The federal government has inaugurated the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award Committee for selecting deserving recipients of the 2024 honours.
It urged the members to take pride in being entrusted with such an important national assignment, and ensure preservation of the integrity as well as quality of the award at all cost.
Inaugurating the committee in Abuja on Wednesday, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, disclosed that the committee was the 4th to be inaugurated since the inception of the NPOM Award in 1991.
She added; “This is critical to the process of selecting the awardees for the NPOM Award for this year and the years to come.”
The minister emphasised the importance of the committee’s assignment to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, and to his commitment to unleashing the country’s full economic potential, “by focusing on job creation, access to capital for small and large businesses, inclusiveness, the rule of law, and the fight against hunger, poverty and corruption, by which productivity is the bedrock.”
Onyejeocha noted that the members of the committee were nominated based on their competence and dedication to duty.
She expressed confidence in their ability to justify the confidence reposed in them, and meet up with the expectations of them to succeed despite the enormity of the task.
The minister appreciated the National Productivity Centre under the leadership of Dr Nasir Raji-Mustapha for the efforts put into promoting productivity initiatives like the NPOM Awards.
Director-General, National Productivity Centre, Dr Nasir Raji-Mustapha, stated that the National Productivity Order of Merit Award was designed to recognise and honour at national and state levels, “the most productive individuals and organisations in Nigeria in the year of the award for achievements made in the three preceding years.”
He added that the objectives of the award include institutionalising productivity consciousness and excellence in service among workers and organisations in both public and private sectors in Nigeria, and building and encouraging the spirit of self-reliance.
Chairman of the committee, Eze Duru-Iheoma, promised that the committee would carry out the task for which it was inaugurated, with diligence and integrity.
The members of the committee were drawn from both the public and private sectors including Ministry of Labour and Employment, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Senate, House of Representatives, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and National Productivity Centre (NPC).
