Abuja- President Goodluck
Jonathan has ordered the
restructuring of the Office of
the Head of Service of the
Federation to enable it fast
track the development of the country. Jonathan made this known in
Abuja on Friday at a formal
send-off ceremony for two past
Heads of Service of the
Federation, Mr Stephen Oronsaye
and Prof. Oladapo Afolabi. The president was represented
by Vice President Namadi Sambo. He said his administration was
committed to the transformation
of the service into an enviable
and modern institution capable
of supporting the political
leadership in its effort to fast track the development of Nigeria. “It is in line with this thinking that
I have recently approved the
restructuring of the Office of
the Head of the Civil Service of
the Federation to enable it drive
the transformation of the service. “It is envisaged that at the end
of the restructuring, the present
five office structure would be
reduced to three. “It will lead to slimmer, more
efficient and fit-for-purpose
organisation devoid of overlaps,
duplications and fragmentation,
more responsive and better able
to provide quality management, direction and guidance to the
Federal Civil Service,” he added. He, therefore, urged the Head of
Civil Service of the Federation to
ensure that the implementation
of the restructuring of his office
was carried out to the letter. Jonathan said that “this is to
enable our quest for a
responsible civil service and one
that takes cognisance of the
need to deliver is achieved. The president said that
government on its part would
continue to provide whatever
was needed to ensure the
continuous development of the
civil service. He maintained that this had
become imperative in view of the
fact that meaningful growth and
development of the nation had a
direct relation with the quality
of the civil service. Jonathan noted with delight
that the celebrities had made
tremendous contributions to the
development of the service. He said the two officers during
their stewardship as Head of
Service had demonstrated
courage and commitment in
implementing various reforms
aimed at renewing and reinvigorating the service. “I am very happy to note that
the current leadership of the
service has not only recognised
these contributions but has
made it a duty to celebrate it.” He, therefore, congratulated
Oronsaye and Oladapo for being
honoured by their constituency
for their selfless service to the
nation. According to him, retirement is a
time for reflecting on the past
and looking onward to the
future. “It is a time to move on to bigger
and newer challenges in life and
it is a very unique and
exceptional time to freely assess
one’s experiences and look
forward to further useful service to the fatherland. He urged them to constantly
reconnect with the service to
share their experiences and
guide succeeding leadership on
the best human and material
management practices. Responding on behalf of the
celebrities, Oronsaye thanked
Jonathan, Sambo, the Head of
Service of the Federation as well
as civil servants across the
country for the recognition accorded them. He, however, challenged the civil
servants to strive hard in
transforming the civil service for
greater efficiency and effective
service delivery. He pledged that they would
continue to support and advice
the government on how best to
move the nation forward for the
general good of the society. The event which was attended
by serving and retired
government functionaries,
witnessed the display of various
cultural dances. (NAN)
www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/jonathan-orders-restructuring-of-office-of-the-head-of-service/