Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, charged members of National Council on Establishment (NCE) to conduct a review of the Scheme of Service in line with evolving realities.
Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the charge while declaring open the 42nd Council Meeting on the NCE, which took place in Ikeja area of the state, even as he also urged members to use the opportunity provided by this convergence to engender focused interrogation of burning issues confronting Schemes and Conditions of Service nationwide.
NCE is comprising of Heads of Service of different states, Permanent Secretaries on Establishment Matters of different states and Directors on Establishment matters of different State as delegates.
“Let me use this opportunity to remind all the delegates to use the occasion of this conference to conduct a review of the Scheme of Service in line with evolving realities because the outcomes of their deliberations traditionally provide the critical roadmap for decisions and conclusions at the forthcoming Officials and Ministerial Sessions of the Council.
“I also wish to strongly urge you to take full advantage of the opportunity provided by this convergence to engender focused interrogation of burning issues confronting Schemes and Conditions of Service nationwide,” the governor said.
Permanent Secretary, Service Policies and Strategies Office (SPSO), Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHSF), Dr Emmanuel Meribole, in his address, thanked Governor Sanwo-Olu and the people of Lagos State for the show of hospitality and readiness at all time to welcome this kind of meeting anytime they were called upon.
Meribole reiterated that Civil Service of Nigeria needed restoration, saying that the service was facing lots of challenges in recent times.
According to him, the top echelon in the service needs to provide the right leadership and direction to the subordinates in order to raise the bar of performance and productivity for more effective and efficient service delivery.
The permanent secretary intimated delegates that the Extant Public Service Rules were being currently reviewed and updated, saying that the Scheme of Service was also at the final stage of completion.
He encouraged the participants to ensure that the meeting was sustained due to its core importance to the service.
He revealed that the occasion was his first outing as Permanent Secretary SPSO and OHSF, participating in the National Council of Establishment, urging all delegates to participate actively in the discussion during sessions so that they would make far-reaching recommendations to the Council.
Also in his address, the Head of Service (HoS), Lagos State, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who earlier received the participants in his office before the commencement of the meeting, reminded the delegates that the parley provided an excellent opportunity for the Council to realign and update relevant aspects of the Scheme of Sevice in line with emerging realities in both academia and actual workplace.
“This meeting, therefore, clearly provides an excellent opportunity for the Council on Establishments (NCE) to re-align and update relevant aspects of the Schemes of Service in line with emerging realities in both academia and in the actual workplace.
“In this undertaking, it is your individual and collective insights and robust inputs that would drive the process of improving service delivery in all the Civil/Public Services in the Federation,” he stated.
Muri-Okunola maintained that the world is more dynamic today than ever before, noting that change is the only constant thing, adding that it was inevitable that the future of work itself would be significantly determined by emerging technologies.
According to him, such has made it imperative that everyone recognise the critical importance of updating rules and guidelines in tandem with emerging knowledge, skills and competencies.
“The pace of change is unbelievably fast and it is inevitable that the future of work itself would be significantly determined by emerging technologies. What has become clear is that yesterday’s skills have proved inadequate in addressing today’s issues and there is no gainsaying that today’s knowledge and skills may not be sufficient in confronting tomorrow’s challenges.
“As such, it is imperative that we all recognize the critical importance of updating our rules and guidelines in tandem with emerging knowledge, skills and competences,” Muri-Okunola said.
In his opening address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Establishment and Pension, Mr Abiodun Bamgboye, on behalf of the delegates applauded the Lagos State Head of Service (HoS), Muri-Okunola, who also doubles as the host for his magnanimity and effort in securing executive approval for the conference.
“I consider it imperative to specially acknowledge and welcome to our midst, the Chief Host, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, Head of Service of Lagos State, who, not only secured executive approval for this hosting but also ensured we left no stone unturned in our preparations for the 5-day meeting.
“Our HOS, HMO, has the ‘midas touch’ and the Lagos State Public Service is the better for it,” Bamgboye said.
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