FUTO, NOUN, IAR, NDIC, NEMA others for Verbatim Pillars of Integrity Awards, Tuesday
Verbatim Magazine will host the inaugural Verbatim Annual Ethics and Integrity Awards tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. The ceremony will also feature the formal unveiling of the Verbatim100 Series, a new developmental journalism initiative documenting leadership, institutional performance, governance and national development.
Scheduled for 2:00 p.m., the event will be chaired by His Excellency, Senator, Professor Iyorwuese Harry Hagher, OON, a distinguished scholar, statesman and diplomat who served as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Canada.
Organised by Verbatim Magazine in strategic partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the event will honour the Top 100 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) identified in the ICPC Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) 2025.
Among the institutional leaders expected to receive the honours on behalf of their organisations are Professor Ikechukwu N. S. Dozie, Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO); Professor Uduma Oji Uduma, Vice-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN); Professor Ado A. Yusuf, Executive Director, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC); and Mrs. Zubaida Abubakar Umar, Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Others include Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed, mni, Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); Engr. Prof. Samson Duna, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NIBRRI); Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, Registrar/Chief Executive, National Examinations Council (NECO); Dr. Mrs. Basilia N. Igbokwe, Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri; and Aisha Garba, Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
These institutional heads are among the senior public-sector leaders expected to represent their organisations personally and receive the corresponding Pillars of Integrity in Public Service Awards.
Under Professor Dozie, the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, has publicly reaffirmed its commitment to ethical conduct, accountability and good governance.
Since assuming office as NOUN Vice-Chancellor in February 2026, Professor Uduma has identified institutional integrity, quality assurance and the integrity of e-examinations as priorities of his administration.
At IAR, Professor Ado A. Yusuf leads the century-old agricultural research institution, which continues to pursue research and technology-development initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigerian agriculture.
The ceremony will also recognise institutions operating in critical areas of the Nigerian economy and public service, including deposit insurance, emergency management, road safety, examinations, basic education, technical education, and building and road research.
A major highlight of the event will be the official unveiling of the Verbatim100 Series, conceived by Verbatim as a new genre of developmental journalism focused on documenting institutions, leaders, ideas and initiatives contributing to Nigeria’s national development.
The inaugural edition, Verbatim 100 Most Integrity-Compliant MDAs and their CEOs, is based on the ICPC’s Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard and will serve as the foundation for the first publication in the series.
According to the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Verbatim Magazine, Tobs Agbaegbu, the Verbatim100 project is intended to establish a continuing documentary record of institutional performance and leadership in Nigeria.
“Verbatim100 is more than an awards project. It is an editorial and developmental journalism platform designed to document institutions, leaders and initiatives that are shaping Nigeria’s development. We are particularly pleased that the series is beginning with integrity in public service, because institutional integrity remains central to public trust and effective governance.”
Agbaegbu said Verbatim plans to expand the series beyond its inaugural integrity edition to cover other critical sectors of national life, including education, healthcare, banking, extractive industries, technology, corporate governance and other areas of strategic importance to Nigeria.
The event will feature a public lecture on “The Power of Integrity,” providing a platform for reflection on ethics, accountability, institutional performance and public trust.
The ceremony is expected to attract heads of MDAs, senior government officials, academics, policymakers, business leaders, development practitioners, civil-society representatives, members of the diplomatic community and the media.
The Verbatim Annual Ethics and Integrity Awards is an independent media initiative of Verbatim Magazine, undertaken in strategic partnership with the ICPC. Technical guidance and validation data relating to the EICS 2025 informed the inaugural recognition.
The awards will include the Pillars of Integrity in Public Service Award for the recognised Top 100 MDAs, as well as special commendations for selected institutions and personalities.
For Verbatim, the September 29 ceremony marks the launch of a broader editorial initiative to place credible documentation of leadership, institutional performance and national development at the centre of public-interest journalism.
