NGO honours govt. officials with integrity icon award in Abuja

TECHNOCRAT MEDIA, Abuja

Accountability Lab Nigeria (ALNigeria), an international civil society organization has awarded honest government officials at its annual Integrity Icon Awards.

The organization said the award is an outcome of her Integrity Icon campaign which it described as a unique attempt at identifying, supporting, and connecting honest and outstanding government officials making a difference in their communities in a bid to create a world where governance works for citizens.

The fifth iteration of the Integrity Icon Awards was held on Thursday in Abuja.

Odeh Friday, ALNigeria Country Director in his welcome address said “Seeking out people with integrity was a daunting task. We encourage other media groups to join this campaign and help give hope to other Nigerians doing good.”

“We would not stop at just celebrating them today or making celebrities out of them but go a bit further to help transform them into trendsetters within their various organizations through a series of team-building events, making them Integrity ambassadors helping to win colleagues over to becoming people of integrity and building a clique of integrity champions through coalitions within their work environment.”, Mr Friday added.

He said the integrity campaign is a journey to rewrite the common narrative “that everyone in the public service is corrupt ” and to inspire a new generation of public servants who embody the virtues of integrity and accountability in their service.

Also, the founder of Accountability Lab, Blair Glencorse who gave his opening address virtually praised the icons and the significance of their winning the award.

“I am so excited that Accountability Lab Nigeria is celebrating our icons today. The campaign is important in showing the kind of narratives we want to build everywhere in the world. The world is watching and learning from you icons and we will do our best to amplify your stories.”, he said.

While unveiling the integrity icons, Mr Friday said the winner emerged following an online voting campaign that garnered over 6000 votes with Icon Musa Agono who emerged as the People’s choice Icon of the year 2021.

The five public servants that were honoured include Emem Ette, the head of the Akwa Ibom state sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) response department; Ekpo-Ita A. Gladys, Scientific Officer I at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Cross River State; Comrade Ibrahim Musa Kirfi, chairman, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Corporate Affairs Commission; Adigwe-Uzor Esther, a Commandant and Zonal Head of Department for Critical National Assets and Infrastructure, NSCDC and Musa Agono, Assistant Superintendent of Corps II (ASCII) of NSCDC, Kogi state command.

Earlier in the same day, the ALNigeria held an ‘art for integrity summit’ to generate discussion around the state of integrity and accountability in Nigeria.

The “Art for Integrity” featured 52 creative artworks from young Nigerian designers reflecting integrity in government.

The top three winners of the Art for Integrity Exhibition; Adetolu Adewoye, Olayade Oluwaponmile, and Aye Vera Umasoye emerged the best out of the 52 artists for their unique think pieces on integrity.

The campaign according to ALNigeria is to name and fame honest government officials with supports from the John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Luminate group.