By Dele Ade
Members of the public in Nigeria and abroad have been invited to nominate Nigerians of impeccable integrity and or notable impact for recognition at the 2022 edition of the Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Awards (GFIIA). The nomination should be done through the Awards website: “www.gfa.hedang.org,” on or before the deadline, September 16, 2022, the announcement read.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) which is the coordinating secretariat for the Awards also released a timetable, indicating that the Awards process – including nomination, screening, voting and presentation – will this year span a period of four months to allow for effective and full participation of members of the public as usual, with the final presentation scheduled for early December.
In a press release in Lagos, HEDA said, members of the public are welcome to nominate worthy people for the four categories of the Award including Outstanding Integrity Award; Outstanding Impact Award; Valuable WhistleBlower Award; and Nigerians in Diaspora Integrity Ambassador Award.
Nomination may also be done through the direct link: http://gfa.hedang.org/apply/ as updates and more information are provided through the hashtag #GFIIA2022 and the organisation’s social media handles, particularly @HEDAgenda, the organisation’s Twitter handle, the release said.
The Board of the Award consist of eminent personalities including Prof. Itse Sagay, Prof. Uzoguruwa Udombana, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju, Dr Abiola Akiode-Afolabi, Comrade Chuka Achude and Comrade Femi Aborisade while the Awards is chaired by Prof. Ayo Atsenua and Co-Chaired by Mr Femi Falana, SAN, HEDA said.
While flagging off this year’s edition of the Awards, being the 5th edition, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju said: “The overall objective of the Awards is to take the fight against corruption beyond the usual naming and shaming, and to step outside the box by ensuring that those who notwithstanding the attractiveness of corruption, bribery and other forms of sharp practices have taken to a life of transparency, honesty and integrity are identified, duly recognized and honoured, as a form of inspiration for greater number of people to follow. This is why HEDA, with the Support of MacArthur Foundation, launched the GFIIA in 2018 to recognise these forthright individuals.”
HEDA calls on Nigerians home and abroad to take the opportunity of the Award to contribute their quota to the fight against corruption by nominating credible people worthy of recognition and participating through the process of voting and final Awards.