The Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, CFR has held a virtual interactive session with Civil Servants in commemoration of the 2024 Civil Service Week with the theme ‘Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality and Relevant Learning in Africa held on Wednesday 19th June, 2024. This was contained in a statement signed by Mohammed A. Ahmed, Director, Communications.
According to Dr. Yemi-Esan, the annual activities of the Civil Service Week connotes significant events in our calendar, and it provides a veritable platform for every class of Civil/Public Servants to interact freely with the HoSF. It is a ‘no holds barred’ session for questions and comments on the Service, which the HoSF provides insight into them.
She stated that this year’s theme emphasied the need for education to be accessible, inclusive, and of high quality while highlighting the need for it to constantly remain relevant to the rapidly evolving demands of the modern world. The theme also speaks to how the Nigeria Civil Service is leveraging learning and development to enhance the capacity and capability of its workforce with a view to deliver on national priorities.
Yemi-Esan further stated that the first priority area/pillar of FCSSIP 25 is Capacity Building and Talent Management, which is in line with the theme selected by the African Union for this year. She affirmed that the lessons learned in recent years further underscore the need to commit to continuous self-development, particularly in view of emerging global challenges, in relation to emerging technologies and the new world of work.
The HoSF disclosed that the rapidly changing work environment, as well as demands for greater efficiency have necessitated the adoption of Performance Management System (PMS) by the Nigeria Civil Service, adding that PMS Policy and Guidelines have been developed and circulated to all Ministries, extra-ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and core teams for its implementation have been constituted.
According to Dr. Yemi-Esan, “PMS implementation has been cascaded to the Ministries, with the Permanent Secretaries serving as the primary drivers. In this regard, performance contracts are to be further cascaded down to the last officer in each MDA. This new system will assess each officer’s performance solely based on their respective Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and it will enable tracking of job objectives across all MDAs. By implication, each officer across the Service can clearly link his/her goals and objectives with those of his/her department, those of the respective Ministry and the national KPIs,’’ she reiterated.
Dr. Yemi-Esan described the digitalisation of work processes in the Service as another reference point in the remarkable ongoing transformation of the Federal Civil Service. She further stressed that the Office has fully digitized all personal and policy files and is implementing digital transaction of workflow processes as all official correspondence in the form of memos, internal and external circulars, are now being processed electronically through the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office (CMO), in the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Adeleye Adeoye, while welcoming participants, noted that education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to change the world. He further noted that Africa stands a chance to be the best continent in the world if only we have the best of education.
Adeoye urged Civil Servants to improve and equip themselves on daily basis with necessary skills and expertise in other to enhance productivity, as well as service delivery in the overall interest of the citizenry and the nation at large.
Questions were fielded from civil servants, and the HoSF provided satisfactory and insightful responses to them. Mr. Adebayo Bamidele Hassan on Grade Level 14 asked on the dischotomy between B.Sc and HND and what the government is doing to bridge the gap.
The HoSF responded that the curriculum for HND and B.Sc are not the same. Hence, HND graduates will have to undergo mandatory one year training before conversion from Executive to Officer cardre
Mr. Kindness Odigili from Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs averred that training on the implementation of PMS is not being cascaded to the state offices to which the HoSF said that the Permanent Secretries, as well as Directors, Human Resource Management (HRM) should be held liable for the oversight.
Miss. Oyinyechi Eberendu from OHCSF, Abuja, spoke on behalf of Civil Servants with disabilities and the challenges they are going through as a result of the present economy situation in the country Some of these challenges range from spending a subtantial part of their salaries to transportating themselves to and from work. She, however, suggested that the HoSF holds a similar session with this venurable group in order to identify their peculiarities with a view to profering solutions to them.
The interactive session, the third in the series since the HoSF assumed duty, witnessed the participation of over a thousand civil servants across the country. The elated workforce, who could not hide their joy, expressed gratitude to the ‘Mother of the Service’ for creating the ‘Peoples’ Parliament.’
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