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Tag: CMD

  • CMD hones business owners’ skills for competitiveness

    CMD hones business owners’ skills for competitiveness

    Effective marketing strategies are critical for businesses to reach their target audiences/market, build brand awareness and drive sales, the acting Director-General, Centre for Management Development (CMD), Dr. (Mrs) M. O Olusoji, has said.

    She, however, said with the rapid technological advancements and changing consumer behaviour, marketing has become more challenging and businesses must, therefore, constantly adapt their marketing strategies to remain competitive.

    Dr. Olusoji spoke at the opening ceremony of a one-day seminar on ‘Effective Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses’ held at the Management Village, Shangisha, Magodo, Lagos, yesterday. The seminar was organised as part of the CMD’s free business enhancement and skills development improvement series for small business owners and potential operators.

    Dr. Olusoji, in her address, emphasised that marketing has become more challenging, ‘As such, entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs need to know where to look for signs of accelerating changes to meet customers’ needs through strategies to overcome the challenges.,”

    The CMD boss, however, stated that the Centre is well-positioned to tackle the challenges. “Our core mandate is to develop and promote high national and international standards of management education, entrepreneurial development and business advisory services, and supervisory training programmes for sustainable entrepreneurial success,” she said.

    Dr. Olusoji stated that given the above focus, the seminar was designed to equip actual and potential small business operators with the requisite marketing strategies, and was expected to deal with issues such as Digital/Content/Social Media Marketing and related content for entrepreneurs.

    Also speaking, the Director, Entrepreneurship and Business Development Department (EBDD), CMD, Mrs. Olanike Adeyemo, said the seminar’s objective is to equip participants with requisite entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and attitude in effective marketing to overcome the challenges faced by operators and potential operators.

    Read Also: UCH CMD seeks digitalisation of healthcare in Nigeria

    She re-echoed the fact that to remain competitive in today’s digital age, “Businesses need to keep up with the latest marketing trends and adapt their strategies accordingly.”

    Mrs. Adeyemo stated, for instance, that with the rise of social media and mobile devices, consumers have become more connected and informed than ever.

    “This has created new opportunities for businesses to reach their target audience through channels such as influencer marketing, content marketing, and social media advertising,” she said.

    The EBDD Director, however, said it has also made it more challenging to stand out in a crowded market, and businesses must continually refine their strategies to cut through the noise and capture consumers’ attention.

    Keynote Speaker Akin Sobowale took participants through the seminar’s main theme: ‘Effective Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses: Digital Marketing, Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing.”

    CMD and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) also put together seasoned panelists who discussed various aspects of the subject matter.

  • CMD seeks support for cancer patients

    The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State  (FETHI), Dr Adekunle Ajayi, has urged well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of cancer patients in view of the high cost of treatment.

    The CMD spoke during a public lecture “Fighting the scourge of cancer in Nigeria”, organised by the Nigeria Medical Association (National Committee on Cancer), in partnership with FETHI, to mark the 2019 World Cancer Day.

    Ajayi said: “Treatment is expensive and this has made it imperative for kind-hearted Nigerians to come to their aid by helping them with treatment.

    “This hospital has able hands who have been going to communities to sensitise the people and offer free screening.”

    According to him, FETHI goes on outreach services at least twice a week as part of its core duties to give quality healthcare services to people at the grassroots, who perhaps are indigent.

    Guest speaker and consultant anatomic pathologist Dr Abidemi Omonisi said if breast, cervix and prostrate cancers could be fought to a standstill, the prevalence of cancer would drop drastically.

    Omonisi said: “Industrial chemicals, asbestos fibres, radiation, pesticides, drugs, diet and chromosomal instability can all lead to cancer. Early screening should thus be encouraged as one of the ways to stem its spread.”

    He listed other preventive measures to include health education, setting up and funding of cancer registry, taking rainbow diets (balanced diets), reduction in unhealthy lifestyle, self-examination of breast and other parts of the body, and creating a policy that will promote easy access to affordable treatment and research, among others.

  • Federal Medical Centre Keffi gets CMD

    president Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr. Yahaya Baba Adamu as the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Keffi, Nasarawa State.

    Dr. Adamu’s tenure will run for four years.

