President Bola Tinubu has urged public servants to uphold public trust and be accountable to the citizens of Nigeria.
The call was made through his Vice President, Kashim Shettima, during the Nigeria Excellence Awards in Public Service on Saturday. The event took place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The NEAPS, a private sector initiative in partnership with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, aims to honor and inspire excellence in Nigeria’s public service sector. President Tinubu’s address emphasized his administration’s commitment to fostering a work environment where merit is recognized and every public servant is motivated to excel.
In his speech, President Tinubu highlighted that public institutions should not be treated as personal enterprises but as entities where officials serve the Nigerian people. He stressed that the purpose of the NEAPS event was not merely to celebrate achievements but to embed a culture of recognition and reward in the nation’s public service ethos.
“More than ever, our public service must live up to its expectation as a public trust where every official must account to the people, and ours is to create an ecosystem where they not only stand out but stand apart from those who sabotage us,” Tinubu said.
He acknowledged that while institutional measures have been established to prevent dysfunction in public service, there are still individuals who exploit these gaps. Despite these challenges, he emphasized the importance of constantly reminding oneself that public institutions are not private enterprises, and public servants are employees of the Nigerian citizens.
Tinubu affirmed his full support for NEAPS, recognizing it as a strategic initiative to inspire the workforce, set performance benchmarks, and foster positive societal change. He noted that reward and recognition are essential markers of a thriving institution and a prosperous nation.
“Our labour force remains the ultimate reflection of our principles, as practised by men and women who rise every day with a commitment to building a better future for all citizens. We, therefore, owe these silent architects of our national progress more than just a debt of gratitude,” he stated.
Tinubu also commended the 44 awardees, acknowledging that their achievements set a precedent for excellence in public service. He called on all to strive to make the values exemplified by the awardees a fundamental part of Nigeria’s public service culture.
“There’s no better way to water this forest of high performance, integrity, and accountability than our collective refusal to underplay the efforts of those who labour day in and day out to hold our nation together,” he concluded.