Moghalu gets award for excellence in public service

The Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr George Moghalu, has emerged as winner of BusinessDay Excellence in Public Service Award 2021.

Moghalu, while receiving the award in Abuja, expressed his commitment to improve on his pace and achieve more results.

”I am Happy that I was recognised for my service.

”When you are recognised by people who are watching you unconsciously and all of a sudden they write to inform you they have been following your activities and they want to recognise you, naturally the reaction is to feel happy, that is the truth, I feel happy about it.

“Yes, for any recognition like this it brings about more work, what they have done is to encourage me to keep working at my pace.

“The award will encourage me to improve on my pace to achieve more results.

“And so I see it as a driving force; somebody telling you, you are doing well, continue, that is exactly what it is,” Moghalu said.

The Federal Commissioner, National Commission For Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, another recipient of the award, also reiterated her commitment to greater performance.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim said: ”I feel honored today, I’m grateful for the recognition given to our work as a team with the support of our superiors and staff.

”Like you all know, the reward for hard work is more work. So I feel recharged, this is like a challenge for us to do more.

”There is a lot to be done, there is a lot that has been done but like I said, we have to intensify and double up efforts because those numbers have to shrink and we have to intervene for this people.”

Another awardee, Dr Sanusi Ohiare, Executive Director, Rural Electrification Agency, said his agency would re-double its effort towards providing access and scaling up interventions to reach all rural Nigerians.

”I am humbled because my career in public service is quite short, I have just spent about six years and I’m getting this award.

”That goes to show that it is not how far but how well, so given the little opportunity that one has, you need to demonstrate capacity and make sure you excell in all you do.

”For us at the Rural Electrification Agency, we have tried our best since we came on board since 2017, to bring about different projects and programmes that will affect the lives of rural communities across Nigeria.

”And this award would allow us re-double our efforts towards providing access and scaling up our interventions to reach all rural Nigerians.

”So I dedicate this award to those rural people that we are yet to reach and we are assuring them that in no distant time we would reach them, Ohiare said.

Earlier, the Managing Director, BusinessDay Media Ltd. Dr Ogho Okiti, said the selection process for the award was based on the awardees achievements under their watch over the last year.

Okiti said: “We have sustained this leadership thought initiative and commitment for awhile for the sole aim of developing Nigeria, as the voice of business in West Africa.

“This gathering brings together important players in public sector who have distinguished themselves by promoting good governance and development through their leadership capacities in their agencies and departments.

Our correspondent reports that the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas and Managing Director, North-East Development Commission, Mohammed Alkali among others, were also awarded for excellent performance.