The Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Zaphaniah Jisalo, has called upon the Nigerian National Merit Award to expand its efforts in identifying deserving Nigerians, both within the country and abroad, who merit recognition through merit awards.
Expressing concern over the relatively low number of awardees, with only 79 individuals having received the honor since its establishment in 1979, Minister Jisalo urged the organization to broaden its scope and acknowledge more outstanding Nigerians.
These remarks were made by the minister during a familiarization tour to the organization, as conveyed in a statement issued by Anastasia Ogbonna, the Director of Press at the ministry.
“The minister was, however, not so pleased that since 1979 that the award was instituted, only 79 persons have so far been conferred with the honours.
“He added that selection should be expanded to include politicians and even young people who have excelled in different endeavours,” it read.
Previously, Mercy Moro’a, the acting Secretary of the Nigerian National Merit Award, appealed to the minister, leveraging his extensive parliamentary background, to aid in enhancing their limited budget allocations, thereby enabling them to effectively execute their responsibilities.
Additionally, the Permanent Secretary,Ibiene Roberts, highlighted that the purpose of the familiarization visit was to ensure seamless coordination of government policies and initiatives, particularly those necessitating collaboration among various government tiers and parastatals.
It’s important to distinguish between the Nigerian National Merit Award and the National Honours Award. The former is achieved through merit, while the latter is bestowed as an honor.
