The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Head of Service

  • ‘Edo Civil Service committed to continuous staff training’

    The Head of Service, Edo State, Mrs. Gladys Idahor, has commended the Godwin Obaseki-led administration for making staff training and re-training and prompt payment of salaries and allowances in the State Civil Service a cardinal objective of his government.

    Mrs. Idahor said this at a one-day seminar on “Preparation of Establishment Proposals” for Senior and Middle-Level Officers in the State Public Service, at the Imaguero College Hall, Sapele Road, in Benin City.

    She said the seminar was conceived to equip participants with relevant skills and tools required for the preparation of important documents and to further enhance on-the-job effectiveness and efficiency.

    She stated that government was determined to ensure that staff at all levels are equipped with relevant skills for effective and efficient performance, urging participants to apply the skills garnered at the training in their various offices.

    She reminded the participants of the need to conduct themselves in a civil manner as any act of indiscipline will be viewed as a bid to truncate the good wishes of the state government.

    Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Establishments, Training and Manpower Services, Barr. Deborah Enakhimion, whose office organised the training, urged participants to make the best of it, as the skills are essential in their day-to-day operations.

    She stated that an establishment proposal is an essential planning document for personnel budgeting, staff promotion, transfers and advancement in the service, which requires keen administrative skill and techniques in its preparation.

    She said that it was necessary that schedule officers in Government Ministries, Agencies and Extra-Ministerial Departments be exposed to the technicalities in preparing establishment proposals, taking into consideration the personnel budget/requirement of their ministries and agencies vis-à-vis government plans and directives as it concerns their establishments.

     

  • Workers who will survive in future, by HoS

    Only the worker with the right skill set and knowledge will survive in a workplace of the future, which will be ruled by technology, Lagos State Head of Service (HoS) Mrs Folashade Adesoye has said.

    She spoke at the flag-off of an induction and orientation training for the newly employed 1,500 local government officers held at the Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Magodo, Lagos.

    Mrs. Adesoye said as ambassadors and officers of the government, the new workers must distinguish themselves, learn and abide by the civil service rules and comport themselves decently at all times.

    She said: “You must be a team player, and be ready to serve members of the public without fear or favour. You must put aside all the stories you have heard about the local government and be ready to join  hands with others to change the poor perception of council workers. Be hard working, ask questions, know your roles and responsibilities.”

    She said now is the time to stop dreaming and start envisioning and working on their career path as with the unified civil service, adding that the sky is the limit to how far they can rise in the state civil service.

    Adesoye, who said she served in the local government system for 25 years before moving to the mainstream and still got to the pinnacle of the service as the number one civil servant, urged the new officers not to look down on their employment as civil service is one in the state.

    Earlier, Local Government Service Commission (LGSECOM) Chairman,  Mr Babatunde Rotinwa, said government business, especially at the local government level, is no longer for the lazy, adding that officials from the commission will soon begin to move round to randomly check on the officers with the intention of flushing out those who may be seen to be unwilling to work

    He said: “As  ambassador of the government wherever  you may be posted to serve, you must pay attention to your looks. You must be decently dressed. Pay attention to your looks; don’t take local government work with levity, remember that if you don’t play your part, your local government may not generate the internal revenue that we need to pay you and other workers at that level and always be a team player. Be prompt at work and always be at your duty post.”

    Rotinwa, a former Head of Service in the state, said the commission would be on the lookout for those who are serious and be willing to work with only those who are ready to partner with the Akinwunmi Ambode government in creatively serving the people of the state.

    PSSDC’s Director-General Mr Ajose-Harrison, who said translating visions and plans of any government is an indicator of successful governance said the PSSDC would ensure that policies, strategies and reforms agenda of the government is properly internalised by the workers.

  • NECO to remit N1.2bn to federation account – Registrar

    NECO to remit N1.2bn to federation account – Registrar

    The Registrar, National Examination Council (NECO), Prof. Charles Uwakwe, Thursday said the agency would remit N1.2 into the federation account this year.

    Prof. Uwakwe stated this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    He said the agency remitted N820 in two years to the federal government.

    According to him, N500 million and N320 was remitted to the government in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

    Prof. Uwakwe also disclosed that the National Assembly has urged the agency to improve on its remittance to the federal government.

    To achieve this, he said, the agency has started making efforts to improve on the management of its resources.

    Prof. Uwakwe said: “We have a mandate to do this therefore, we should be managing the resources that we have very prudently and there is also a bit of pressure on us to be remitting to federation account which we are very cognizant of.

    “We are making efforts to ensure that we continue to improve in that respect and therefore prudent management of resources that we have must be our guiding principle.

    “We just returned from the defense of our budget in the National Assembly and they have said there is need for us to increase our remittance to the federation account which we have been working on.

