French village honours friends, best performing staff

The Nigeria French Language Village (NFLV) has presented awards to recognised friends and the best-performing staff of the school in Badagry.

NFLV is an inter-university centre for French study in Nigeria.

The Director and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Lateef Ayeleru, said at the event on Saturday that the merit award ceremony was to honour those who had helped the institution.

He said that the award was in three categories: for those in government, those in the private sector, and workers in the village.

“This is a period of renewed hope agenda, and we are renewing people’s hope that even if you are working for the government, the government is also appreciative.

“If you look at the people we have honoured today, we have senior members of the 9th and 10th National Assembly for their contribution to the growth of the French Language Village.

“We have Sen. Olamilekan Yayi, former Rep. Babatunde Hunpe, and the incumbent Rep. Sesi Whingah.

“They have all provided necessary support relating to the bill establishing the village in the National Assembly in Abuja.

“They have been contributing to the growth of the institution, and their contribution to the growth of educational institutions in Nigeria is great.

“The people in the private sector and Akran of Badagry have provided a conducive environment for the village to thrive,” he said.

Ayeleru said that the military and paramilitary officers honoured with Fellow of the Village assisted the institution by providing security and a safe journey at the border.

“In our staff category, we need to honour some of our staff who are committed so that those who are lazy can learn that there is reward for hard work.

“We have done it in a way that it will be continuous. As people are helping us and as staff are getting committed, we will honour them,” he said.

Prof. M. Adesola, Chairman, Committee on Merit Awards, said the awards covered 2020–2022.

According to him, for the workers, the question is, “How much more are we committed to our job description in the village?”

“Areas of assessment are competence, punctuality, hard work, honesty, personality, commitment, foresight, teamwork, and reliability under pressure.

“Consequently, 17 best-performing staff were selected from eight departments of the institution.

“We have two from Health Service, two from Library, two from Academics, one from Bursary, two from Works and Services, two from FVISS, two from Registry, and four from Directorate,” he said.

Prince Sesi Whingah, a lawmaker representing Badagry Federal Constituency and an awardee, said the village was one of the two federal government institutions in Badagry.

According to Whingah, seeing the French Village grow is a thing of joy.

Whingah commended the management of the institution for honouring him with the fellowship award.

Another awardee, Alhaji Yahaya Idris, former Deputy Comptroller of Customs, was delighted with the award.

According to him, when one is doing something, he will not know that some people are watching.

He thanked the Director and management for the honour

Mrs. Sessi Fagbeji-Agemo, Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol, NFLV, another awardee, urged staff members of the French Village to be committed to their work.

She stressed that she was just doing her work, not knowing that someone was watching her.

Fagbeji-Agemo thanked the director and management of the village for the award.