    A statement by the Assistant Director of Media and Publicity, Ministry of Health, Mr. Olajide Oshundun, said the appointment takes effect from May 7.

    The statement added that the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehinare, urged Dr. Adamu to work harder to ensure the hospital continues to provide quality healthcare, improve on past achievements and leave his mark on the annals of the institution.

  • FETHI toeing path of Buhari’s change mantra, says CMD

    The new Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Federal Teaching Hospital at Ido Ekiti (FETHI), Dr Kunle Ajayi, has said the hospital is taking a cue from President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s change mantra for effective service delivery.

    Ajayi said FETHI was keying into the President’s change mantra, which had translated to development.

    He added: “What change means to me is that we were somewhere before. We have looked at the way we were, what we were doing and the result that we have achieved and we find out that there should be a new way we can do it to get a new result.”

    The new CMD, who addressed reporters at Ido Ekiti, noted that the new FETHI management discovered that managing people in the hospital had issues and that this was the causes of the crises.

    According to him, his administration is posed to change the narrative in the health facility, which had always been dogged by unrests and frictions between unions and management through effective management of workers and patients.

    To redress the trend, Ajayi said: “We want to have a change in terms of how we manage workers and the unions. We want to have a change in terms of how we manage our patients so that we have positive impression about the hospital.”

    The new CMD said the hospital was prioritising workers’ competence, the work environment and upgrade of equipment to ensure effective service delivery.

    He said the hospital was making efforts to deliver on its core mandates of giving quality health services to the people, reducing mortality and morbidity rates, making health facility affordable and ensuring that patients are satisfied.

    Ajayi said: “We are looking at ways we can upgrade competence among all cadres of our workers – doctors, pharmacists, nurses, technologists and everybody. Competence upgrade is an important aspect of human resource management to provide quality health services to the people.

    “We are trying to ensure that the job environment is conducive. There is no way you talk about peace and productivity in a work environment that is not conducive. We are making the work environment conducive and bridging of information gap between management and workers. The workers have become the focus of the change we want to make, giving the workers the opportunity to relax and offer feedback.”

  • CMD and its many troubles

    CMD and its many troubles

    Dr. Kabir Kabo Usman ended his two-term tenure of eight years as the Director-General  of the Centre for Management Development (CMD) on Januray 10, leaving behind a huge debt profile and controversial retirement age, among other unresolved issues, behind for his successor to tackle. ADEBISI ONANUGA and JIDE BABALOLA report the controversies that characterised the CMD under Usman’s watch.

    EIGHT years ago, when Dr. Kabir Kabo Usman, 62, resumed at the Centre for Management Development (CMD) in Lagos, not a few members of staff of the agency saw him as the right man for the job.

    His appointment, which many said was influenced by the then National Planning Minister, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, to whom he was personal assistant, was received with jubilation on January 10, 2010. The hope of those who jubilated was that the relationship between the two Usmans would rob off positively on the centre, which is under the National Planning Ministry’s supervision.

    The workers had high hopes Usman’s reign would bring a change with a radical approach to doing things after the 12-year reign of Dr. Joseph Maiyaki.

    But all expectations remained in the realm of conjecture this month when Dr. Usman took a bow from the Centre after the expiration of his tenure of two-terms of four years each. His promises to transform the management development institution to a world class centre comparable only to the Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom, were not achieved.

    The story is different today. Eight years after, the hope of the workers for a new dawn has turned to one of disillusionment.

    Usman became the centre’s director-general under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. His appointment was approved by the former Vice President, who doubled as the Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Namadi Sambo, effective from January 8, 2010 and for a period of four years in the first instance.

    When the appointment was made, he was directed to “be guided by the Act establishing the centre, extant rules, guidelines and circulars issued from time to time” by the supervising ministry.

    After the first four years, the appointment was renewed for another four years. But the curtained dropped on the hopes and aspirations on January 10, when Usman left office.

    The jubilation that greeted the former director-general’s appointment, has given way to apathy, anguish and regret, no thanks to what some workers alleged as Usman’s arrogance, high-handedness and disregard for rules and regulation.

