By Stephen Adeleye.
Mr Elijah Evinemi, FCA, the Head of Civil Service (HOS), Kogi State, has urged the civil servants in the state to reciprocate Gov. Ahmed Ododo’s good gesture towards them, by being loyal and adding value to the system.
Evinemi gave the advice in Lokoja, during the 7th Public Lecture of the Chattered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), Kogi State branch in collaboration with Kogi State Head of Service, for senior civil servants in the state.
According to him, it is the plan of the governor that all civil servants in the state should be trained so that they could update their knowledge and perform better than before.
He enjoined the workers to take to heart what they had learnt during the training, saying, “this is just the beginning as more training are still coming.
“In the various schedules assign to you; the core civil service rules which are accountability, professionalism, loyalty and efficiency, must be followed. You should be above board to whatever task assigned to you.
“We, at the helms of affairs are thinking about you and that is why Gov. Ahmed Ododo, the Chief Servant of the state who has passion for civil servants had gone ahead to approve the N72,500 minimum wage”.
The HOS stressed that the governor has promised to do more for the civil servants, and assured them that more goodies are coming for them from the governor who is a civil servant friendly.
According to him, the government has recently trained some workers and have also gotten more approvals and as soon as we approach new year, the training will continue to go round
“I, therefore advise the civil servants in the state to reciprocate what the governor is doing by being loyal and put in their best, because there is no room for laziness.
“Training is part of adding value to the civil servants and you must inturn add value to the system,” Evinemi said.
In his remarks, Dr Isa Aminu, ACIPM, Chairman CIPM, Kogi State branch, said the training was organised to mark the CIPM 7th Public Lecture, titled: “Rethinking Appraisals: Focusing On Employee Growth and Well-being in Nigeria Work Force”
Aminu explained that the lecture was aimed at focusing on growth and wellbeing of Nigeria’s work force.
According to him, over time the institutional appraisal system has not actually bring out the best in workers.
“So, the training is to actually enlighten the workers on what is required of them, and the need for the management to focus on appraisal system that will bring out the best psychological aspect of workers which has been neglected over time,.
“This will enable both the management and the workers themselves to synergise and work together for the growth of the organisation.
“Aside, the training we are also using the opportunity to motivate workers in the state to be certified and become professional membership of CIPM,” Aminu said.
Aminu, who is a Lecturer at Federal University Lokoja (FUL), commended the current head of the Kogi civil service for effectively mobilizing the workers in the state to become members of CIPM.
In his paper presentation, the guest Lecturer, Prof. Inyokwe Otinche, stressed the need for workers to be trained and retrained from time to time and also promote their growth and wellbeing.
Otinche, a Professor of Public Administration and Policy Analyst at FUL, stressed the need for workers to be appraised periodically, motivated and rewarded on performance basis.
This, he said would enhance the optimal performance of the workers and the development of the organisation.
The don also emphasised the need to create a conducive work environment to enable the workers put in their best and perform optimally as well as commendation, training and retraining.
One of the participants, Assist. Director, Mrs Mary Eleojo Alhassan, commended the state government and CIPM for the training, saying it had further impacted knowledge on them and boosted their capacity to add value to the system.
“The training has really impacted on us, we are better informed now on to add value to the system,” she said.
The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of Award of Excellence to the Kogi State Head of Civil Service, Mr Elijah Evinemi by the CIPM, for his exemplary leadership quality.
End