Gani Fawehinmi Integrity Awards Hold December
BY EDMOND ODOK – The deadline for submitting entries for this year’s edition of the Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Awards (GFIIA) has been fixed for September 16, 2022.
Consequently, members of the public, within and outside Nigeria, are invited to nominate “Nigerians of impeccable integrity and or notable impact for recognition” at the 2022 GFIIA.
A statement by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), the Coordinating Secretariat for the Awards, advised that nominations should be done through the Awards website: “www.gfa.hedang.org”, on or before the deadline of September 16, 2022.
The statement further 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.
Also, HEDA said the public is welcome to nominate worthy individuals for the Awards’ four categories of; ‘The outstanding Integrity Award’; ‘Outstanding Impact Award’; ‘Valuable WhistleBlower Award’; and ‘Nigerians in Diaspora Integrity Ambassador Award’.
It was also explained that “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 Board of the Awards consists 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 with Civil Rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) as Co-Chaired, HEDA said.
In formally flagging off the Awards for this year, being the 5th edition, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju said; “The overall objective 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 the greater number of people to follow.
“This is why HEDA, with the support of the MacArthur Foundation, launched the GFIIA in 2018 to recognise these forthright individuals”.
HEDA has therefore urged Nigerians at home and abroad to take the opportunity of the Award in contributing their quota to the fight against corruption, particularly by nominating credible people worthy of recognition and also participating in the process of voting and final Awards.