The organised body for serving and former Public Office Holders Association in Nigeria (POHAN) has described the civil service as the mainstream of any nation’s economy in terms of human capacity, without which it can not survive.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the National President, Comrade MD Eseyin, POHAN felicitated with civil servant in Nigeria on the occasion of year 2020 Workers’ Day celebration.
POHAN called on workers in the civil service to keep adding their value in the growth of the Nigerian economy and by effect the overall development of the nation in spite of the challenges in ensuring quality service delivery.
“As you all are aware, it is a worthy tradition recognised by the United Nations and the laws of our land that workers are celebrated on the 1st of May every year. In view of the above, we want to salute and celebrate our dear Nigerian workers and patriots, both former and serving, for continually adding their immense value in the collective drive towards better economy as a developing nation.
“It is no news all over the world that the civil service is the mainstream of any nation’s economy in terms of human capacity, without which it can not survive. It is through the civil service that government of any nation at all levels can efficiently plan and execute programmes and policies in the best interest of her citizenry; our dear country, Nigeria is not an exception.
“Going by the theme of this year’s Labour Day celebration which is tagged as ‘Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement’, emphasis are placed on encouraging cross fertilisation of ideas in order to ensure cooperation amongst workers for sustainable best practices. It is believed that through unity of purpose, information will not only be shared but in addition opinion will be properly managed for cooperate existence amongst workers.
“There is no doubt, the civil service in addition to its primary mandate has continued to serve as a formidable means of sustaining our country’s unity as there can never be question of Religion or Region in managing the relationship between every worker and the employer which is the government.
“POHAN as an organised body for public servants in Nigeria is very much aware of the setbacks in the working condition and reward system in our civil service, ranging from insufficient wages compared to service being rendered to inconsistent social security amongst others. However, while we continue to engage necessary authorities especially government through fair dialogue in a bid to ensure that necessary steps towards correcting these anomaly are taken, we must equally add our voice to the pool of commendation and encouragement that will be coming your way as we celebrate you all today for your unflinching loyalty, commitment and dedication.
“As a nation, we are faced with several developmental challenges, including security and economy; therefore, we must continue to give our best in every possible means to support government in the drive towards social security and economic stability in the country. As we celebrate today, we must not fail to make attempts in providing honest and workable answers to the question of ‘how we can make differences either as individuals or groups in order to make the Civil Service better’. The development of Nigeria will continue to first be the business of all Nigerians in spite of our differences in tongue, faith and political affiliations. This is the fundamental reason why we must strive for all hands to be on deck in order to ensure that the Nigerian state do not fail.
“We appreciate you all for your resilience, great sense of productivity through innovations and reformations which has kept us going. While efforts are always on in partnership with necessary stakeholders to drive home your interests, we equally want to once again encourage you all to strive as much you can to ensure sanity, discipline and patriotism in the discharge of your duties and in the system at large.
“Sadly, due to the challenges occasioned us by the world deadly disease of Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, the celebration will not hold in its usual ceremonial manner; this is regrettable. We are all affected as a nation just as the entire world regardless of social status and other obvious differences – especially as a body that operates in the slogan of ‘an injury to one, is an injury to all’; we therefore urge you all to adhere to the precautionary measures as advised by professionals in our health sector, which are: regular washing of our hands with disinfectants, use of alcoholic contented hand sanitizers, maintaining social distancing order, avoiding crowded places and the use of nose mask.
“Conclusively, we must seize the opportunity of today’s occasion to significantly appreciate your continuous and dire needed contributions to the development of POHAN and sustainability of our efforts in serving your interests better. While we look forward to more of such partnership, we promise to continue to operate in your best interest without fear or favor for any authority or persons. We urge you all to be law abiding and keep upholding the dignity of the Nigerian public service,” the statement read.
