A former spokesman of the Force Headquarters in Abuja, Mr. Frank Mba, a Commissioner of Police (CP); the Executive Director of Africa Polling Institute, Professor Bell Ihua; and the Chairman of Global Consulting Group, Dr. Steve Ogidan, are among 89 notable Nigerians recently conferred with the membership of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at Kuru in Plateau State.
The conferment took place during the graduation ceremony of the National Institute’s Senior Executive Course (SEC) 44, 2022, the flagship programme of the NIPSS.
Mba served under three former Inspector Generals of Police (IGPs) – M. D. Abubakar (2012 to 2014), M. A. Adamu (2019 to 2021), and Usman Alkali Baba (2021 to 2022) – as the Force Public Relations Officer.
He later went to the NIPSS on secondment for the Senior Executive Course in February 2022.
Prof. Ihua got the recognition for being one of Nigeria’s leading opinion researchers and public opinion pollsters, after serving as CEO of the Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala polling company, NOI Polls.
The expert has led over 300 surveys and polls in the last decade spanning thematic areas, such as social cohesion, the state of internally displaced persons (IDPs), motivations for Nigerians emigrating to Canada, irregular migration syndrome, emigration of Nigerian doctors and the skit-economy amongst Nigerian youths.
Ogidan has served as consultant and adviser to the governments of Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa at various times.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, NIPSS Director General, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, said the institute charged the mni recipients to always put Nigeria first as they return to their places of service, and not forget all the lessons learnt over the 10-month period of the course.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who as the special guest of honour and represented by Transportation Minister Muazu Sambo, urged the new policy and strategy leaders to apply the capacity they have developed to serve the country.
The minister said the Federal Government considered NIPSS a major ally in providing evidence-based research to support public policy.
He said the Buhari administration was working on implementing the findings from the recently presented research report on how to strengthen local governance in Nigeria.
The newly decorated mnis were drawn from Nigeria’s public service, the military and para-military institutions, such as the Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Correctional Service, as well as the private sector.
Other notable members of the course who were conferred with the revered mni status included: the Rector of Federal Polytechnic at Offa, Kwara State, Dr. Lateef Olatunji; renowned University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) professor of Islamic Law, Abdulrazak Alaro; and Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Aishatu Abubakar-Baju, who also served as the Monitor General of the course, the first female in the history of the institute.
Others also included Kebbi State Commissioner of Information and Culture, Rekiya Tanko-Ayuba-Haruna; former Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, Joyce Ramnap; Registrar and CEO of Surveyor Council of Nigeria, Mohammed Kabir; former Enugu State Commissioner for Lands and Urban Renewal and ex-Member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ujam;
Provost of the Federal College of Education Special in Oyo, Professor Usman Kamoru; Rector of the Augustinian Institute of Philosophy, Makurdi, Rev. Father, Dr. Peter Maigari; Professor of Sociology of Education at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Abakaliki, Chinyere Nwajiuba; former Bursar, Plateau State University, Dr. Anna Nanchin Christopher-Fakah; CEO, Axis Insurance Brokers and former MD Lasaco Assurance, Mr. Segun Balogun; Rector, Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, Muhammed Sani; Vice President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Adebayo Aderogba; Director News, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Halima Musa; and Professor of Pharmacognosy at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Umar Katsayal.