    “We have improved from N320 million to more than N500 million. We estimate that by next exam we should be able to remit to the federation account about N1.2 billion. And it’s appropriate for us to do that.

    “People should come to the council for clarification when they have doubts. It is unacceptable because they peddle rumors to the detriment of the council.” 

    He described the alleged embezzlement of N15 billion belonging to the agency as “mere rumour.”

    According to him, the budget of the agency is under close scrutiny of the federal ministry of education and national assembly.

    “To set the record straight we are not running independently in terms of our budgeting. We are under strict guidance by the ministry and national Assembly. Every year we provide information as to what we generate and what our expenditure is.

    “We go to defend all those and therefore if somebody says fifty naira is missing as a chief executive laying emphasis on prudent management and zero tolerance for impunity, there is no way that anybody can associate me with such frivolous expenditure. It’s practically impossible and totally fallacious,” he said.

    Prof. Uwakwe also denied knowledge of any illegal recruitment under his watch.

    “There have never been illegal recruitment by the council. All that we have done by way of replacement we have followed due process with clearance from both the Ministry of Education, Federal Character Commission and Head of Service. We have documented evidence of weavers and approval,” he added.

    Read Also: NECO releases 2017 Nov/Dec SSCE results

  • Ajimobi appoints new Head of Service, outgoing HOS becomes gov’s aide

    Ajimobi appoints new Head of Service, outgoing HOS becomes gov’s aide

    Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has appointed Mrs. Hannah Ogunesan, as a successor to the outgoing Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade, with effect from Thursday, February 8, 2018.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Olalekan Alli, who conveyed the appointment through a statement, on Friday, said the new development was a sequel to the retirement of Eniade from the state’s civil service.

    The statement also announced the appointment of the outgoing HOS as Executive Assistant, Administration, to the governor “in view of his sterling performance” during his tenure as the number one civil servant.

    His appointment also takes effect from Thursday, February 8, 2018.

    Ogunesan, who joined the public service of the state on April 1, 1989, has served in various capacities before her current appointment as permanent secretary in the state’s ministry of local government and chieftaincy matters, on July 1, 2015.

    The new HOS is an alumnus of the London School of Economics’ Executive Summer School, where she completed an approved programme on Strategic Decisions in Management.

    She holds a Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Business Administration from Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye) and the University of Ado-Ekiti (now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti), respectively.

    Eniade becomes the second EA to the governor, who had earlier appointed a two-time commissioner in the state’s education and agriculture ministries, Dr. Moronkola Thomas, in a similar capacity in March, 2017.

  • Abia HOS urges revival of SERVICOM units in MDAs

    Abia HOS urges revival of SERVICOM units in MDAs

    Dr Vivian Uma, the Abia Head of Service ( HOS ) has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state to quickly revive their Service Compact  ( SERVICOM ) units.

    Uma, who gave the directive on Tuesday in Umuahia when he paid an unscheduled visit to the new and old state secretariats, also said that such units should be established where they did not exist before now.

    According to him, SERVICOM units help government offices to get spontaneous feedback from the public for improved service delivery.

    Uma stressed the need to reinforce workers obligation to fill attendance and movement registers while at work daily.

    He also directed that attendance registers be closed by 8:45 a.m. each working day and expressed displeasure over poor resumption of workers after the public holidays.

    He urged heads of MDAs to ensure that all annual leave rosters did not extend beyond November in line with Abia State Civil Service rules.

    Uma commended Dr Okezie Ikpeazu’s government for its unwavering commitment to paying the salaries of civil servants in the MDAs up to December 2017.

    He further urged workers to shun lateness to work and other acts inimical to the growth of the civil service.

    Meanwhile, Mr Iyke Odoemelam, the state Director of Information, Mr Okala Uduma, the Director of Civil Engineering, Ministry of Works, and Mrs Uzoamaka Ujah of the Ministry of Health, in separate remarks, pledged their unalloyed support to government.

  • Head of Service to civil servants: redouble your efforts

    Head of Service to civil servants: redouble your efforts

    Head of Civil Service of the Federation Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita yesterday urged civil servants to consolidate the achievements recorded last year.

    She urged them to double their efforts.

    Mrs. Oyo-Ita, who made the call in Abuja while addressing some civil servants in her office after the New Year holiday, commended the civil servants for their commitment and perseverance in 2017.

    She said the Federal Government expected its civil servants to show more commitment and ensure higher productivity in 2018.

    “I am happy to come around this morning to see that quite a number of you are already in the office and this is what we want to see this year.

    “We want to see more commitment and dedication to work. I must congratulate you civil servants that you stood with this administration through thick and thin even in the face of the fuel crisis that ended before the New Year,” she said.

