WE HAVE REKINDLED PASSION FOR HARD WORK IN FCTA STAFF – MIN

By: Wisdom Acka

Passion for hardwork in staff of the FCT Administration has been rekindled, just as their capacity has been built and confidence boosted for effective service delivery.

This is one of the many legacies the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, will proudly bequeath to the Administration and the Territory when he leaves office in few months’ time.

Bello, who made this known when Executive Committee members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) paid him a courtesy visit, added that the improved capacity and new passion have translated into progress within the system and better service delivery to the public.

His words: “One legacy I feel very proud of as I move in the next three months is the fact that we have encouraged staff to have confidence in themselves, for Directors, Heads of Departments and Agencies to know that as heads, they have responsibilities and they have capacity and should use it.”

“We have also tried to rekindle in the workers the passion to work and the moment you have hard work and passion, the result is progress. That’s what we’ve been able to do and I’m very happy that you (ASCSN) have been able to notice that. I hope and pray that the next team coming over will build upon that”, he said.

According to him, FCTA efforts in this regard was reflected in a letter from SERVICOM, commending the Administration “for the level of substantial improvement in service delivery. All these would not have just come like that without the conscious efforts and hard work of all the workers across board”.

Bello emphasized: “what we did as an Administration was to provide the right environment through proper training and also encouraging people to know what the rules and regulations are and also for people to appreciate that everything does not revolve around the Minister”.

He stressed that the Minister was just an individual who would come and go but the system remained, which was why his FCT-led administration tried to encourage the system to work, irrespective of who the Minister is.

The Minister disclosed that the current FCTA has recognized the need to work together with the Unions for the benefit of the citizenry, and has therefore, done so under JUAC (Joint Unions Action Committee), where they have been able to work carefully and gradually, though not always smoothly.

Bello stated that he has always given Unions a very good listening ear throughout his public life because the objectives of Unions are the same as governments’, wondering if one doesn’t listen and understand what is happening, how else can one correct any errors.

“Regardless of what happens, we are always conscious of the fact that we are here to work and serve and that is the bottom line. So, you find that even where there are areas of diverging views, we eventually would meet”, he noted.

The Minister, therefore, restated FCTA commitment to ensuring welfare of civil servants, especially in the area of providing affordable housing; noting its efforts in the Federal Government’s FISH Programme, amongst others.

National President of the Association, Comrade Tommy Etim Okon, while speaking earlier, explained that his team visited to thank the Minister for ensuring that workers were able to perform their duties optimally.

Com. Okon, therefore, hailed the symbiotic relationship between the Minister and the Unions, which he corroborated led to “very good successes”, adding: “We must say and convincingly so, that we’ve had Ministers of FCT, but you have demonstrated the leadership that is uncommon and very worthy to be emulated”.