FG introduces executive master classes for top officials

Top government officials including Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chief Executive Officers, Director-Generals and their aides are now to undertake executive Master Classes to enhance service delivery, the federal government has disclosed.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack made the disclosure last Friday during a work visit to the Lagos Operational Office of the Centre for Management Development in Shangisha.

“In line with our current theme — “FCSSIP 25: Final Sprint – Delivering Results” — we are scaling up leadership capacity across the service.

“As part of this effort, I am pleased to announce the introduction of the Executive Master Classes for top government officials, including Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, CEOs, and Director-Generals, as well as their aides.

“Suffice to state here that a consultative engagement with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to ensure this initiative complements the expectations placed on our top public service leadership is ongoing. I am also pleased that CMD will be part of the faculty delivering this program” she said.

She was represented at the event by Mrs Fatima Mahmood, the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office (CMO).

Paying glowing commendations to the Centre’s management led by Mr. Bitrus Chinoko, Walson-Jack said that the central government would collaborate with the CMD in the training of the officials to ensure adequate manpower enhancement.

She said the visit reflected the government’s shared commitment to strengthening partnerships among institutions tasked with building the human capital of the nation’s public service.

According to her, “For five decades, CMD has played a pivotal role in training and developing the skills of public servants. In today’s rapidly evolving landscape — shaped by innovation, digitalization, and shifting governance demands — your institution remains a key pillar in equipping our workforce with the knowledge and competencies needed to deliver results.

“I would like to commend the leadership of the Director-General of CMD, Mr. Bitrus Chinoko, and the entire CMD team for your ongoing contributions to national development.

“Your efforts in accrediting 1,000 management consultants, introducing digital learning solutions, and continuously improving training content are achievements worthy of recognition.

“While CMD is under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and not the OHCSF, our respective mandates intersect in important ways. As such, this visit represents an opportunity to further align our efforts across the public service training ecosystem — ensuring synergy, eliminating duplication, and delivering value for money through coordinated development strategies”.

The country’s number one civil servant said that, since she assumed office, she had prioritized a set of transformative reforms aimed at strengthening service delivery, operational efficiency, and employee engagement.

She noted that, within her first 100 days in office, she introduced Service-Wise GPT — an AI-powered decision support tool; GOVMail — a secure communication platform; and the Nigeria Federal Civil Service Online Academy that has aided service delivery.

“These were complemented by policies on Reward and Recognition, Incentive and Consequence Management, Mentorship, and the Standardized Use of Federal Government Secretariats.

“We also launched the Online Compendium of Circulars to streamline access to critical policy documents across MDAs, providing over 20 years of policy direction of government.

The civil service boss, encouraged CMD to continue innovating in its training delivery, exploring partnerships locally and globally, and adopting new technologies that could prepare public servants for the future of work.

She added that the evolution of the workplace demands agility, strategic thinking, and systems leadership — all of which CMD was positioned to support.

“Together, let us continue to build a public service that is smart, innovative, and truly accountable to the Nigerian people.

In his remarks at the event, the CMD D-G, Mr Bitrus Chinoko, said the Centre is the apex management resource institution, established by the Federal Government in 1973 as the operational arm of the Nigerian Council for Management Development (NCMD) and has registered over 8000 training firms so far.

Chinoko said the parastatal has the overall responsibility for the stimulation, promotion, and coordination of management education, training, and development in Nigeria and beyond.

He added that the Centre is actively involved in the regulation of standards and development of managerial manpower for the country as well as a broad range of competencies to enhance the quality of Management and Leadership for the achievement of national development.

He noted that investing in training and development was a strategy to improve the knowledge, skills, attitude, and capabilities of the workforce to achieve the desired returns of improved performance, increased productivity, and national development.

According to him, to achieve value for money and fulfil the purpose of training, there is the need to procure the services of reputable training individuals and institutions who are duly accredited.

“This is the only way to guarantee the development and delivery of effective training programs that will enhance employees’ performance and boost productivity. Unfortunately, most MDAs do not utilize government-established MDIs (ASCON, PSIN, CMD) or even accredited Trainers or Training Institutions.

“As a result, so much is spent on training without a commensurate positive impact on employees’ performance.

“The Council has, since its inception been accrediting and supervising the operations of Management Training Institutions (MTIs) and firms in Nigeria in line with the provisions of the Act. So far, over 8000 firms have been accredited,” he said.

He however regretted that the applicable provisions have been observed more in breach by training firms and institutions that have been carrying out training services without recourse to the provisions of the NCMD Act.11.

Chinoko worried that the Centre’s inability to enforce the provisions of the Act has resulted in a lack of coordination in management education and training across the board, with the resultant effect being the prevalence of quacks masquerading as training experts.

This, according to him, has led to the deluge of half-baked trainers and trainees “that litter our space except for very few MDAs that have religiously insisted that training firms bidding for training consultancy jobs possess requisite accreditations from the Council.”

He further appealed to organizations to expose their resource persons to the train-the-trainer program of the CMD, which he said would qualify people and bodies for accreditation to ensure quality assurance.

He equally urged the administration and Departmental Training Officers (DTOs) in all MDAs to attend the Basic Management Trainers Development Workshop (Basic and Advanced MANDEV) saying those programs are necessary to ensure that managers performing training functions are equipped with the right competencies for the development and implementation of training programs.

READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE