By Olufunke Akinwumi
For Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and her teeming admirers, it was a day that will never be forgotten in a hurry and indeed a glorious night full of pomp and pageantry when the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), the apex regulatory body for Human Resource Management practice in the country, honoured her with a well-deserved iconic award.
In her usual down-to-earth humbleness and candour, Dr. Yemi-Esan, who was visibly elated said she was overwhelmed and short of words to express her appreciation, adding: ‘‘I give God all the glory. It’s God that has helped me so far” in acknowledgement while receiving the award from the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige.
Known for her advocacy for team work, she proceeded immediately to dedicate the award to the Permanent Secretaries in her office and the entire staff of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service.
The award ceremony was part of the Institute’s 2020 Fellows Awards and Human Resources professionals who have carved a niche for themselves in service delivery in Nigeria’s public service sector and corporate world.
The ceremony no doubt attracted the crème de la crème of various top-notch organizations and corporate players involved in the drive for human resources development in the country, culminating in eighteen deserving seasoned Human Resources Professional members of the Institute who were also conferred with the Institute’s highest professional grade – Fellows award at the ceremony held in Abuja.
The climax and high point of the ceremony was when the erudite Head of the Civil Service was presented with the CIPMHR icon award and was presented by its President, Mr. Wale Adediran.
Resplendent with an expressive excitement, Adediran, acknowledged the HoS dogged feat recognition in revolutionizing the public service by introducing and driving HR standardised processes that are aligned with global benchmark and best practices.
Adediran acknowledged that Yemi-Esan is a definition of Nigeria’s quintessential ‘Chief Human Resources Officer of the Federation’ because of the passion that she has brought to her calling.
This though is not without a reason as according to the CIPM boss, since assuming the mantle of leadership as Head of Service, Yemi-Esan has embarked on a ‘New Civil Service’ agenda that emphasized capacity building, a new Performance Management System (PMS), digitization of service for optimal delivery, innovation service, focus on welfare of civil servants, data analytics and culture transformation.
He commended the Head of Service for enabling the Institute, in collaboration with her office to deliver xanax generic alprazolam online a series of performance management workshops involving two thousand officers.
He concluded: ‘‘This highlight is just a little bit of the great feats of our very own Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, we know for a fact that she is not done yet…there is much more greatness and impact to come.”
The Vice-President of the Institute, Mrs. Titi Akinsanya, who also delivered a heart-moving citation regaled the audience with the story of how the Head of Service once stayed in the office beyond 9 p.m. At the time, Mrs. Akinsanya was serving in the office reviewing the transformation process in the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
Meanwhile, in another development, Dr. Yemi Esan, has reiterated that reforms in the public service are aimed at increasing the performance, efficiency and productivity of the workforce so as to enhance effective service delivery.
She stated this at a lunch time reform seminar organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms tagged: Federal civil service strategy and implementation plan (FCSSIP); Performance Management System (PMS) and Successor/Mentorship Plan at the weekend in Abuja.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Service Policy and Strategy Office Dr, Emmanuel Meribole, she further stated that the civil service is an integral and key part of government that supports the government of the day in developing and implementing its policies and delivering public services.
On the sustained ongoing reform, she said Nigeria has, since its independence in 1960, has been tinkering with various reforms to achieve national development, stressing that the challenges and setbacks of past reforms, necessitated the institutionalization of a proactive transformation agenda for the federal civil service.
According to her, the new reform programme in the service was derived from the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as it addressed economic, social and environmental sustainability issues, adding that the FCCSSIP, was designed to reform the public service for enhanced delivery of quality service to the general public.
There was also the need, she added, to strengthen public institutions so as to boost the performance management system and reduce god-fatherism.
She stated that 80% of improved performance in government depended on the system put in place while 20% depended on human factors.
The piece was sent by Olufunke Taiwo Akinwumi, a Strategic Communication Officer, in the Office of the Head of Service.