Numerous reports over the years have indicated the complacent state and ineffectiveness of many civil servants. Due to lack in proper supervision, the capacity of the civil service has been ravaged by incompetency, laziness, unprofessionalism and ineffectiveness against the growing expectations of the general public. However, the Federal Government, in a bid to reform the civil service, have vowed to duly dust off unproductive civil servants with sanctions for incompetency. Festus Kayemo, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment made this known during the 2022 Ministerial Service Awards for Labour Sector which took place in Abuja.
These awards were put together to mark the 2022 Africa Day for Civil Service, as well as recognizing the outstanding performances of both the Ministry staffers and the agencies under its supervision. Kayemo noted that the idea of the Ministries recognizing the outstanding performances of civil officers who have continually worked tirelessly to ensure the achievements of their mandate during the year was a heart rendering one. He stated that it was an opportunity to inform the general public of the importance of encouraging enhanced productive performances and thus, this platform was an avenue for celebrating excellence in civil service delivery.
Performance management process to help sanction incompetent civil servants.
He further stated that the Performance Management Process put in place will be useful in recognizing unproductive civil servants, who will then be sanctioned for their incompetence. The Ministry will in turn, make provisions for enabling an ambience for performance competitiveness to ensure quality services being rendered. Kayemo thereby encouraged civil servants to put in their best efforts towards discharging their tasks. On recognizing the officers who put in their best efforts towards improving the services of the civil servants, he admitted that although numerous staffs had been working under unfavorable and challenging circumstances, these staffs showed zeal and passion in the accomplishment of their tasks.
Kayemo also lauded the courage and bravery displayed by the officers, noting that these qualities recommended them for the conferred awards. The Minister said that the different awarded categories were from the various departments and agencies in the Ministry which ranged through the different grade levels. Also, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kachallom Daju also asserted that this platform was implemented to ensure due compensations for civil officers for the recognition of their contributions to the service.
Proper management to enhance organizational performances & productivity.
Daju emphasized the importance of Performance Management, noting that it overtly enhances organizational performances, employee retention, loyalty and employee productivity. She thus added that this helps in overcoming the communication barriers, cost advantages and clear accountability. She explained that the issue resolved by this performance management will immensely help in bridging the gap in communication between the staff members and management, as well as reducing the conflicts generated with the Labour Union, saving time and also ensuring performance efficiency and consistency.
The Permanent Secretary further asserted that whilst performances are about positive feedback on the basis of results, the award was indeed a measure of recognition of hard work and performances. She also asserted that the Ministry was genuinely careful in the selection of the awarded officers through a credible process with inputs from all agencies and departments for coming up with the list of officers that were awarded. She also added that the agencies under the supervision of the Ministry created an award committee to further enhance the process for selection of the awardees.
The Ministry applauded for recognizing the productivity of civil officers.
Dr. Michael Akabogu, the Managing Director of Nigeria’s Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), in his remark, also applauded the Ministry for recognizing the efforts and productivity of the civil officers to the core values of the service. Mrs. Martina Nwodu, the Director of Special Projects, representing the group of awardees, also commended the Ministry. She asserted that their award recognition was an indicative motivation for the officers to continually strive to be the best in the execution of their duties.
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