Nigeria Content Online

Some federal civil
servants have called for the decentralisation of their pre-promotion
training programmes to reduce the challenges faced in converging on
Abuja from all parts of the country.

The workers are
attending a compulsory pre-promotion training at Public Service
Institute of Nigeria, Dutse, FCT. The is workshop organised by the
Office of the Head of Service of the Federation in collaboration with
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Office.

The training,
which witnessed a large turn-out of civil servants from all the states,
was for officers on grade levels eight to 16 who are due for promotion
in 2010.

Some of the participants on grade level 14 who spoke to journalists decried the poor management of the training programme.

They complained of the lack of accommodation and poor organisation.

A federal civil
servant from Lagos State, who pleaded anonymity, stressed the need for
adequate arrangements before the commencement of the training, saying
one of the best options was to decentralise the exercise.

“Those of us in
the south zones should be made to attend the training in Lagos, while
those from the northern part of the country should be brought to
Abuja,” he said.

Another civil
servant from Ebonyi blamed the poor arrangement on the lack of
up-to-date data on participants, adding that the organisers should be
held responsible for the poor arrangement.

“Up till today,
nobody attended to us,” he said. “We have written our names on several
lists, yet nothing tangible is coming out of the exercise. This
morning, it was when we insisted that nothing would take place here and
sent a delegation to the Head of Service that they came to tell us to
go and come back on May 17.

This is very
unfair; a lot of us have been sleeping here as a result of a lack of
accommodation. This is unacceptable; it is most reprehensible.”

A top official of
the institute, who also pleaded anonymity, confirmed that the institute
was supposed to provide facilities for the training classes.

He explained that
the training sessions were supposed to be divided into four groups for
easy coordination, stating that workers on grade levels eight to 10
were supposed to be trained at the Administrative Staff College of
Nigeria (ASCON), Badagry, Lagos; while level 12 officers at the Centre
for Management Development (CMD).

He said that CMD should be held responsible for the lapses witnessed in the group that they were supposed to train.

“The Office of Head of Service of the Federation has done its part by ensuring that each group is taken care of,” he said.

The participants on grade levels eight, 10, 15 and above are
currently undergoing the training at the institute, while those on 14
were told to go and come back on May 17. Those from Abuja were
dismissed on Tuesday for lack of proper arrangements.