    As it has turned out, Usman’s plan to turn the CMD into a world-class management development centre has become a mirage, as the training and  research institution, set up by four decades ago to strengthen the weak and inadequate indigenous management capacity of ministries, departments  and agencies (MDAs) and private sector organisations, has become a shadow of itself.

    Last June, when the incumbent Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, visited the Centre, he could not hide his rage over the collapse of basic infrastructure.

    The Centre’s two generating sets – a 500kva and a 350kva – had broken down.  The minister, who visited the library, could not believe that the newest collection to the library since the departure of Maiyaki was a 2006 publication of the Centre. Nearly all the buildings in the centre, including the director-general’s office were in the state of disrepair.

    The story was not different when members of the Rabiu Kwankaso-led Senate Committee on National Planning visited the Centre. The former Kano State governor could not hide his feelings on seeing the state of facilities, including the parking bay.

    He wondered whether the director-general needed budget approval from Abuja to replace burnt bulbs and fix the dilapidated car park.

    Usman’s predecessors, Prof A.P. Edet and Dr. Maiyaki, told The Nation that they bequeathed the CMD facilities in good shape at the centre’s Shangisha sprawling complex, Shangisha, Lagos.

    Mayaki, who handed over to Usman said: “All I know was that I handed over peacefully and everything was intact as at the time I left. If it is about the infrastructures that I left, all the structures I left were habitable. They were in working conditions. They were still new.

    “I constructed most of the structures there for the short time that I was there. Even the old ones that I took over, I renovated them

    Today, the ‘management village’ has become a shadow of itself as a one-time leading government ‘think-thank’ and the apex human resource centre of high repute.

    Most of the lecture rooms and theatre are in a sorry state. The seats are dusty because they have not been used over a long period of time.

    Investigations also revealed that the lecture halls and corridors leading to them are not illuminated because the burnt bulbs and fluorescent tubes have not been replaced.

    In some cases, there were no seats in some of the lecture halls. Most of the facilities were in bad shape owing to lack of maintenance. The roof of the car park for the director-general and other senior directors had been blown fallen off.

    There are visible signs of leaking roofs on many structures in the administrative section of the centre, where the director-general’s office is situated.

    One of the workers who pleaded for anonymity said that “unlike before, the centre is no more attractive for training programmes owing to the rot of facilities.”

    The Nation learnt that whenever the centre is able to attract training workshops, most times with minimal participants, the centre uses small generating sets to power the hall where the event will hold.

    The source said that instead of issuing a bank cheque in favour of the CMD for payment, the organisers are always encouraged to pay cash. The cost of diesel that will be used to power the small generator is deducted from such payment while the balance is paid into the CMD’s account.

     

    Landed properties of CMD

    The CMD is established on a vast expanse of land in Shangisha, on the outskirt of Lagos, of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway. The structures within the complex occupy less than a quarter of the available space.

    There were allegations that private developers would have encroached into the centre but for the intervention of the supervising ministry that ordered stoppage of further sales some years back.

    The Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Vice President had caused a memo from the office of the HoCSF reference HCSF/EPO/EIR/RR/62307/V.V dated July 28, 2015 to be issued to the director-general on two main issues – the directive was on the implementation of the 65 years retirement age for academic/professional staff and the land on which CMD is situated in Lagos.

    The directive signed by Permanent Secretary (SPSO) for HoCSF, Dr. A.K. Muhammad stated in part: “The land on which the Centre for Management Development is situated in Shangisha, Lagos belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria. As such, any action taken by the Board/Management on the sale/redevelopment of portions of the land, without the approval of the appropriate authority i.e. the Federal Executive Council is illegal, null and void.

    “In the meantime, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has directed that the Centre for Management Development should stop any action on the sale of the land until the matter is resolved.

    “The directive further directed the DG to forward a presentation on the facts and figures pertaining to the purported sale of the land as a matter of priority”.

    It also requested him to provide reasons as to why he has and or refused to comply with the directive of government on the applicability of the 65 years retirement age to academic staff of the CMD, in spite of numerous letters/advice to that effect.”

    Early last year, Dr. Usman, obtained through the office of the Head of Service to the Federation a letter to indicate that the CMD is no longer a research and allied institution and so, the rule of retiring at 65 years of age must be reversed.

