We’ve rekindled passion for hardwork in FCTA staff - Bello declares

By Stanley Onyekwere

One of the legacies of the current FCT Administration is that it has been able to rekindle in the staff of the Administration, the passion for hard work which has translated to progress within the system and better service delivery to members of the public, according to the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello.

Bello, made the assertion in his remarks as he received the Executive Committee members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) who paid him courtesy visit, on Tuesday.

In his words: “One legacy I feel very proud of as I move in the next three months is the fact that we have encouraged staff to have confidence in themselves, for Directors, Heads of Departments and Agencies to know that as heads, they have responsibilities and they have capacity and should use it.

“We also tried to rekindle in the workers the passion to work and the moment you have hard work and passion, the result is progress. That’s what we’ve been able to do and I’m very happy that you (ASCSN) have been able to notice that. I hope and pray that the next team coming over will build upon that”.

He also noted that FCTA has over time recognized the need for the unions to work together with the management for the benefit of the citizenry.

According to him: “Our objective is to provide service to the citizens and that’s why in all my public assignments, I had always given the Unions a very good listening ear because our objectives are the same and if you don’t listen and you don’t understand what is happening, how can you correct errors?”

“That’s why we’ve worked together with all the Unions across board in the FCT particularly under JUAC (Joint Unions Action Committee) where all of them are represented and we have been able to work carefully and gradually. It has not always been smooth but that is why we have a relationship.

“But regardless of what happens, we are always conscious of the fact that we are here to work and serve and that is the bottom line. So, you find that even where there are areas of diverging views, we eventually would meet”.

He continued: “Our efforts in this regard is reflected in a letter which we received from the SERVICOM, commending the FCT for the level of substantial improvement in service delivery.

“All these would not have just come like that without the conscious efforts and hard work of all the workers across board”.

“What we just did as an Administration was to provide the right environment through proper training and also encouraging people to know what the rules and regulations are and also for people to appreciate that everything does not revolve around the Minister.

“The Minister is just an individual and a Minister will come and go but the system is there and that’s what we have tried to do, to encourage the system to work, irrespective of who is Minister”.

Furthermore, Bello reaffirmed the Administration’s commitment to ensuring the welfare of civil servants especially in the area of the provision of affordable housing where he mentioned the Administration’s efforts in seeing to the Success of the Federal Government’s FISH Programme amongst others.

Earlier in his remarks, the National President of the Association, Comrade (Dr) Tommy Etim Okon said that the visit to the FCTA was to extend the appreciation of the Association to the FCT Minister for his efforts in ensuring that workers are able to perform their duties optimally.

Okon said: “Actually, we came to say a big thank you, because we’ve had a good feedback from our representatives here, what you have done so far and we feel that since the government is winding down, it will be unfair for us not to come and say a big thank you.

“We’ve seen that symbiotic relationship between you and the Union and that has led to very good successes which you have recorded.

“We must say and convincingly so, that we’ve had Ministers of FCT, but you have demonstrated the leadership that is uncommon and very worthy to be emulated”.

Also present at the event were the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu, SSA to the Minister on Security, Amb. A.S Muhammed, SSA on Legal and Multi-lateral Cooperation Bass Lawal Yusuf and other senior officials of the FCTA and ASCSN.