Five Nigerians in public service have been honoured with the Integrity Icon Nigeria (IIN) award for their integrity by Accountability Lab Nigeria.
The awardees are: Chief Superintendent of Police, Mathias Nuhu (Akwa-lbom Police Command, Safer Highway Patrol), and Mrs Oluwashola Shobayo of the Lagos State Office of Internal Audit).
Others are: Col. I.A Manga of the Nigerian Army, FCT; Mr Kumafan Dzaan of the Benue State Bureau of Statistics BSBS and Mrs Ann Ejulle Itodo of Government Senior Secondary School Apo, Abuja.
The award, now in its 9th edition, celebrates ethical public servants whose work demonstrated honesty, professionalism, and impact.
Speaking during the summit yesterday in Abuja, Executive Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Mr. Odeh Friday said that promoting integrity in public service was essential to rebuilding trust and strengthening Nigeria’s system of governance.
He said that the initiative is designed to celebrate ethical public servants whose work demonstrated honesty, professionalism, and impact.
Friday said the programme is implemented in partnership with the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He added that it is aimed at shifting accountability away from fear and punishment, towards incentives, norms, and results.
Today is about recognition with purpose; What we choose to celebrate in our society defines who we are, what our public institutions become, and the kind of society we want,” he said.
Friday noted that recent surveys revealed that when integrity is ignored, ethical public servants become isolated, but when named and famed, it becomes a standard others aspire to meet.
“We identify public servants whose choices under pressure produced evident outcomes for citizens, and we make those choices visible by telling their stories,” he added.
Also speaking, Assistant Inspector General of Police (rtd), Mrs Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison said that Nigeria must entrench ethical leadership, fairness and measurable performance standards across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
She said that this must be done in order to reverse declining public trust and institutional inefficiency.
Ibifuro-Harrison explained that in spite of several policy reforms, Nigeria’s public sector continued to struggle with bureaucracy, weak institutions and a legacy of systemic challenges which dates back to decades.
She listed key challenges affecting service delivery, to include outdated processes, limited digital infrastructure, weak enforcement of policies, politicisation and low morale among civil servants.
Ibifuro-Harrison noted that the civil service was not lacking in dedicated officers but in systems that recognise and reward excellence, integrity and ethical conduct.
She, however, harped on the need for recognition to go beyond annual ceremonies to a sustained system that provides platforms and support for ethical officers.
Director-General of BPSR, Dasuki Arabi commended Accountability Lab Nigeria and its partners for sustaining one of the country’s most credible citizen-focused accountability platforms.
He noted that the Integrity Icon campaign had grown into a movement which identifies and celebrates exemplary public servants.