    As a result, more than seven directors and deputy-directors were summarily sent on premature retirement. The decision was taken despite the six letters earlier written by the same office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, classifying the CMD as a management development facility in the same hue with ASCON capable of earning the CONRAISS salary structure as well as retirement at age 65.

    Workers at the centre are still worried to date, on the sudden turnaround of the office of the HoCSF on the retirement age of academic staff, contrary to the six letters earlier issued, attesting to the 65 years retirement age.

     

    Disregard for constituted authorities

    Not only the infrastructures have been neglected at the CMD, the employees also have sordid stories of alleged impunity, wasted opportunities and mismanagement.

    It was learnt that the immediate past director-general, in total disregard for constituted authority, suspended the rule that allows training and research staff to continue in service until 65. To this end, he sent seven directors and deputy directors on retirement. All efforts to get him to rescind his decision fell on deaf ears. A directive from the vice president’s office for the reinstatement of the compulsorily retired workers was ignored.

    The reversal to 65 years retirement age was topical amongst the six point demand of the Joint Research and Allied Institutions Sector Unions (JORAISU) comprised of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI) and Academic Staff Union of Research Institutes (ASURI) which embarked on an indefinite strike November 14 last year, to underscore its importance.

    Usman’s refusal to recall the directors attracted a warning query on March 14, 2016, in a memo reference HCSF/CSO/HRM/POL.1282/1/61 and titled: “Directive for immediate implementation of 65 years retirement age at CMD.”

    The query, signed by the Permanent Secretary (CMO), Innocent K. Ogbonnaya for the HoCSF, stated: “Your failure to comply with the directives of the HoCSF on the matter is considered an affront to the present administration.”

    Warning the director-general to desist forthwith, the query said “as further acts of disregard to government directives on the subject shall be dealt with appropriately.”

    The director-general had disregarded all previous five letters from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation supporting the enforcement of 65 years as the retirement age in the centre.

    Despite a subsisting directive from the supervising minister’s office for their recall since April 2017, some of the directors who were forced to go on retirement on attainment of 60 years have not returned to their desks, The Nation found out.

    The developments made the minister to set up a committee to investigate the issues relating to 65 year retirement age, directing the recall of the affected directors.

    Although the former director-general had in August last year, informed the affected directors of the minister’s directive on their recall, investigation revealed that their recall was on the condition that they withdraw some pending court cases.

    A source said the condition was contrary to standard industrial relation’s practice.

     

    Debt profile

    More worrisome to some stakeholders is the huge debt profile of the centre which has become the major source of resentment, apathy, leading to indiscipline among enployees.  Although the issue of debt to the workers and contractors is well known to the management, it appears the matter is not receiving the needed attention it deserved.

    As at today, the CMD is said to be indebted to its guest house for the food served to participants who have fully paid their fees upfront.

    It was learnt that a particular food vendor, who is allegedly being owed less than N300, 000 for about three years met with the former director-general thrice to express her predicament of having to deal with dialysis to get the money paid to no avail. It was gathered that there is hardly any coordinator that was not being owed money used for services rendered at workshops, with some dating back to 2011. The company responsible for trimming the lawns is said to be owed to the tune of several millions.

    About a month ago, the Lagos State Waste Management Agency locked up the CMD office in Lagos on account of debts owed the agency on waste disposal which is also said to be in millions.

    As at January 08, the centre’s main gate at Shangisha was under the LAWMA chain and padlocks.

    Likewise, the Centre’s South West Zonal office in Ibadan has been locked up by the Oyo State Property Development Authority over accumulated debt owed the agency running into millions of naira.

     

    Disregard for court orders

    A source told The Nation that the former director-general’s disregard was not only to constituted authorities but judicial pronouncements.

    The National Industrial Court (NIC), a court of competent jurisdiction ordered the reinstatement of five union leaders that were sacked under Dr. Joseph Maiyaki more than eleven years ago.

    The court in its judgment of February 28, 2017, gave the centre thirty days within which to reinstate them. But nothing was done on the matter by the administration of Dr. Kabir Usman.  The affected directors took the matter to court and the case is still pending.  They were not allowed to continue their work until the determination of the case in court.

