• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

Mustapha, Ahmed, Adamu bag BusinessDay Awards

Boss Mustapha

Top public servants, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed on Thursday topped recipients at the BusinessDay Excellence in Public Service Award.

Publisher of BusinessDay Newspapers, Frank Aigbogun in his welcome remarks urged Nigerian leaders to adopt innovative strategies to properly manage the nation’s resources and enhance rapid development in the country.

The award, which is third in the series is used to recognize top public servants who have made their marks in public service

Aigbogun who noted that the country was faced with challenges that require stringent resource management skills to tackle, described public service is a thankless job that require commitment and dedication.

He said unless the leaders imbibe hardwork and genuineness can rapid national growth be achieved

Represented by the Managing Director of BusinessDay Newspapers, Ogho Okhiti, Aigbogun explained that the public service awards was informed by the contributions of awardees to nation building and stability of the country.

“Public service is a thankless job.

“I mean the ministers, the governors, special advisers, heads of government agencies,  what you do everyday is what I call thankless job.

“All public servants do thankless job because hundred percent of what you do is all that is required. When you work perfectly for ninety nine percent and the public does not appreciate you,  whether it is an error or a mistake it does not mean you have not done well.

“So today, we want to recongnise the contributions you have been making in public service and for the growth of the country. And this is what it means to be a public servant. You have been carefully selected because of your immense contributions to the development of Nigeria, “Aigbogun said.

In his remarks, the Ona of Abaji and chairman of FCT Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa, represented by Kamal Adamu Shuaibu, sarkin Gabis Abaji said leaders should be recognised for their commitment to duty and performance.

“These awards is for your dedication duty and because you have worked for it and have earned it.

“In this trying times of the nation,  it incumbent that leaders show commitment and dedication to initiate programmes that can bring development,” he stated.

Apart from the SGF, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Aisha Dahir-Umar, director general, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Suleiman Adamu, Minister, water resources, and the director general of federal competition and  consumer protection Commission (FCCPC) also bagged the top award alongside 12 others.

Zainab Ahmed was appointed minister of finance, budget and national planning in August 2019, after serving as the minster of state budget and national planning.

Ahmed as the minister of finance is saddled with the responsibility of managing and controlling the national public finance with specific functions of preparing annual estimates of revenue and expenditure for the federal government.

She also has the responsibilities of formulating fiscal policies, mobilizing domestic and external financial resources through both internal and external financial institutions.

Under her watch, the minister has been instrumental to the reforms in the 2019 finance act as well as the return to January to December budget cycle.

The excellence in public service Award which is an annual recognition event is open to federal ministries, heads of departments and agencies with the aim to celebrate functionaries occupying strategic positions in the federal administration.

In the face of the shrinking budgetary allocations and marching orders to deliver of the President Buhari’s vision, many of the winners have had to apply innovative strategies and stringent resources management skills to achieve their goals.

Aisha Dahir-Umar, as the Acting DG, PenCom, heads the regulating and supervisory exercise of all pension matters in Nigeria.

The DG who joined the commission in March 2005 as the deputy general manager, management service department, rose to general manager of the department and subsequently became the general manager corperate responsibility and services department before her recent appointment as the Acting DG of the commission.

Suleiman Adamu, minister of water resources, selflessly served as project manager in several projects notably undertbe PTF Urban/ semi-urban, regional and Rural water supply programs among others.

Elias Bogoro, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) award for excellence in public service.

The excellence in public service award is an annual recognition event that celebrates functionaries occupying strategic position in the federal administration, who in the performance of their responsibilities embody the beat values of responsible policy formulation, operational delivery excellence and broad stakeholder.

Bogoro was recognised and awarded for visionary innovation and creation of three specialist centres in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi. He is also recognised for his sound policies nd leadership in infrastructure development of public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Bogoro served as Executive Secretary of TETFund from 2014 to 2016 before he was disengaged. He was reinstated in 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mele Kolo Kyari, Group Managing director, NNPC was awarded for his dedication to duty and effective delivery of all tasks assigned to him. Under his watch, the Crude Oil Marketing recorded remarkable transformation in the management and sales of the various Gas liquids which led to the optimisation of revenues acceptable to the federation and timely recovery of proceeds of sales among other achievements.