By: Bashir Rabe Mani in Sokoto
Determined to bolster food security, curb poverty and unemployment, the Sokoto State Government, has so far trained no fewer than 95 staff from across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state in Agricultural Technology and other relevant fields.
Our Correspondent in Sokoto reports that the Permanent Secretary, Local Governments Service Commission (LGSC), Alhaji Aminu Abubakar Rijiya, disclosed this when he addressed newsmen on Tuesday in Sokoto.
Rijiya spoke when he gave updates on the plausible measures being taken by the APC-led administration of Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto to modernize and revolutionize the state civil service including the local government system in the state.
These noble gestures, the Permanent Secretary noted, are meant to boost productivity as well as enhance the working conditions of the workers, with a view to ramping up service delivery across the state.
According to Alhaji Aminu Rijiya, the 95 staff were trained at the state-owned College of Agriculture, Wurno, saying, “they had since graduated and had gone back to their respective Local Government Areas.
since started reaping tremendous benefits from their specialized courses.”
The LGSC Permanent Secretary further stated that another set of no fewer than 102 staff drawn from the Agriculture Departments of the 23 LGAs are currently undergoing similar in-service studies at the same College.
He said, “They are doing that diligently under the 2024 -2025 academic session and there is no cause for alarm.”
Alhaji Aminu Rijiya further disclosed that several hundreds of other staff of the various Departments of the 23 LGAs are currently being sponsored by the state government through the commission to undergo a myriad of training in Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and other related institutions.
According to him, the state had in the last three years done a lot to boost the capacities of all categories of civil servants including those under the local government system.
He added, “We have done a lot in the last three years. The LGSC shoulders the responsibility of training and retraining of the Local Governments staff through workshops, seminars, courses and in-house training.
“We do engage the services of various schools and professionals and even retired Local Governments staff with huge wealth of experience in various fields.
“And we conduct such training fora under classroom implications and we test them afterwards to ensure that our training sessions are not turned into just Jamborees where we won’t get the desired impact.
“And to be sincere and honest, so far,no good, the staff have been performing creditably during all the training sessions and we even file their test rules for future references about them.
“The commission is really impressed and our amiable workers-friendly Governor, Dr Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, deserves uncountable pats on the back in this direction.”
Alhaji Aminu Rijiya also lauded the Governor for according top priority to the welfare and comfort of the staff of the Local Government Areas in the state, noting, ” they have never had it so good like now
“The Governor has jerked up the salary of the workers and it is being paid as at when due. The salary is being paid on the 19th of every month along with other workers in the state civil service.”
The Permanent Secretary further averred that the commission has been routinely promoting all eligible staff, insisting that no worker is being denied promotion or other rights.
According to him, promotions of the Local Governments staff are being carried out twice a year, saying, “we do our best to conduct the exercises with utmost sense of diligence,fairness and professionalism.
“We have initiated a myriad of measures to reform the local government system, to boost service delivery and provide a very conducive atmosphere for smooth operations.
“The Governor has done a lot for the commission and the staff of the Local Government Areas and we won’t relent in intensifying supervision to ensure punctuality by the workers so as to justify the tremendous confidence he has reposed in us.”
In politics, Alhaji Aminu Rijiya maintained that Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto has ensured that the local government system has been glaringly insulated from politics.
According to him, the Governor has always told the Chairmen and Secretaries of the 23 LGAs not to intimidate any staff because of politics.
He said that any person has the right to vote and be voted for but he or she must do it how it will not cause any problem.
Alhaji Aminu Rijiya said: “There are laid down procedures if you want to vote or be voted for. If you want to be voted for, then you must quit.
“Up to now, I have not seen any person deviating from that. So, we do our postings;trainings, promotions and deployments devoid of any politics as already openly and repeatedly directed by the Governor.
“We ensure that all the above are being done only based on merits and not any political affiliations. The state belongs to all of us.
“‘Consequently, nobody is being denied any of his or her rights sequel to politics.
“We must all collectively strive not to disappoint the Governor,hence all hands are on the deck to bolster efficient service delivery to the people of the state.”(global news guru)
