By Hillary Asemota
The awardees of the Ministerial award in the Ministry includes; Dr. Yakubu Adam, Director, Procurement,Engr. Frank Kudla, Director, Extension Services, Dr. Imeh Umoh, Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Kamilalu Kida, Director, Legal Services, Mr. Abubakar Adamu, Deputy Director, Finance and Account ,Mr. Ezeaja Ikemefuna, Assistant Director, Information, Mr Yuguda Abubakar ,Principal Photographer, Information, among others
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has recognized and honoured 55 members of its staff for their outstanding performance in various fields of implementing Policies and Programmes of the Ministry in line with the Federal Civil Services Strategic Implementation Plan (FCSSIP’25).
Some of the awardees include: Dr. Yakubu Adam, Director, Procurement,Engr. Frank Kudla, Director, Extension Services, Dr. Imeh Umoh, Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Kamilalu Kida, Director, Legal Services, Mr. Abubakar Adamu, Deputy Director, Finance and Account, Mr. Ezeaja Ikemefuna, Assistant Director, Information, Mr .Yuguda Abubakar, Principal Photographer and several others.
Speaking during the event that took place at the Auditorium of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria(ARCN) Abuja recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar said that the FCSSIP’25 was built on levels of Capacity Building, Talent Management , Performance Management ,Innovation, Digitalization and enhance Value Proposition for Public Servants
The Minister added that the Present Administration was desirous of delivering vibrant and robust Government Policies to reposition and motivate the Public Servants as well as ensure Efficient and Effective Service Delivery to Nigerians.
Abubakar, pointed out that the ceremony was special not only to reward excellence but also to galvanize all the staff towards high productivity geared towards achieving the Diversification Policy of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Agricultural Sector.
He pointed out that the agricultural sector was expected to make significant contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the non-oil sector and cannot be achieved without the contributions of selfless, committed, innovative and disciplined Public Servants who have the statutory responsibility of formulation and implementation of the Ministry’s policies and programmes.
He revealed that the ministry in its bid to reposition the agricultural sector has developed the Green Alternative through the Agriculture Promotion Policy to ensure wealth creation, poverty reduction, employment generation for the teeming Youths and Women to boost the National GDP.
Abubakar, reaffirmed that the ministry was committed to capacity development and has consciously allocated time and resources to training through regular in-house workshops and external sessions to improve the decision making of staff as well as customer service standard.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary in the Minisyry, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, stated that the programme which was part of the extant tradition of the Ministry and had also become an annual event, aimed at motivating and incentivizing staff for better performance.
He stated that the programme was based on the provisions of the Federal Civil Service Strategy Implementation Plan 2021 – 2025 (FCSSIP25).
He revealed that the ministry had identified and selected officers who had demonstrated outstanding and sterling performance across Salary Grade Levels during the year under review.
In her Vote of thanks the Director, Human Resource Management, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Alade, urged staff not to rest on their oars because with the introduction of the New Performance Management System, the process would be more competitive.
She also appealed to staff to sustain the tempo to enhance the score card of the Ministry.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of awards to the Staff and Members of the Ministry’s Sport Club.
In attendance were the Permanent Secretaries of Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Education, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the National Coordinator, Servicom among others.