President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja honoured two civil servants, Muhammad Ahmad and Nelson Okoronkwo and a Nigerian student in Japan for exhibiting exemplary acts of honesty and integrity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tukur, an Assistant Commander of Narcotics, works at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
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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.
Okorokwo, currently a staff of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, was also 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 more than 3,000 fake employers from the Service.
The act saved the government millions of naira in terms of salaries and emoluments.
Ikenna Nweke, a PhD student from Imo studying in Japan, found a wallet containing a large sum of money and other valuables.
He returned them to the Japanese Police where he also declined 10 per cent of the money he found when a reward was offered to him.
On Nweke who joined the event virtually from his base in Japan President Buhari said: ‘‘I am also happy to note the ICPC special award the PhD student from Imo State studying in Japan.
Illegal recruitment
President Buhari said 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.
“We reduced the cost of governance by maintaining our promise to complete abandoned or on-going projects started by previous administrations.
“We have ensured that MDAs did not put forward new capital projects at the expense of on-going projects.
“Government has, however, noted from the activities of the ICPC that some MDAs have devised the fraudulent practice of presenting new projects as on-going projects.
‘‘Necessary action and sanctions will continue against the heads of such errant MDAs.
“I am confident that ICPC will continue to maintain the vigilance required of her by the ICPC Act in this regard,’’ the president said.
The president described the summit with the theme: “Corruption and Cost of Governance: New Imperatives for Fiscal Transparency,’’’ as auspicious.
