Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, stated this on Saturday night in Abuja at the 2026 Federal Civil Service Rewards and Recognition Award Ceremony held at the State House.
Walson-Jack said the Rewards and Recognition System was designed to ensure that excellence, integrity and outstanding service were identified and appropriately rewarded across the Federal Civil Service.
She lamented that the 2026 programme recorded its lowest number of award recipients, noting that only nine of the 29 Federal Ministries that submitted nominations fully complied with the guidelines covering the six award categories.
“Excellent civil servants cannot be recognised if their ministries do not nominate them. The Awards Selection Committee is diligent, but it is not a committee that reads minds,” she said.
The Head of Service urged Permanent Secretaries to provide the necessary leadership to ensure full implementation of the system and prevent deserving officers from being left out of the recognition programme.
According to her, the system operates through three mutually reinforcing components: Monthly Departmental, Annual Ministerial and Service-Wide Rewards and Recognition.
She said the officers honoured at the ceremony distinguished themselves through hard work, creativity, discipline, resilience and commitment to public service.
Walson-Jack commended the Ministries of Youth Development; Industry, Trade and Investment; Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs; Regional Development; and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for consistently implementing the Monthly Departmental Awards Programme and submitting the required quarterly reports.
She also acknowledged the support of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, which provides cash rewards under the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation’s EPIC Award, as well as Leadway Assurance Company Limited, which sponsored a brand-new car for the overall winner of the 2026 awards. She noted that the partnership demonstrated the importance of public-private collaboration in promoting excellence in the public service.
She congratulated the award recipients and urged them to sustain the standards that earned them the recognition, while mentoring younger officers and leading by example.
The Presidential Distinguished Civil Service Career Award was presented to Dr Claris Ujam, a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Education, who received a key to a brand-new car as the overall winner.
Ujam, a public and education administrator, planner and author with over 30 years of service in Nigeria’s education sector, was recognised for her contributions to public administration, education planning, policy strategy, and human and material resources development.
She was also recognised for her role in securing education grants and ICT equipment worth over $4 million from the Government of Japan following her strategic engagements at the UNESCO-International Institute of Capacity Building in Africa conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2025.
The Presidential Civil Service Merit Award went to Abumoye Ayo Emmanuel, while the Civil Service Excellence Award was presented to the Youth Help Desk of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Youth Help Desk was recognised for its performance in handling more than 5,000 citizen requests and resolving over 4,100 cases since its establishment in 2024, in line with SERVICOM standards.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation EPIC Award was presented to Anthony Okechukwu Ogwo and Peter Ochoche Emmanuel.
Other award categories included the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award, which went to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Sports Achievement Award, presented to Aseyaiseimor Pente Kelvin.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office, Aminu Yargaya, said the Federal Civil Service remained the machinery through which government policies and national priorities were translated into programmes and projects for the benefit of Nigerians.
Akume said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had elevated rewards and recognition for hard work and diligence from an occasional practice to an institutionalised system of performance recognition.
He said the Federal Executive Council had approved several measures and policies aimed at strengthening the welfare and performance of civil servants, including the Rewards and Recognition Policy, Incentive and Consequence Management Policy, and Civil Service Mentoring Policy.
According to him, the policies are designed to drive high performance, retain talent and ensure that excellence, innovation and professional competence are recognised within the public service.
He stressed that performance must increasingly be assessed on the basis of clear objectives, measurable outcomes, accountability and value delivered to citizens.
He congratulated the awardees and urged them to see the recognition as a responsibility to maintain high standards of competence, integrity, punctuality, creativity, professionalism and service.