    General Secretary, SSAUTHRIAI, M.A. Akinade, told The Nation that the union had done everything within the laws to get the judgement of the court executed but that the management has not responded.

    He said: “Our lawyers wrote to them, demanding for compliance with the orders contained in the court judgement. After the expiration of the deadline given by the court, we wrote, we also sent a reminder. What we would now do is to file a motion for contempt for disregard of the court judgement.”

     

    Status of CMD

    Despite the various directives and clarifications from the office HoCSF and Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the status of CMD remained a recurring issue under Usman’s watch as the director-general. It was learnt that the former director-general’s refusal to accept CMD as a research center in the league of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) was one of the reasons he forced members of the academic staff on forced retirement at 60 as against what was specified in the statute relating to the CMD.

    Under his predecessors, the CMD existed as a research, training and consultancy institution.

    Prof. Edet said: “The CMD could be compared to ASCON in a number of respects in terms of training programmes, in terms of consultancy and research institutions.”

    Dr Maiyaki also shared the same views, contending “it was a research centre right from its creation.  It was a training, consultancy and research institution. It was a three-in-one institution.

    “We were a training, consultancy and research institution.  You cannot do training without research and you cannot do consultancy without research. So, we are a research institute.”

    The same could not, however, be said of the centre under the immediate past director-general, who disregarded all the directives from the offices of the vice president and the HoCSF on the issue and the recall of the directors.

     

    Pushing for amendment of  CMD Act

    Investigation revealed that about two months to the end of his second term, Usman initiated a move to amend the CMD Act for some unclear motives.

    The proposal for the amendment of the CMD Act, it was learnt, had gone through the first and second reading in the House of Representatives. A public hearing was held on the bill on November 21, 2017. Some CMD officials who wanted to participate at the hearing were allegedly barred from entering the Nation Assembly venue of the hearing.

     

    Staff Promotion

    Before he took the final bow, the former director-general supervised a staff promotion exercise.  It was learnt that one of the directors refused to participate because the quota of directors was not formed. It was said Usman invited some officials from the supervising Budget & Planning Ministry to conduct the exercise in total disregard to the rules guiding such.

     

    The unresolved issues

    Dr Usman may have gone, he left so many issued unresolved. His successor would have his hands full. The next director-general will have to contend with huge debt profile; the contentious retirement age of academic staff; CMD status; decaying facilities and alleged amendment to the CMD Act.

    There is also the closure of the centre’s Ibadan office by the Oyo State Housing Corporation owing to non-payment of rent running to several millions among other matters.

    Usman’s reaction

    All attempts to get the former director-general to speak on the development proved abortive. He declined interview when this reporter met him at the CMD, Shangisha office on November 28.

    Twice, he failed to honour interview appointments scheduled fixed for December 1 and Monday December 4, last year. Thereafter, questions were forwarded to him on WhatsApp platform on December 12. But they were not answered.  The former director-general sent a reply, stating: “Banjo and my SA media will contact you and I am more than happy to respond to any issues you want to raise. I cannot be in Lagos until next week. Regard.”  The director-general never returned to Lagos until the expiration of his tenure on January 10.

    But, Mr. Tunde Banjo, who he described as his media aide sent a text message on December 12 that stated: “Bisi, I will call you when the appointment is fixed next week. Tnx. Banjo.”                       On December 18, Mr. Banjo sent a text message to this reporter that stated: “DG CMD has fixed the interview for this Friday 22nd Dec. 12 noon. You will be expected. Tnx. Banjo.” But again, he failed to honour it.

    Attempts by our correspondent in Abuja to get Usman CMD to clarify the issues also proved abortive. In a response sent via WhatsApp with an attached copy of a January 4, 2018 article published in The Nation and titled “Impunity Unlimited”, the CMD boss’ Special Adviser on Media, Ahmed Ibrahim, alleged that conclusions had already been unfairly drawn before asking them for clarifications.                                                                                                                         His response: “This publication reminds me of the PhD – Pull Him Down syndrome which was the stock in trade of some Newspapers in the past.

    “The Nation and the faceless petitioners have got what they want – Blackmail.

    “I wish them Good luck.”