    Mrs. Oyo-Ita said 2018 would be a good year for civil servants, adding that there were a lot of positive signs from the performance of civil servants in 2017.

    She commended President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping his promise of paying salaries and promotion arrears despite the challenges faced by the country in the previous year.

    “Also we were able to achieve the final resolution on the case involving some deputy directors who sat for promotion examination in 2014.

    “The matter has been favorably withdrawn from the court and the injunction has been lifted for deputy directors due for promotion.

    “The affected civil servants for 2015, 2016 and 2017 are to seat for their examinations in the next two weeks,” she added.

    About 400 Deputy Directors had in February petitioned the presidency over their stagnation in service.

    Some of the aggrieved workers went further to challenge their stagnation before the National Industrial Court, seeking redress.

  • Pension ‘thieves’ framing me – Maina

    Pension ‘thieves’ framing me – Maina

    Embattled former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, has said that, he is being haunted for stopping N5.32bn which he alleged was being stolen monthly in the office of the Head of Service and Police Pension office alone.

    Maina said, his media trial and framed up allegations were part of efforts by ‘pension thieves’ to stop him from exposing them, which is why he asked President Muhammadu Buhari to thoroughly investigate pending pension petitions, especially as Senator Kabiru Gaya said in an interview that, that the N195bn which he (Maina) was accused of stealing is in the TSA account.

    Speaking through his aide, Olajide Fashikun in Kaduna on Tuesday, Maina who has been on the run said the presidential investigation is imperative to expose the real pension thieves, some of whom he alleged, are highly placed public office holders, adding that such will bring respite to starving pensioners.

    Maina, who said his Task Team saved the country about N282bn from June 2010, when it was constituted, revealed that, the presidential investigation will also expose the sum of six million pounds stashed in accounts in London and the top government functionaries in different offices who are drawing the interest on the accounts.

    According to him, “between the Head of Service and the Police Pension office, the two places PRTT worked, a leakage of N5.32billion was stopped per month. This is what civil servants steal monthly in the two offices out of the 99 pension offices in the country. 43 persons were arrested and handed over to the EFCC to prosecute while 222 houses were seized from them.

    “As soon as Maina was driven to exile before the coming of the PTAD, N35billion was stolen in the Head of Service. The ICPC did not come out with the report. How come no body is talking about these monies? Fashikun asked.

    “In the current media trial where all manners of stories have been published, there has been a lot of distortion of facts and sometimes outright blackmail, all in an attempt to paint the PRTT boss black like Lucifer”.

    “After the biometric exercise, there were 71,000 genuine workers in the police pension office who needed N826million to pay them unlike N5.3billion appropriated for them annually. They were pocketing N4.2billion yearly. They devised several ingenious ways to pull these cash out. They pull out an average of N300million daily Monday to Friday. There are bank alerts to substantiate these assertions.

    “There is a particular person who has 69 cloned versions of his name on the pay roll. Bank officials were in cohort. Names of dead pensioners were ‘exhumed’ from the dead and paid pension. Accounts were created with fictitious names.”

     

    Speaking further, Maina’s aide stressed “there has been a lot of deliberate cover in a well written script to give Maina a bad name. Some of those who worked in the PRTT do ‘kabu-kabu’ to augment their survival. They were severely starved of funds, Maina’s PRTT was a clog in the wheel of so many who were looting the pensioner’s funds.

    “Maina’s PRTT was brought in to sanitise a very corrupt pension system. It was the success of his pension system in the Ministry of Interior that brought him to the PRTT. Emerging evidence has shown that Maina is just a victim of corruption fighting back.

    “The then Senate Committee in a bid to crucify Maina did the hatchet job, when they told the Nigerians that, he stole N195billion. Meanwhile, on 13th April 2016, former Kano Governor, Senator Kabiru Gaya, told The Sun newspaper in an interview that that money was never missing. So, why is he being tried for the money that is now confirmed not missing? According to the structure of the task force, Maina like none of them therein never had access to the pension fund and could never have taken one Naira lest over N2 billion.

    “Former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during a Senate meeting said that Maina had no contact with funds and revealed how she froze the account where the monies recovered by Maina’s committee was kept and how she transferred the funds to the CBN. So, why will the EFCC continue to hound a man for an offence which they know he is innocent of? Maina was only the head of the team which comprised of EFCC, ICPC, DSS, NIA, office of Accountant General, Auditor General, Public Complaints Commission etc. He was the only civilian in the Task Team.

    “Maina was just a victim of high power play of some powerful individuals in high places. So, for three years, Maina suffered ‘media trial’, where he has found guilty several times on the pages of newspaper.

    “Despite the several facts presented before the Senate committee during the hearing, the committee chose to ignore the facts, instead, they threatened the then President Goodluck Jonathan, following which Maina was shot with five bullets wounds on the side glass of the bullet proof car Jonathan gave him”, he said.

