President Muhammadu Buhari has conferred Nigeria Excellence Award in Public Service (NEAPS) on 44 prominent Nigerians.

NEAPS was set up to recognise excellence in leadership, service, or humanitarianism.

To be eligible, the recipient must be a public official or a private citizen excelling consistently in a given sphere of influence, in good character standing and must also be at the forefront of service and innovation.

The 2022 recipients include former President Goodluck Jonathan; Nyesom Wike, Rivers state governor; and Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Others are Senate President Ahmad Lawan; Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, and the service chiefs.

Sixteen state governors were also honoured with the award. They include Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Babagana Zulum (Borno)and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi).