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FUNCTIONS
Provide leadership and direction to the Civil service by maintaining high morale spirit de corps and good image of the Service.
- Fostering professionalism among civil servants
- Advising the Governor, in consultation with the chairman, Civil Service commission on the appointment and deployment of permanent Secretaries.
- Supervisory control over Permanent Secretaries.
- Promoting good relations between Commissioners and other Political office holders on the one hand and other civil servants on the other hand.
- Career development of all senior management staff, (GL 14 and above) including training schemes for such officers.
- Handling of Establishment matters of the Civil Service.
- Providing management services to the Civil service
- Maintaining of Personnel records and statistics of the Civil Service.
- Formulation of Civil service pensions scheme
- Determining staff salaries, wages and allowances in the Civil service.
- Maintenance of the Secretariat Complex and general cleanliness of the premises.
- Coordinating industrial relations of the Civil service and providing the Secretariat of the Public Service Negotiating Councils.
- Participation in the meeting of the National Council of Establishments
- Service welfare matters
- Allocation of office and residential accommodation to civil servants
- Providing of staff for newly established and ad-hoc bodies
- Liaison with other States Heads of Service and Head of Service of the Federation.
ACHIEVEMENTS FROM JUNE 2008 TO DATE
Since my assumption of office as Head of the Rivers State Civil Service on June 16, 2008, the following achievements have been recorded:
SANITATION
Sanitation was at its lowest ebb. Today, cleanliness of the Secretariat has been improved by fumigating and deodorizing offices. A refuse receptacle has been constructed. Provision of constant water supply has made regular cleaning of toilets easy. Septic tanks are periodically cleared to check the hitherto offensive odor that pervaded the area.
SECRETARIAT MARKET
The Secretariat which wore the look of a mini market place is now a thing of the past. Hawkers and itinerant business centers that crowded the blocks of the secretariat complex have all been displaced, thereby making the place to look like a working environment. Illegal structures have been demolished, while security men are detailed to check the excess of these intruders.
POWER SUPPLY
Power outrage was a major problem. We have since tackled the problem with the provision of cylindrical tanks of 33, 000 litres capacity of the stock piling of diesel for generators. Power outrage no longer disrupts activities in the State Secretariat. For example, for the past three weeks, we have been dependent solely on our generators as Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) disengaged their services.
LATENESS TO WORK
Late-coming by Civil Servants has been checked through my personal on-the-spot checks of offices. Prior to this time, workers strolled into their offices any time they liked. That is now history. Regular maintenance of lifts and prompt payment of OTIS Company has made workers not to loiter but rather move up to their offices easily to perform their duties.
PAYMENT OF GRATUITIES AND DEATH BENEFITS
We also had the problem of pension arrears. Pensioners now get their pensions as at when due because loopholes that led to ghost pensioners have been plugged. Pensioners are now members of the Committee on payment of Gratuity/Pension arrears. Arrears inherited from past administrations have been reduced while unnecessary bottlenecks have been eliminated.
CONTRIBUITORY PENSION SCHEME
In a bid to minimize the hardship faced by workers on retirement, a Contributory Pension Scheme will soon be established. The draft of the Law establishing this scheme is being prepared by the Ministry of Justice for effective take-off.
PROPER DEPLOYMENT OF OFFICERS
Workers have been posted or redeployed on merit. This has given rise to right responsibilities and greater results in the service. Working tools are provided for all categories of staff while those due promotions are given to motivate them for higher productivity.
ESTABLISHMENT OF DATA BASE
At first it was difficult to ascertain the staff strength of the Civil Service. Knowing the retirement date of those still in the service was problematic. To overcome these problems, a Data Base which has centralized all service records in the Office of the Head of Service has been created. This initiative which is the first of its kind in the state now makes it possible to get information on the number of workers and different categories in the service and which they are retiring within a few minutes.
EMPLOYMENT
Our new data base has made it easy to ascertain our staff strength. A memo sent to council has been approved to employ more workers to ensure that vacuum is not created in the Service.
HOUSING AND VEHICLE LOANS
Housing and vehicle loans have been resuscitated with 356 beneficiaries. As a revolving loan, recoveries are being made on a monthly basis so that other workers can benefit.
PUBLICATION OF GAZETTES
Publishing of official Gazettes which went moribund has been revived. Gazettes are now printed periodically to publicize information on the movement of officers in the service.
CIRCULAR COMMITTEE
A circular committee of six members headed by the permanent secretary (Establishment) has been set up to discuss issues before issuing circulars and also for proper interpretation of Federal Circulars before they are adopted by the State.
SECURITY EQUIPMENT
Security men are provided with uniforms yearly to enable them to exercise authority. They are constantly on patrol to prevent pilfering. With the aid of walkie-talkies, effective surveillance is
maintained in the premises.
PARKING OF CARS
Marking of car parks has made it possible for cars to be properly parked and led to orderliness in the secretariat premises.
INTERCOM SERVICE
Before we took over, a lot of man hours were lost as workers moved from one office to the other to get or pass information that should have taken a few seconds. To check this ugly trend, the intercom service in the Podium Block of the Secretariat which went dead for some years has been reactivated. This has made communication easier and also made workless cumbersome.
MAINTENANCE OF STAFF BUSES
With a fleet of five big buses three small ones, the Civil servants Welfare Bus Scheme has continued to cushion the effect of fuel increase on workers. This has enhanced punctuality and workers see the scheme as a morale booster. Maintenance and fueling of the cars are done with whatever we realized from commuters.
TRAINING OF STAFF
Training enjoys a lot support, as we believe strongly that manpower development is crucial to our success. Many Administrative Officers, Executive and Clerical Officers have been trained since 2003 till date. Confidential Secretaries and Drivers are not left out as they also enjoy training programmes designed to make them relevant in the scheme of things. The State now has a working agreement with Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) to conduct induction Courses for Administrative Officers and also set their Promotion/Confirmation
examinations to enhance efficiency.
STAFF ELECTRONIC IDENTIFICATION SYSYTEM
Senior officers in some case did not know all the staff working under them. The establishment of a Data Base and an Electronic Identification system for proper staff identification is a major
contribution. This has made it possible for the State to plan and remove waste arising from ghost workers.
COMPUTER LITERACY
Many Secretariat staff and typist are now computer literate. Arrangements have reached an advanced stage to computerize the entire Civil service. This will lead to all the workers undergoing training to be abreast with latest developments in Information Technology.
GARDEN AND BEAUTIFIACATION
The Secretariat Complex was covered with wild flowers and also sandwiched by tall unattended trees. These features impaired the beauty of the secretariat. In order to appreciate the landscape aesthetically, overgrown trees have been cut down, while beautiful flowers have been planted.
BOARD OF SURVEY
A Board was constituted to evaluate and dispose of disused and wasting assets. It helped to clear the premises of disused cars and other items that littered the Secretariat in 2004. This exercise is about to be repeated to get rid of items recovered from the on-going renovation of buildings in the Secretariat.
LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE
I have given leadership to the service by personal example. As a team player, I serve as a rallying point for all Permanent Secretaries and the workers. This style has paid off tremendously, as harmonious relationship is subsisting among workers, leading to greater to greater productivity.
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