    Mr. Maina said he had “verifiable” evidence the federal pension scheme was returning to “the looting era” which his team set out to end, with an alleged 98% of pensioners denied their benefits since November, 2012.

  • Oyebade is Osun Head of Service

    The Osun State government has announced the appointment of Dr Festus Gboyega Oyebade as the Head of Service (HoS).

    A statement yesterday by the Media Adviser to the Governor, Mr Sola Fasure, said Dr Oyebade takes over from Mr Sunday Olayinka Owoeye, who retired on October 16.

    The statement said the new HoS was the Permanent Secretary in the Local Government Loans Board, Office of the Governor.

    His appointment is with immediate effect.

    Dr Oyebade, a native of Ibokun in Obokun Local Government Area, was born at Orile Owu in Ayedaade Local Government Area of the state on March 24, 1962.  He joined the civil service on January 11, 1991 through the Local Government Service Commission of the old Oyo State and was among Osun indigenes who returned home as pioneer workers of the newly created state on August 27, 1991.

    Oyebade has a BSc. Education from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at Ile-Ife with specialisation in Geography. He also got Masters in Educational Management and Peace and Conflict Studies as well as a Doctorate (PhD) in Educational Management, all from the University of Ibadan (UI).  He also bagged LLB and LLM degrees in Law from OAU and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2005.

    The new HoS had his elementary education at St. Peter’s Anglican Primary School at Oke-Owu in Orile-Owu between 1966 and 1973 before proceeding to Apostolic Secondary Modern School at Orile-Owu and Orile-Owu Grammar School between 1973 and 1979 for his post-primary education.

    He had a stint at the Local Authority Teacher Training College at Iyana-Offa in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in the 1979/’80 before attending Adeyemi College of Education in Ondo for the National Certificate in Education (NCE) between 1981 and 1984. He observed the mandatory National Youth Service in the old Borno State (present-day Yobe State) between 1984 and 1985.

    He is married and has children.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola has congratulated him on the appointment and wished him a fruitful and successful service to the government and the good people of Osun.

     

  • Osun Head of Service retires

    The Head of Service in Osun State yesterday retired after “serving meritoriously with integrity and the fear of God,” according to a statement by Sola Fasure, media adviser to Governor Rauf Arergbesola.

    Owoeye joined the Civil Service in the old Oyo State on March 3, 1983 and transferred his services to Osun state at the creation of the state in 1991.

    He was appointed Permanent Secretary in September 2012 and elected Head of Service by his peers immediately.

    The statement described him as a thoroughbred technocrat who embodied the best tradition of the civil service. “His services to the state are invaluable and his departure will be hard to fill”.

    It added that Governor Aregbesola accepted his retirement and  congratulated him while wishing him a blissful and glorious post service life.

     

  • Head of Service pays hospital bill of detained 22-year-old nursing mother

    Head of Service pays hospital bill of detained 22-year-old nursing mother

    Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, on Saturday paid N700,000 as hospital bill for a 22-year-old orphan and nursing mother, who was being detained at the hospital.

    Oyo-Ita, came in contact with Miss Blessing Clement, who could not pay her maternity bills, while visiting the couple that gave birth to quintuplets at the National Hospital, Abuja.

    She said that she would take care of all the bills that Clement had incurred during her stay at the hospital and the woman immediately broke down in tears.

    “Wipe your tears and stop crying I am going to pay all your bills and make sure you go home with your baby.’’

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Clement, an orphan, gave birth to a baby boy since February and has been held in the National Hospital because she could not pay her bills.

    NAN also reports that the baby who is in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit was delivered at six months through a caesarean section.

    Clement, who described the kind gesture of the Head of Service as a miracle, said she was overwhelmed with joy as she would finally be released from the hospital.

    She said that there was no end in sight to her predicament as all hope was lost because of her inability to pay the bill.

    However, the father of her baby has been soliciting support from various churches but has not been able to raise the amount needed.

    She added that a huge load has been taken off her shoulder, praying that Oyo-Ita’s pocket will never run dry and sorrow will be far from her household.

    NAN reports that the father of the baby was not present at the hospital at the time of the event.

    Clement told NAN that her parents died long ago and she was living in an uncompleted building with her younger ones and husband.

    Mrs Maryann Umejiagu, Matron on duty at the maternity ward, said that Clement’s baby was delivered at six months due to life threatening complications during the pregnancy.

    Umejiagu tol NAN that she was always having high blood pressure due to the pregnancy which is medically known as Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH)

    She also said that the baby and mother are fine and would have long been discharged but were being kept in the hospital because they could not paid their bills.

    The Matron added that God has used the Head of Service to salvage the situation and they would be discharged without further delay. (NAN)