By Violet Osatohanmwen Obamwonyi
The Edo State Government has partnered MacTay Consulting, a leading consulting firm in Nigeria, to train Permanent Secretaries and Directors of MDAs in Negotiation and Collaboration. The three-day training exercise which commenced on March 28th, 2023, holds at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA).
In her welcome address, the Managing Director, JOOPSA, Ms. Precious Imuwahen Ajoonu, reiterated government’s commitment to building and developing human capacity in the State’s public service, as the year 2023 has been adequately scheduled for series of training for civil and public servants in the State.
According to Ajoonu “The current administration is eager to make significant investments in public institutions in order to awaken them and provide them with the tools they need to play their respective roles in the growth and development of the State, ultimately leading to the realization of the MEGA Agenda”.
Ajoonu emphasized that the best remedy for a dysfunctional society is learning, stressing that the consistency and regularity of the refresher courses are to further equip workers in the State with the requisite capacity for effective service delivery.
Delivering a keynote lecture, Prof. George Olusoji, a facilitator at the event, expressed excitement over the State Government’s commitment to equipping public servants, especially those at the higher cadre, with core skills that have been neglected over the years in the public sector. He stated that while people may get involved in daily negotiation engagements, the onus now lies on them to harness the skills to do it properly, as the outcome of an effective negotiation process should be a win-win situation.
Speaking on the importance of the Negotiation and Collaboration course, Mr. Adeyemi Ajaye, a facilitator from MacTay Consulting, stressed that all the participants are expected to improve in their skills and competencies on Negotiation and Collaboration at the end of the three-day training, for improved quality of deliveries and commitment to service in Edo State.
Ajaye said: “The training has been quite awesome. We have been able to discuss various approaches, challenges and stakeholders in the negotiation process. We have been able to let the participants know the best alternative or worst alternative and their consequences in negotiation agreement. We used case studies that borders on the Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture, Roads and Bridges, Edojobs, and ICT. These case studies were drawn basically to make participants see how this course relate to their day-to-day job, and also how they can use it to improve their leadership competency. So, what we have been able to learn today is to see how we can apply this in our social service delivery.”
Ajaye commended the State Government for its determination to equip public servants with these interpersonal skills. According to him: “I want to say that I commend the Edo State Government for the laudable training initiatives. With the various training opportunities that the State has offered, there is improvement in terms of competencies in the public service. I strongly feel that collaborating with the private sector to deliver these top-notch trainings indicates that the Government wants a future for the service.”
Expressing appreciation to Governor Obaseki for the training initiatives, Mrs. Justina Tare, a participant at the event, said: “It has been a very interesting experience, especially considering the facilitators brought in to train us. Negotiation is a word we use every time. But from this training, I have discovered that there is more to it. As a leader you need to negotiate with the people you are leading and other key stakeholders to achieve your target. I want to thank Governor Obaseki for giving us this opportunity”.
Recall that Edo State Government has partnered with several seasoned consulting firms over the past few weeks to train civil and public servants across various MDAs in the State in interpersonal skills, geared towards making the service more efficient, effective and productive.
