By ABUBAKAR YUSUF

Following the conferment and presentation of Officer of Order of Niger (OON) on Professor Innocent A.O. Ujah by President Muhammadu Buhari, a special reception was held in his honour in Abuja on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

The occasion, Chaired by Dr. Ibrahim A. Kana, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence, was graced by former and current serving public servants, civil servants, academicians, professionals of various fields, including the Police and armed forces, members of the Legislature, members of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), old School mates, members of Idoma Community and cultural troupe and a host of numerous well-wishers.

Kana, a former student and a mentee of the awardee who also was a past National Treasurer of NMA, thanked the President Buhari for considering Prof Ujah, worthy of the award.

Kana called on friends and associates of the awardee to emulate his virtues, as well as his professional and administrative leadership skills for their personal, community, state and nation building, especially in health sector.

Dr Omede Idris, a former Commissioner for Health in Kogi State and past President of NMA, on behalf of himself and past Presidents of the association, extolled the virtues of the awardee as a great mentor, teacher, professional and an accomplished personality, not only in medical field, but also in administration, mentorship and other areas of gainful endeavours.

Dr Idris, also a past President of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), further described the awardee as a man of great resource with unblemished track and of impactful achievements.

He described the awardee, a former Director General of National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba and the immediate past President of NMA as a beacon of joy and hope for many through his strength, commitment, dedication and focus on issues.

Highlights of the event included Goodwill messages given by the representative of Och’Idoma. Others were his Primary School mate, AVM Emmanuel Ejeh (rtd), Idoma and Aidogodo community, Chairmen of Governing Council of University of Benin and Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, where the awardee is the Vice Chancellor.