Delta State Government has reminded staff of local governments in the state of the need to remain unbiased and neutral in the political sphere as civil servants particularly in the electioneering campaigns leading to 2023 general elections.
The chairman, Delta State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Joseph Otirhue, gave the reminder on Tuesday while declaring open a two-day retreat for top management staff of the commission held in Effurun.
Attending the retreat are members of the Delta State Local Government Service Commission, secretary, directors and assistant directors of the Commission, as well as the Heads of Personnel Management and Treasurers of the 25 Local Government Councils in the state.
Otirhue told the participants to realise that as host to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, there must be a synergy of forces to ensure that security and logistics support are available for the duration of the elections.
He urged them focus on providing the necessary administrative support to guarantee the success of the elections in the various local governments.
While harping on the essence of the programme which is part of efforts to improve the performance of local government and strengthen its workforce, Otirhue recalled the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the adaption of new management strategies to keep the services of the third tier of government available to people at the grassroots.
According to him, the retreat put together by the Delta State Local Government Service Commission in partnership with the Delta State University DELSU Investment Limited would avail top management staff of the third tier of government the opportunity to review emerging operational strategies, and x-ray the immediate past year with a view to improving the local government system going forward.
Otirhue added that the theme for the retreat which is accelerating performance in the local government workforce is apt and aimed at improving the output of local government staff.
The training facilitator and Managing Director DELSU Investment Limited, Dr Rowell Ubogu said participants would be exposed to the avenue for building long term memory, reducing mistakes and improve productivity.
He said it also offers an effective warm up for employees who have taken a break, to keep the workforce on the same page, to keep employees up to date on local government administration.
The President, College of Head of Personnel Management HPMs and Treasurers of Local Governmens, Mr Austin Emaduku, thanked the board of the Delta State Local Government Service Commission for the training and retraining of staff of the third tier of government.
Mr Adikoro Maseph dealt with “financial management in the local government system”, Dr Phillips Agbeye focused on “leadership development and policy guidance in accelerating performance in the local government workforce”, Reverend V. Akpobovbo x-rayed “time management and work ethics in accelerating performance in the local government workforce”, while Internal control auditinfast-trackingacking systems and procedures” was handled by Mr Adikoro Maseph at the two-day retreat.
