Principal Administrative Officers (GL12) in the Ogun State Civil Service have been charged to take full advantage of a capacity training at their disposal to acquire new knowledge and sharpen their skills for efficiency and effectiveness, as the task ahead of them is enormous.

The Head of Service, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun, gave the charge while declaring open a 2-day Intensive Training Course on "Manpower Budgeting and Staff Inspection as well as Pension Administration" for Principal Administrative Officers in the State Civil Service, put together by the Bureau of Establishments and Training, Office of the Head of Service, in conjunction with a Consult, held at the Obas' Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

According to him, the tasks ahead of them as they gradually move into the management level require smartness, resilience, professionalism and sound intellectual contributions to official management issues in their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), hence, the all encompassing training, as they must not be found lacking in skills, knowledge, qualities and virtues.

The Head of Service also encouraged the Officers to go beyond the confines of the training by acquiring more knowledge and skills that will make them stand out while discharging their statutory duties in order to make them thorough-bred Administrative Officers and in turn reputable Civil Servants of Ogun State.

Mr. Fagbohun, while appreciating the State Governor for the approval to train the 200 Officers despite competing demands for limited resources, urged the participants to handle the training with all seriousness as it is a requirement that must be fulfilled before promotion to the next level and there would be consequences for non-compliance.

"Training about 200 Officers at a go is not an easy task. A lot of resources, both human and capital have been deployed and some alternatives forgone to make the training a reality. It is on this note that I express immense gratitude to the Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, CON for his commitment to the capacity development of the State workforce and for graciously approving funds for the conduct of this training in spite of competing demands for the limited resources of the State.

"We are also grateful to His Excellency for his kind support towards the welfare of the State workforce, as demonstrated through the recent approval of various palliative packages for the Public Servants and the State as a whole, including immediate release of 2021 and 2022 promotions, payment of peculiar allowance and a host of other economic hardship relieving packages", the HoS said.

In their separate remarks, the Permanent Secretaries, Civil Service Commission, Mr. Adedayo Somoye and the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr. Jola Oyeneye mni, submitted that training and retraining have direct impact on the officers' service delivery as well as give better understanding of responsibility, knowledge and skills, hence, the participants must equip themselves well and not waste the opportunity given to them, because to whom much is given, much is expected.

They urged the participants not to underestimate all they'll learn but be open minded and ready to tap from the wealth of experiences of the Consultants who have garnered a lot as retired Permanent Secretaries from the Ogun State Civil Service.

On his part, the Lead Consultant, A-A Cosmopolitan Memory Consult, Alhaji Kunle Adegbite, said the training is needed to make the officers perform more efficiently and effectively as it is designed to be educative, interactive and instructive.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Establishments and Training, Mrs. Bolaji Fajounbo, said it was another in the series of trainings to ensure that establishments standards are set and met in the Civil Service for excellent service delivery.

She assured that the Bureau will continue to identify gaps and fill such, as the officers are expected to meet a requirement before moving to GL13, being the wheel on which the service rests, thus, they must make use of the great opportunity as the pioneer beneficiary of the intensive course to further improve on their delivery to the State Government.

Papers on Manpower Planning and The Process of Staff Inspection and Staff Supervision in the Civil Service were delivered by Mr. Muyiwa Adenopo and Alhaji Adebisi Osolase, retired Permanent Secretaries from the State Civil Service.