By Michael Eyibio
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), over the weekend held a one day sensitization workshop on the Federal Public Service Entrepreneurship Programme (FPSEP), for Directors of Human Resource Management, Deputy Directors in charge of Training and Staff Welfare and representatives of Union leaders in Ministries and Extra-Ministerial departments in Abuja.
Olufunke Akinwumi, in a statement on behalf of the Director of Press and Public Relations, AbdulGaniyu Aminu, said the programme, was part of the welfare measures introduced by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, to rejuvenate the civil service and make it Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible and Citizen-Centered (EPIC).
In her speech, the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Evelyne Ngige, said the sensitization workshop was designed to create awareness on FPSEP amongst key stakeholders in the management of human resources in the service so as to ensure the buy-in required for its successful implementation.
She added that the Federal Public Service Entrepreneurship Programme was also developed to improve the value proposition of public servants and ensure they contribute to the development of the non-oil sector of the economy and improve the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Ngige stated that the agriculture component of the programme had been fully developed with the signing of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between OHCSF, the Public Service Institute of Nigeria(PSIN) and the Bank of Agriculture(BOA) while efforts are ongoing to fully develop the business start-up component particularly for prospective retirees.
To ensure the sustainability of the programme and guarantee appropriate institutional framework to midwife the implementation of the programme, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recently inaugurated both the Project Steering Committee as well as a Project Implementation Committee.
The Steering Committee will provide policy direction for the programme while the Implementation Committee will see to the day-to-day administration of the programme.
FSEP was originally conceived as a scheme to facilitate a smooth transition to retirement for officers in the Public Service but the scope was expanded to include training in the agricultural value chains for serving officers who are interested in farming to ensure they are properly groomed in their various Agric business even before they leave the service.
In his opening remarks, the Director, Employee and Industrial relations in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Adebayo Olayiwola said the workshop is another in the series of activities lined up towards the full take off of the FSEP.
He also noted that the FSEP is one of the initiatives developed by the OHCSF to achieve one of the goals of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Program (FCSSIP).
According to h, FSEP is made up of two schemes: Agripreneurship start-up scheme designed to train both serving officers and prospective retirees on various agriculture business in line with relevant provisions of the 1999 constitution and the pre-retirement training and business start-up scheme targeted at preparing officers for life after service by providing opportunity for them to acquire new skills sets which would enable them have new career choices after retirement.
