The Federal Government has promised to provide work tools and other resources for housing loans to 118 graduates of its Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme (Lead-P).
The Head of the Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja at the graduation ceremony of the Lead-P beneficiaries.
- FG has launched new reform initiative for civil servants – HoCSF
- Civil Service Week: FG honours 98 civil servants
She said the gesture was part of Federal Government’s determination to enhance the working conditions of civil servants, to fulfill its mandate and strengthen the nation’s public service.
Yemi-Esan said that the Lead-P training had a goal of cultivating 100 officers on salary Grade Levels 10 to 14 annually, meant to produce the next generation of leaders in the Federal Civil Service.
She said the programme is the key component of the first pillar of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2021 to 2025.
She said, “This priority of this initiative is geared towards addressing the need to strengthen and reinvigorate the civil service workforce through well-structured and sustainable capacity building programmes.
“It is therefore, quite elating to observe that today’s graduation ceremony is symbolic of the progress recorded towards the full implementation of that aspect of the FCSSIP.”
She also said that her office has commenced arrangement to ensure that each of the 118 of the beneficiaries get laptops to enhance their works.
“Also, I will like to inform you that the Federal Government Staff Housing Loan Board (FGSHLB) has set resources to grant immediate housing loan to all of you,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, commended Yemi-Esan for her laudable initiative, saying leadership development for effective succession planning had, over time, remained the bane of the civil service.
Mustapha said that this development underscores the need to equip officers appropriately with such laudable programmes, because the Public Service of any nation, in all its bureaucratic complexity, is the engine of government.
“This demonstrates the fact that public servants must have the capacity to support fast-moving political agendas, manage and transform vast public organizations, motivate and inspire their workforce and be trusted partners to citizens,” Mustapha said.
He said that the reform in the nation’s civil service has made a remarkable impact, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
He said, “Globally, we saw how effective public service leaders rose to the challenge of COVID-19, leveraging new technologies and managing their workforce in innovative ways to protect their well-being, while maintaining and boosting the delivery of essential services.
“Daunting though it may have been, there is no gainsaying the fact that the world, including Nigeria has risen to the challenge.”
