Yobe Civil Service and Gov. Buni’s Rescue Mission Through Mass Recruitment, Training
By Alhassan Sule Mamudo, Damaturu
The civil service is the backbone of any nation’s development, tasked with implementing policies and delivering essential public services. However, challenges such as an aging workforce, skill gaps, and outdated practices have hampered its efficiency in many regions.
To address these challenges, the Yobe State Government under the able leadership of the Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni has since inception been investing in rejuvenating the civil service through strategies centered on mass recruitment, targeted training, and continuous retraining.
Mass recruitment will apart from enhancing production also ensures inclusivity by providing opportunities for diverse groups, enhancing gender diversity, and fostering regional balance by tapping into a broader talent pool in injecting fresh perspectives and innovative solutions into the public sector.
To responsibly actualize these, Gov Buni has prioritised the recruitment of the teaming youths graduating from various institutions of learning in the state, Nigeria and even abroad geared towards addressing unemployment and vacuum created by the exit of seasoned civil servants who put in 35 years of active service or retired by age.
The Governor has apart from other recruitments especially in health sectors, among others, approved the recruitment of 3, 370 degree, HND, NCE and Diploma holders from across 178 political wards of the state and were recently posted to various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The employees mostly posted to the health and education sectors depending on their area of specialization, were before the posting, went through induction in September, 2024. The orientation workshop was organised by the office of the Head of Service (HoS) of the state for efficient service delivery.
Training programmes, such as induction courses equip new recruits with knowledge about public service ethics, governance structures, and relevant legal frameworks.
During the training, Yobe state HoS, Hamidu M Alhaji said, the training was meant to inculcate in the new workers, the essential skills, knowledge and values required to discharge their responsibilities for the attainment of optimum results.
He further said the training was designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of civil service structures and functions to the participants, as well as essential skills in communication, team work, problem-solving and decision-making among other.
“The newly employed staff who are drawn across the 178 Political wards of the 17 Local Government Areas in the state attended the orientation workshop at the designated centers across the three senatorial districts of the state.”
While mass recruitment replenishes numbers, the quality of service depends heavily on training as modern governance requires civil servants to possess technical expertise, digital literacy, and soft skills such as problem-solving, leadership, and communication.
Knowledgeable of that, in addition to outlining a robust succession plan necessitated by retirement of seasoned civil servants, made the state government through the office of the Head of Service to organise a retreat and validation workshop on the development of training guide and succession plan for Yobe state civil service.
Similarly, the office of the HoS, in October organised a two-day retreat and knowledge sharing workshop for Permanent Secretaries and Chief executives of boards, parastetal, and agencies, which had the Head of Service, Hamidu M. Alhaji in attendance.
To complement words with action, Governor Mai Mala Buni recently approved the payment of N70, 000 as National minimum wage to state civil servants with effect from December 2024.
A statement issued by the Director General Press Affairs and Media to the Governor, Mamman Mohammed said the approval was based on a memo signed by the Governor following recommendations of the committee on minimum wage earlier constituted by the state government.
The minimum wage will also be paid to local government workers after the reconciliation of the local councils finances.
“The committee had recommended for a reconciliation of local government finances to ensure a hitch free transition process of the local government councils from the existing salary structure to the new minimum wage.
“The reconciliation process which is nearing completion is expected to be concluded soon for approval and quick enrolment of the local government employees into the new minimum wage salary structure.”
Buni has also reviewed the monthly standing payment for gratuity from N100 Million to N200 Million monthly.
The governor has also released the sum of N708 Million for the payment of gratuity for local government retirees.
It is therefore glaringly clear that the administration of Governor Mai Mala Buni has placed high premium on the welfare of both serving and retired civil servants, which no doubt has impacted positively on the lives of the people.
Alhassan Sule Mamudo, is the Chief Information Officer in the Office of Yobe State Head of Service.