     

  • Doctors protests kidnap of CMD, others

    Doctors protests kidnap of CMD, others

    The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Ebonyi State chapter on Friday staged a peaceful protest against the kidnap of  Chief Medical Director of Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki(FETHA), Dr. Emeka Onwe Ogah and two other staff of the hospital.

     Also kidnapped alongside the CMD are the Director of Finance of the Hospital, S.N Ugama and that of Administration, Chief Christopher Ogbu.

     They were said to be returning from a meeting in Abuja when they were kidnapped near Lokoja, Kogi state on Thursday.

     The doctors marched from FETHA two complex in Abakaliki to Government House where they were later addressed by Governor David Umahi.

     Chairman of the Association, Austin Ikwudimma, while presenting their grievances to the governor, charged the Federal government to do more to secure the lives and properties of its members and all Nigerians.

    “We are here to register our displeasure, to let the state government convey this message to the federal government. Ebonyi state is doing its best and it is one of the safest states in the federation but it needs to do more.

    “Federal government needs to do more on the issue of security especially as regards to Doctors whose lives have been endangered. Apart from this kidnap, our members have been robbed. Our members have lost their vehicles; we have been intimidated and harassed. These things are coming  as if we are targets.

    “This is why we are here to tell the federal government to improve on the security situation in the country and ensure that our members are returned to us unhurt,” he said.

    Responding, Governor Umahi assured that the state government is doing everything possible to secure the release of the three victims.

    “Be assured that I am doing everything possible to make sure that they are released. I know how you people suffer sleepless nights and so on and so forth. So, you shouldn’t  be working in fear. Again, accept my apologies for what happened. We are doing everything possible to ensure that they are released,” Umahi said.

    Special Assistant to the Governor on Security, Kenneth Ugbala said the government is liaising with relevant agencies to secure the release of the three hospital officials.

    “Government will put every machinery in motion to ensure they are released unhurt and we want to assure that we are going to create more partnership with the federal government so that with our synergy, we can achieve more results”.

  • CSR-in-Action secures CMD training accreditation

    CSR-in-Action secures CMD training accreditation

    Foremost sustainability advocacy, consulting and training firm, CSR-in-Action, has bagged the Centre for Management Development’s (CMD) accreditation; a testament to the quality of its wide-ranging sustainability training programmes in the country.

    CSR-in-Action offers training in business and leadership sustainability.

    Its College of Sustainable Citizenship (CSC), based in Nigeria, is focused on teaching individuals and corporate bodies about how to engrain sustainable best practices in the very core of their day-to-day activities.

    The accreditation implies that CSR-in-Action is a qualified trainer, having successfully scaled through rigorous quality assurance conducted by the apex Federal Government’s body for training in Nigeria.

    The accreditation exercise is process-driven, with steps to verify that the services offered by various training outfits meet or if possible, exceed customer expectations. Input into the exercise is sourced from public and private sector institutions such as the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), Lagos Business School (LBS), Administration Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) and Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).

    The Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action, Bekeme Masade said: “It is gratifying to be endorsed by the CMD for our training programmes, especially since the endorsement is coming shortly after our recertification as currently the only Nigerian company with a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) training accreditation. This accreditation gives us the impetus we need to continue pushing frontiers in our quest to build a better Nigeria by training individuals and corporate bodies to incorporate good governance for the long term benefit of all; no matter their field of endeavour.”

    The Director of CSR-in-Action, Meka Olowola, added: “The CMD accreditation proves yet again that CSR-in-Action is sub-Saharan Africa’s number one sustainability advisory firm. It aligns with our strategic vision to continually demonstrate best sustainability practices so we can serve the global interests of our diverse stakeholders. The next step for us is to extend our impact beyond the shores of Africa as we have locally.”

    The accreditation represents yet another landmark for the organisation, that in 2012, attained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In addition to that, the outfit has embarked on several Civil Society Organisation (CSO) trainings across the nation with a view to attaining goals 8 & 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

  • Senate’ll reposition CMD, says committee

    The Centre for Management Development (CMD) is to be repositioned to enable it play its role of training Nigerian workers for efficiency, it was learnt at the weekend.

    Hope rose on Friday for the centre when members of the Senate Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs inspected facilities at the sprawling office of the training institute on CMD Road in Lagos.

