President Muhammadu Buhari has conferred the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) Award for years 2020 and 2021 on three Nigerians who distinguished themselves in the field of medicine and science, expressing the belief that Nigeria’s collective future rests on active participation in science and technology.
Conferring the award on the recipients, Dr. Oluyinka Olurotimi Olutoye, Medicine (2020); the late Professor Charles Ejike Chidume, Science (2020) and Professor Godwin O. Samuel Ekhaguere, Science (2021), the President said he was very proud to welcome the new Laureates to the prestigious league of highly honoured citizens.
He said the nation would continue to celebrate and trumpet the scholars’ achievements as a shining example worthy of emulation by the upcoming young men and women in the country.
The President noted that since the Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) was established 43 years ago, the addition of the three recipients would bring the total number of recipients to only 79, confirming the high standards of the Award and undeniable testimony of the strict adherence to quality and the merit-driven evaluation procedure for selecting laureates.
He added that the integrity of the Award also underscores the high expectations of the nation that the new recipients, like their predecessors, would continue to hold the banners of creativity and intellectual excellence very high.
While congratulating the three awardees, the President expressed the government’s appreciation for the patience of the 2020 Award winners, who had to wait close to two years to receive their Award due to the emergence of Covid-19 in 2020.
The president recounted that the total lockdown of the country in 2020, made it difficult for the assessment process to hold then but was later held concurrently last year alongside with the 2021 applications.
The President enjoined youths in the country to emulate the good works of the laureates by dedicating themselves to excellence and strive to contribute their quota to the arduous task of getting Nigeria on the top bracket of outstanding nations.
He also congratulated members of the Governing Board of the NNMA under the Chairmanship of Prof. Shekarau Yakubu Aku, as well as members of the Four Specialized Committees of Assessors and External Assessors for their integrity and transparency, and for the excellent work they have done.
On the request of the Chairman of the Governing Board over the dwindling budgetary allocation to the Agency and how it is constraining the agency in carrying out its mandatory functions, President Buhari promised that the Federal Government would provide special intervention as was done in the year 2020 to the NNMA, within limited resources available.
Acknowledging the focal place that NNMA occupies and the calibre of all laureates produced by the Agency, the President assured that the Federal Government would do everything possible to maintain and sustain the Agency.
The Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Sen. George Akume said the three intellectuals emerged winners for the 2020 and 2021 Award after the selection process, from the over 1,200 applications received by the NNOM Governing Board during the period under consideration.
He called on Nigerian universities to rise up to the challenge and continue to lead in innovative research targeted at providing solutions to the myriad of problems affecting the country, especially post COVID-19 era.
In his remarks, the Chairman NNMA Governing Board, Prof Aku announced that recipients of the prestigious award bestowed by Nigeria on its citizens for creative, intellectual, and academic contributions that are of national and global importance receive a cash reward of N10 million each.
The recipients of the award are divided into four areas- Medicine, Science, Engineering and Technology, and the Humanities, including Education and Culture
Bello Wakili
