Follow Us on Google
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Francis Onyedikachukwu, Abuja
A senior civil servant, Dr Clarice Ujah of the Federal Ministry of Education, emerged the biggest individual winner at the 2026 Federal Civil Service Rewards and Recognition Award Ceremony, taking home a brand-new car for outstanding performance and career excellence.
The Federal Ministry of Education also emerged as the ministry with the highest number of awards at the ceremony, winning categories including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award and the Head of Service EPIC Award.
Ujah received the Presidential Distinguished Civil Service Career Award at a ceremony held at the State House, Abuja, where the Federal Government honoured public servants recognised for exceptional commitment, integrity and service to the nation.
The award marked the high point of the ceremony, which the government used to reaffirm its commitment to institutionalising a performance-driven culture in the civil service and rewarding officers who deliver measurable results.
Representing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office, Sani Aminu, said the civil service remained the machinery through which government policies were translated into tangible projects and services for citizens.
“This administration has elevated rewards and recognition for hard work and diligence from an occasional occurrence to a more institutionalised system,” he said.
Aminu said the Federal Executive Council had approved the Rewards and Recognition Policy and the Incentive and Consequence Management Policy to promote high performance and retain talent in the public service.
“Performance must increasingly be judged by clear objectives, measurable outcomes, accountability and the value delivered to citizens,” he said, stressing that “evidence, results and merit” should form the basis for recognition.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, said the award scheme was designed to reinforce a culture in which exceptional performance was identified, celebrated and rewarded.
Other News
She, however, expressed concern that the 2026 programme recorded the lowest number of recipients, blaming the development on the failure of some ministries to comply with guidelines and submit nominations.
“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.
Walson-Jack urged Permanent Secretaries to ensure that deserving officers were regularly nominated and that the recognition system was fully implemented across the service.
She commended the Ministries of Youth Development, Industry, Trade and Investment, and others for consistently implementing their monthly departmental recognition programmes.
“Excellence should not be hurried or treated as another item on a crowded programme. Exceptional officers deserve their own moment, their own stage,” she said.
The Head of Service added a touch of humour to her remarks, saying: “Recognition is inspiring, but recognition with a brand-new car is certainly more memorable.”
She urged Ujah and the other award recipients, whom she described as “Ambassadors of Excellence”, to see the recognition as a call to greater service.
“After today’s applause, photographs and celebrations, we still expect to see you at work,” she said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Tunji Olaopa, called for merit-based recruitment and greater deployment of digital infrastructure to improve efficiency and productivity in the civil service.
