation in the Federal Ministry Environment.
As Committee Chairman on Illegal Recruitment in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, the Deputy Director facilitated the detection and removal of over 3000 fake employees from the service thereby saving the government millions of naira in terms of salaries and emoluments.
Mr Nweke, the Nigerian PhD student in Japan, who found a wallet containing a very large amount of money and other valuables returned it to the Japanese police.
He declined 10 per cent of the money offered to him as a reward.
The Nigerian, who joined the event virtually from his base in Japan, was recognised for his act of ‘‘honesty and integrity,’’ by the president.
On Mr Nweke, President Buhari said:
‘‘I am also happy to note the ICPC special award to Ikenna Steve Nweke, a Nigerian Ph.D student from Imo State studying in Japan.
‘‘He has done Nigeria proud in far-away Japan by displaying traditional Nigerian values of honesty and integrity and returning a wallet containing a very large sum of money and other valuables to the police.
‘‘He also declined 10 per cent of the money found as a reward offered to him.
‘‘He is indeed an icon and a beacon for our youths. I also congratulate all those to be awarded the ICPC Certificate of Integrity through their agencies.’’
The President further seized the occasion to warn that his administration would not hesitate to punish Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that fraudulently present new projects as on-going projects in the budget.
He warned that the Federal Government would sanction those bringing in personnel into the public workforce through illegal recruitment, or pad their payrolls and retain ghost workers.
