Mr. Daniel Joshua, the Taraba
state-born 31-year old, former N-Power graduate employee says his sound
Christian moral upbringing compelled him to refund the N60,000 paid into his
account, after he quit the scheme in April.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on
Saturday July 1, tweeted and praised Joshua’s rare display of integrity, which
he said was worthy of emulation by Nigerian youths.
Joshua now works for the Central
Bank of Nigeria in Benin. He is from Lissem in Ussa local government area
of Taraba state.
He told the News Agency of
Nigeria on Tuesday: “My Christian moral upbringing helped me to do the right
thing.
“My pastor once told me that
whatever weakens the conscience weakens the authority.And because i have always
tried to avoid anything that will weaken my conscience, taking the decision to
refund the money was not a problem.
“Although i didn’t have any money
in my account at the time, the orientation from my bosses in my new employment
about transparency, integrity and accountability also helped me quickly decide
on the right path to take in the matter,’’ he said.
Joshua, who married in 2015 and
now has a child, said some family members and friends tried to persuade him to
keep the money.
“ But I am happy because both my
wife, mother and elder brother, encouraged me to refund the money as soon as i
received the alert for the two months salary.
“Yes, there were some friends and
family members who persuaded me to keep the money, saying it was my luck,’’ he
said.
Joshua graduated in Economics
from the Modibo Adama University of Technology, Yola.
He said:“It pays to be upright at
all times.’’
He advised Nigerians, especially
the youths to be upright in their daily dealings and become good ambassadors of
the country.
Joshua was employed under the
federal government N-Power scheme as a Primary school teacher at Kaduna Lissem
primary school, in Taraba, in January. He disengaged from the job after working
for three months.
Although Joshua left the N-Power
job at the end of March, he was paid N60,000, being stipends for April and May.
He refunded the money to the
coffers of the Federal Government.
The N-Power management has
commended Joshua for refunding the money. A message on its official Twitter
handle reads: “We are extremely proud of Daniel.