    The committee, led by its chairman and former Kano State Governor Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso, said it would ensure that CMD lives up to its statutory role through adequate funding.

    Other members of the committee on the oversight function to the centre were: Yele Omugunwa (vice chairman), Mustapha Bukar and Gershom Bassey.

    After the tour of facilities and a parley with the CMD management, led by the Director-General, Dr. Kabir Kabo Usman, Kwankwaso urged the centre to think out of the box on the maintenance and improvement of existing facilities.

    The senator said the tour was to enable the Red Chamber, through his committee, have first-hand information of the state of the centre.

    He added that CMD could achieve better results if better repositioned.

    Kwankwaso said: “The management should concentrate on maintenance to keep the centre running. The facilities should be improved upon for the training and retraining of workers at Federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    “We have seen things for ourselves and we are going back to ensure that the centre gets the right attention and support from the Federal Government in terms of budgetary allocations and the release of votes.”

    Dr. Usman hailed the Senate for ensuring better funding for the centre.

    The CMD chief noted that what the centre got in this year’s appropriation was equal to what was given to it in seven years.

    The director-general urged the committee to ensure prompt release of the centre’s vote and assist it in raising the allocation in the 2018 budget.

    He assured the committee of the centre’s readiness to implement their suggestions to drive traffic from the public and private sectors into the centre for patronage.

    The facilities inspected at the centre are: the computer unit, library, training rooms and the gymnasium.

  • DELSUTH open for business despite strike, says CMD

    Despite the industrial action by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH) in Oghara has said the strike did not disrupt its services to the public.

     Chief Medical Director (CMD) Dr Onome Ogueh spoke to The Nation in his office at Oghara, saying patients were still being attended to.

     Ogueh, who appealed to the striking doctors to sort out their differences through dialogue with the government, noted that the doctors should consider those desperately in need of medical care.

     Explaining how the institution remained opened despite the industrial action, Ogueh said his administrative team became proactive when it was clear strike was inevitable, by reorganising assignments to doctors, who were not members of NARD.

     “…Once we knew resident doctors were going on strike, we put measures in place to ensure that consultants, House officers, are able to continue services.

     “For instance, even as we are on strike, the Outpatients Department is running, I ran my clinic on Wednesday, other doctors are running their clinics now. We also decided that patients already in the hospital must be looked after. We didn’t discharge patients. We continued looking after them until they got better and were discharged. So, the numbers have been going down.

     “The laboratory is functioning fully, the Radiology Department is functioning fully. The only thing we said is that we will not bring in new patients because resident doctors are on strike. But the rest of us are still working and caring for patients.

     “So, in terms of dealing with the challenge of incessant strikes, we’ve gone almost 10 months without strike and the only reason we have a strike is because it is national.

     “The way we have been dealing with it is by being proactive; I’ve met all staff groups, unions and we’ve been able to address issues that people may have in a positive and collaborative way so, there’s really no need to begin to look at industrial action because in fairness there’s really no issue you cannot resolve with dialogue. For an institution as this, where people’s lives are put at risk, we must focus on using dialogue to change the way we address things”, he explained.

  • LUTH labour crisis over, says CMD

    The Chief Medical Director of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Chris Bode, has said the labour crisis threatening to cripple the hospital has been resolved.

    According to him, measures have been put in place to make the hospital the preferred destination for Nigerians in need of specialised medical care.

    Prof. Bode spoke against the backdrop of protest by some resident doctors and health workers.

    His words: “The recent crisis that surfaced between the management and some union members at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital has been amicably resolved.

    “The management had a family meeting with the union officials, and a number of confidence-building measures were discussed to consolidate the current successes recorded to reposition LUTH as the preferred destination for Nigerians in need of specialised medical care.

    “This followed the intervention of eminent personalities, who were concerned with the threat to peace within the teaching hospital.

    “All parties agreed that the whole crisis stemmed from a series of misunderstandings and have since resolved to work together towards the common purpose of working hard to achieve the first year of strike-free service after so many years of service disruptions.

    “The Management thanks the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) LUTH Branch, the National Association of Resident Doctors as well as many other Nigerians who played a major role in the successful resolution of this conflict.”