An International Anti-Corruption NGO, the Centre for Ethics and Self Value Orientation (CESVO) on Wednesday conferred three awards on the Lagos State Labour Party Chairman and Secretary, Pastor Dayo Ekong and Mr Sam Okpala respectively for their leadership integrity.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centre presented the Corporate Ethics and Integrity Compliance Award as well as Ethical Leadership/Conduct Compliance Certificate to the chairman and the secretary.
The body also inducted Ekong into its Hall of Fame as an Integrity Icon of Nigeria (IION), having qualified among the top 10 highly rated most ethically responsible/least corrupt leadership of state chapters of Labour Party in Nigeria, 2022.
Presenting the awards at the LP State Secretariat in Lagos on Wednesday, Prince Musa Yakubu, the Executive Director of CESVO, said that the centre conducted annual independent secret investigations and budget tracking to celebrate leaders with value for integrity.
According to him, the centre uses the instrumentality of opinion polls, interviews with informants, distribution of multiple questionnaires and project site visitation without the knowledge of our targeted subject of assessment, to avoid influence on its mission.
“We are in a country where the real men of ethics and values, who stand firm for justice and fair play and refuse to compromised for worldly gains are going going into extinction while the morally bankrupt have taken over the stage as highest celebrities.
“We expose corruption where necessary, appreciating those responsible for helping to change the narratives of mis-governance and corruption in both public and private sectors of Nigeria.
“We are complement fight against corruption with the building of capacity of citizens towards eliminating the course of corruption in Nigeria.
“The whistle blowers of the centre who visited and conducted same exercise thrice on the activities of your association amongst others and to all the states of the federation have recommended you for the tripartite awards,” Yakubu said.
He said that Ekong and Okpala and the party as an entity had been collectively nominated to be so honoured for contribution to the service of humanity and their dexterity in quality of successes recorded by the party in the state before and during the last elections.
“The award has no price tag. This is an unsolicited Award only for men and women of integrity and based on meritocracy,” he added.
According to him, the centre does not engage in monetised award to qualified citizens that are adding value for national growth, hunger and poverty reduction via proactive and responsible leadership.
He listed previous recipients of the centre’s Category A Integrity Icons of Nigeria Awards and Category B Ambassadors of Ethics and Global Citizens of Conscience in Nigeria to include Chief Emmanuel Inwanyanwu, Chief Femi Otedola, Dr Emeka Anyaoku, Dr Alfred Martins among others.
Yakubu explained that from the centre tour of states, it had overtime chosen 100 Reps in 9th Assembly, 30 Senators, 100 state legislators, 100 elected chairmen of Local Government Areas, 50 kingdoms, 50 professors and Senior or private citizens who met the group’s leadership integrity test in 10 thematic areas.
He listed the areas to include, public accessibility, emotional intelligence, due process application, participation in community affairs, ethical uprightness ad contribution to the youth, women and less priviledged.
He added that the areas also included transparency and accountable leadership, national interest consideration, contribution to hunger and poverty reduction, self and fiscal discipline fiscal discipline, antecedents, Integrity among others.
Yakubu said that the centre’s integrity hall of fame was status exclusively reserved for the incorruptible public servants/citizens in Nigeria serving the nation and reducing poverty amongst citizens.
“We research to unravel those helping us to change the narrative of mis-governance and corruption in Nigeria and you are part of those we have identified after our secret investigation to all states/Federal Capital Territory,” he said.
Commending the Lagos state chapter of LP, Yakubu said that the party leadership had helped in changing the narrative of politics in Nigeria.
Responding, Ekong, who expressed surprised at the awards, said that the nation needed leaders who valued integrity, to give hope to the citizens.
Ekong, who noted that she was emulating the LP Presidential Candidate, Mr Peter Obi, promised that the party would continued to do its best to move Nigeria forward.
“We live in a society where people do what they like and get away. We, in Labour Party, are poised about changing the narrative.
“We have a good head in person of Mr Peter Obi, a leader that is trustworthy and compassionate and think about the masses. We need worthy leaders we can emulate.
“For us to forge ahead, we need leaders that see black and call it black and white and call it white, that’s who Mr Peter Obi is.
“We know there is hope for Nigeria. We won’t give up and we are not resting on our oars. we will keep doing the right things to make sure Nigerians are rescue,” the chairman said.
Also, Okpala said that the awards had revealed that all hope was not lost on the country, because “we have come to the point where it looks stupid to be sincere and maintain integrity.”
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