The Minister of Information and National Orientation Alh. Mohammed Idris has promised that training of staff is a minimum requirement for best performance, and as such, all training will be done without delay.
The Honourable Minister, who referred himself as Comrade Mohammed Idris stated this during the first meeting with the The Joint Action Committee of Labour Union (JACOLU), comprising the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and the Nigerian Civil Servant Union (NCSU), Amalgamated Union of Public Cooperation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Service (AUPCTRE) and Nigerian Union of Public Service Reportorila Secretariat Data Processing and Allied Workers (NUPSRAW) since assumption of office.
According to Comrade Mohammed Idris who said the meeting was a “bopper edition” as he thanked the union for welcoming him to the Ministry also, apologised for the delay in meeting the union due to his tight schedule, but assured them of his unwavering support for any activities that will move the ministry forward.
Furthermore, He promised that there will be regular meetings with the union from now on,emphasising that training of staff is a minimum requirement for best performance, and as such, all training will be done, adding that his permission for the National Press Centre to be used for all Union activities, including the Promotion Examination Exercise has been approved.
The Honourable promise to look into the issue of RIOs but urged them to be up and doing in their various place of assignments.He further said, that it was out of patriotism and protest for the poor condition of Radio House that made him leave, and that has yielded results as renovation has started and hopefully will be finished in three months’ time for him to return to Radio House.
He finally assured the union that he will do his best to restore Radio House to its lost glory.
In an opening Remark by the Chairman Joint Action Committee Of Labour Union (JACOLU), Comrade Chika Ukachukwu thanked the Honourable Minister for the opportunity to finally meeting with him, despite several abortive efforts. She informed the honourable minister that the union is not pleased as it took nine months to meet the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation since he assumed office, adding that it was better late than never.
The chairman who noted the aim of the meeting as to find long-lasting solutions to the myriad of challenges facing the ministry and reposition it for maximum impact following its demerger from Culture, delved into several burning issues affecting the ministry that needed urgent attention to includes: Training and re-training of staff which should be prioritized to enable staff acquire the necessary skills for the 21st century public service noting that the previous training efforts have been grossly inadequate, and a proper training calendar needs to be developed to avoid recycling the same staff.
Additionally, the newly elected union officials need to be trained to better understanding of unionism, also said the ministry should revive the NIPI training centre in Kaduna to optimize training outcomes.Comrade Ukachukwu again, stress the need for the provision of essential working materials like computers and functional internet facilities, as well as setting up an IPPIS service centre in Radio House, is crucial for the ministry to fulfill its mandate on PMS.
She further asked for an Inclusion of competent budget officers and union officials in the budgeting process to help improve the ministry’s budgeting approach as the ministry in recent years maintained a predictable pattern with almost every line items repeated as if new ones cannot be introduced to beef up the ministry’s budget.
The union further requests access to the National Press Centre for staff activities, such as Congress meetings and Promotion Examination Exercise to avoid the issues encountered during the last promotion examination among others while asking the honourable minister when he will return to Radio House as he is not currently operating from there.
The top ministry’s officials present during the meeting are, Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Alh. Mohammed Idris.The Special Assistant on Administration, Dr. Sunday Baba.The Special Assistant on Media, Alhaji Rabiu Ibrahim.The JACOLU team, led by the Chairman, Comrade Chika Ukachukwu among others
