Echoes From Nasarawa Retreat For Political Appointees, Public Officers

Penultimate Monday, the Nasarawa State Government organised a retreat with the intent of equipping political appointees with the technical knowledge to be able discharge their responsibilities effectively.

The retreat which was in collaboration with the country’s elite management development institution, the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), attracted top notch facilitators including the body’s Director General, Mrs. Cecilia Gayya.

With the theme: “Transforming Nasarawa State Through Synergy and Collaborative Leadership: The need to Bridge the Gap between Political Office Holders and Government Functionaries in the State”, participants were grilled throughout the three days the retreat lasted.

At end, participants were unanimous that the workshop has further deepen their understanding and enhanced communication across institutions and among high-ranking officers in the state civil service.

During the opening session, the state governor who declared the retreat open spoke on the necessity of building the capacity of the new appointees to be able to effectively drive the administration’s transformation agenda.

“We believe that by doing this, we will place you on the right pedestal towards the realization of the development objectives of our noble administration,” he stated.

He explained that to achieve the desired objectives, the state government decided to engage the highly reputable ASCON, with decades of manpower development record in both public and private sectors of the country’s economy.

He also averred that the choice of the topics selected for the engagement were in tandem with the administration’s vision and mission of entrenching an enduring legacy of development and growth.

“We were meticulous on the choice of topics selected for this retreat to cover critical areas of the economy of the state, which include the relationship between political office holders and top government bureaucrats in Nasarawa State public service, team building as a strategy for organizational development, public office holders, security and challenges of political transition, among others,” he said.

He said the event also availed his administration the opportunity to further induct participants on the imperatives of the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS) document.

He urged the participants to apply the knowledge garnered during the retreat vis-a-vis the policy objectives contained in the NEDS document in order to guide them in achieving the mandates of their respective positions and offices.

The governor equally urged them to understand fully the issues of development and attendant challenges of service delivery as fundamental requirements for good governance.

Above all, he encouraged them to imbibe the principles of transparency, accountability and prudent management of resources and due process in the execution of government programmes and policies.

On his part, the Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government, Labaran Shuaibu Magaji, whose office directly facilitated the engagement, commended Governor Sule for approving the retreat and his commitment for manpower development for enhanced productivity.

For the ASCON director general, the retreat provided a fertile ground for introspection, dialogue and collaboration among political office holders and top government functionaries.

According to her, the retreat affords the participants the opportunity to examine the intricate dynamics between political office holders and government bureaucrats, aimed at distilling the essence of effective governance.

She commended Governor Sule for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to fostering excellence in governance.

In his goodwill message at the end of the retreat, former Bauchi State governor, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, commended Governor Sule for organizing the retreat when his administration has just few years to wind up.

described the event as unusual, especially that Governor Sule is at the twilight of his second term, when it is the norm for governors like him to abdicate their responsibilities and to relocate to either Abuja or Dubai.

“What is not normal about this gathering is because it is coming at the twilight of his second term.  Usually, in Nigeria, two years into even your first term, governance is abundant. Politicking will commence. But particularly two years into the second term of a governor, in Nigeria what usually happens is that you abdicate your responsibilities completely, you move either to Abuja, some brave ones move over to Dubai or some other locations.

“But the Governor of Nasarawa State, two years into his second term, has brought in new blood into the government and has held this three-day retreat. It is very significant. There are rules and regulations in government.  There are policies in government. There are manifestos of political parties. But all these are documents. The people that give life to all these documents are the people gathered in this room,” he said.