The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has approved an unprecedented training programme for Permanent Secretaries and other top management officers in the public/civil service of the state at the Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona School of Governance Studies located at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, taken over and being operated by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.
The Head of Service, Kehinde Onasanya, disclosed this in a statement he made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Onasanya said the one-week intensive training programme is expected to train Permanent Secretaries, Principals-General, General Managers, and other top echelon of the service, while other grade levels and cadres would also benefit from the carefully structured programmes.
According to the Head of Service: “Prince Abiodun had, during a meeting with the Director of the School, Professor Sola Adeyanju, mni, described NIPSS as the highest think tank and capacity building institution for top decision makers in the country and gave a firm assurance that the State Government would maximally explore the benefits offered by the Institution’s presence in Ogun State to build the capacity of its workforce.”
The governor urged the Institute to come up with a curriculum in this regard.
Onasanya added: “His Excellency is grateful to His Royal Majesty, the Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba ( Dr) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, GCON, for establishing the School of Governance Studies at the Olabisi Onabanjo University and also thanked the Federal Government for approving its take-over by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, the highest training Institute for public governance in Africa.
“Mr Governor has indeed declared that the School for Governance Studies is not only a blessing to Ogun State but to the entire South West States and country.”
He also explained that the approval for the training is a fulfilment of the promise Governor Abiodun made during the inauguration of NIPSS-OSKASOGS that the Permanent Secretaries in Ogun State would be the first set of students to be enrolled for courses at the School Institute, urging the NIPSS to come up with a suitable curriculum for these top management officers and other levels and cadres.
Onasanya confirmed that the intensive training programme for the Permanent Secretaries is expected to commence in the second week of April, while civil servants on Grade Levels 13 to 17 will also be trained based on a well-structured curriculum put in place by NIPSS-OSKASOGS.
The Head of Service thanked Governor Abiodun for putting the civil service on a sound footing as the engine room of the government.
The Director of the School, Prof. Sola Adeyanju, described Prince Abiodun as a true nationalist and a man of great vision, pointing out that NIPSS presence is already stamped in Ogun State.
According to him, the establishment of the School by Oba Adetona is unprecedented.
Adeyanju explained that the Federal Government asked NIPSS to take over the School so it could achieve the vision of the founder, Kabiyesi Awujale of Ijebuland, and for his legacy to endure.
He reiterated that the National Institute, as a centre of excellence and the topmost think tank in Africa, will leverage on its established capacity to deliver top-notch research results, capacity building and reflection on national issues to make the school achieve its mandate.
He said that NIPSS has a large pool of world-class resource persons and rich experience, which it will employ to make the public/civil service in Ogun State one of the best in the country.
He expressed optimism that other states in the South West will emulate the ground breaking steps of Governor Abiodun to engage NIPSS-OSKASOGS in the capacity building of their public/civil servants.
Meanwhile, all is set for the commencement of the training of the Permanent Secretaries, Principals-General, General Managers, and other top echelon of the Ogun State Civil Service.
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