The State House yesterday recognised and rewarded 38 State House staff from various departments for their hard work and dedication to duty.
The awards were divided into two categories: senior and junior staff.
At the ceremony, Innocent Ekhobhiye, a Clerical Officer in the Transport Department, won the Vice President’s award of N1 million for productivity.
The permanent secretary, State House, Engr Olufunso Adebiyi, FNSE announced that among the eight newly appointed Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service by President Bola Tinubu, three are from the State House Clinic.
He noted that this appointment is a testament to the high level of commitment and dedication of the State House staff.
The newly appointed permanent secretaries from the State House are Dr Obi Emeka Vitalis, Dr Keshinro Maryam Ismaila and Dr Emanso Umobong Okop.
On the Productivity/ Recognition /Staff Reward Ceremony, the permanent secretary reiterated the commitment of the State House Management to acknowledge and reward staff members who demonstrate hard work, dedication to duty and value addition in service delivery.
He stated that the reward system encouraged and motivated other staff to strive for excellence.
Engr Adebiyi pledged continuous staff training and retraining, adding that under the State House digitalisation programme, all staff members would receive the necessary training to enhance service delivery.
‘’We have already trained no fewer than 500 staff on the digitalisation programme, and in the coming days, every staff from grade level 8 and above will receive further training in groups of 50.
‘’We just completed our manpower defence at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and it went excellently well.
‘’Better training and better allowances are coming your way. However, you require better services.”
Engr Adebiyi also appealed to the staff to take their health seriously, as their productivity depended heavily on that.
‘’The State House Medical Centre is highly rated among healthcare facilities of MDAs in the country. Please, let us take care of our health. Why must we go through avoidable health challenges? Let us avail ourselves of the health facilities available to us, and they are available,” the permanent secretary counselled staff.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, congratulated the award recipients and expressed State House Management’s appreciation for the invaluable contributions of every staff member.
He explained that the financial reward from the Office of the Vice President was meant to encourage staff further to add value to their job schedules.
‘’It is very wonderful to meet the men and women who form the backroom and operations of State House. Most of the time, only the political appointees are visible, but those who do the heavy lifting behind the scenes are not known or recognised.
“’I thank the Permanent Secretary for creating this opportunity for staff to be recognised, and I trust this is something that we can do from time to time to keep up your spirit, and keep you motivated.
‘’We appreciate your work in State House,’’ he said.
After the 38 awardees received their certificates and a wrapped gift from the State House, they each picked a wrapped note from a basket.
The staff member who picked the note with “yes” won the N1 million prize money.
