The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita has advised Federal Public Servants in the country to explore ways of how to add value to their income in order to meet up with the present economic challenges facing the country.Mrs. Oyo- Ita gave the advise in her office in Abuja recently when she declared open a one-day seminar organized by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigerian (ASCSN), Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Chapter with the theme: “The Removal of Fuel Subsidy: The Gains and Pains”.
Represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary Common Services Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Yemi Adelakun, the Head of Service said that there is no better time than now for Federal Public Servants in the country to begin to have a change of attitude by exploring avenues that would add value to themselves through the acquisition of gainful skills that would improve their human capacity development.
She said that through the acquisition of such relevant skills, Public Servants in the country can now imbibe the attitude of “Do it yourself!” approach rather than relying on government to do everything for them especially with the present economic challenges facing the country.
The Head of Service said further that as patriotic Nigerians, workers should also add value to the economy by patronizing made in Nigerian goods in order to help boost the nation’s fledging economy.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Jamila Shuara, said that in the absence of available forex lines or crude volumes to continue massive importation of Petroleum Products, “it is clear that unless immediate action is taken to liberate the petroleum supply and distribution, the queues will persist, diversion will worsen and the current prices will spiral out of control.”
The Permanent Secretary who was represented at the occasion by the Director of Human Resources in the Ministry Mr. Baba Mairiga listed the benefits of the new framework to include: stabilizing the economic fundamentals and allowing for access to development loans; create labour stability as well as providing government with more revenue to address social and infrastructural needs of the country.
Meanwhile, the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Chapter, Mr. Bolaji Sunday Olaiya in his welcome remarks appealed to the Federal Government to ensure speedy implementation of the palliative programmes as a result of the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products to help cushion the economic hardship been experienced by Nigerians and the civil servants in particular.
