By Gbenga Akingbule
At least 150 Senior Civil Servants in Borno State which comprises Ministerial Secretaries and Directors, on Tuesday, commenced a 2-Day training to acquire new skills and ensure improved output in their various places of assignment.
Gatekeepers News reports that the training which took place in Maiduguri, the state capital, was organised by the office of the Head of Service, Barrister Simon Malgwi, in conjunction with a local based education and management consultancy, Scieman Consultants Nigeria Ltd.
According to Malgwi, the civil servants are to be drilled for two days on six thematic areas of leadership and good governance, human resource management, public works ethics and attitudinal change and productivity by renowned university dons led by Professor Ibrahim Umara of the department of political science, University of Maiduguri.
The Head of Service said the training program was approved by Governor Babagana Zulum in line with his administration’s policy thrust noting that training and retraining are necessary for effective and efficient service delivery.
“In 2020, my office “with the support of His Excellency, Professor Babagana Zulum trained 150 Directors and Deputy Directors of Administration and Supplies,” Malgwi said.
Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum
The number one civil servant in the state revealed that the COVID-19 Pandemic had slowed down the training process, but assured that the state government hopes to train more than 1,000 civil servants of all cadres including Permanent Secretaries before the end of 2022.
“Today, we have commenced the training with 150 Ministerial Secretaries and Directors; next week we will also conduct another training for 200 officers on grade levels 08/13./. This will be followed by training 60 store officers and related cadres in all the MDAs.
“We hope to crown up the first phase of these training with a retreat for Permanent Secretaries in Abuja specifically on public procurement and contract management,” the Head of Service said.
The Head of Service, Borno State. Barr. Simon Malgwi.
On the workforce in the state, the Head of Service said, Borno state currently has over 16,000 Civil Servants, even as he acknowledged that the number of those retiring is alarming.
“It is, therefore, pertinent to note that even as the government is recruiting new employees in critical sectors like education, health and administration, we must ensure that those still in service are well and properly trained for quality service delivery,” Malgwi said.
He, therefore, urged the civil servants to take advantage of modern technology to improve themselves for better and quality service delivery.
