By Ihegazie Chidinma
The Senate Minority Whip, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi, representing Enugu North on Tuesday said that the conferment of national honours on him and his fellow awardees was an additional call to service.
Utazi who was conferred with the national honour of the Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON spoke on behalf of the other 446 awardees.
President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the investiture ceremony which held at the International Conference Center, Abuja on Tuesday.
Utazi said “this award is an additional call to service. It is a call to duty and an invitation to realise that citizens’ efforts will not be in vain.
‘We are therefore inspired, motivated and admonished to keep up our inputs, as stakeholders in the building of a virile nation.
“This is why I call on awardees to be steadfast, considering the responsibility that comes with the honours.
“This obligation is one of leadership, more work and the provision of inspiration to others,” Utazi said.
The Minority Whip thanked President Buhari for the honour done to them through the awards.
Utazi said “the careful and painstaking selection is another evidence of Mr. President’s readiness to recognise excellence and service to nation-building, in line with his zeal to inspire citizens and to encourage as many others as possible for the future.
“The task of building a nation is obviously a continuous and collective effort. It is continuous because it is a never-ending process that needs increasing energies irrespective of the level of development that has been attained.
“It is also collective because it is a duty that desires all hands to be on deck, given the fact that it is a delicate balance at harmonizing groups towards emotional harmony, growth and development.
“The two dimensions involve the contributions of citizens who are supposed to be faithful, loyal and committed to the common goal. Amongst the citizens are leaders and drivers of the process, who should occasionally be identified for recognition.
“The recognition should however be thorough and laborious in what would reflect due service to the fatherland, as an encouragement to more work and as a motivation for others.
“Today’s event is one more instalment in this process of acknowledgments, which Mr. President has methodically carried out.
“I, therefore, thank Mr. President on behalf of all the awardees, as we are most excited at the privilege of the prestigious honour.
“Be rest assured that we shall remain unwavering in our support for your efforts at transforming our dear fatherland, for the good of present and future generations.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that our country has witnessed many challenges in the last couple of years. The challenges have been changing and calling for urgent actions.
“They include insecurity, dwindling resources, climate change and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and have no doubt been distracting”.
