The Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC under the leadership of Dr Hamid Bobboyi as the Executive Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer ES/ CEO has showed a lot of willingness and administrative wizardry towards inculcating not only Infrastructural rejuvenation, but manpower development towards the delivery of its mandate inline with the act establishing the commission.
In this vein , it started the process of Infrastructural rejuvenation side by side with manpower development towards ensuring a lasting solution to all round deficits, prevalent in the commission with concentration to Zonal and State offices across the country.
With only one commission serving as the corporate headquarters in Abuja, the desire to trickle down both infrastructure and manpower development to Zonal and State state offices cannot be overlooked, to ensure synergy and simultaneous deliverance of all its programs across board.
Worried by the glaring non -performance at the Zonal and State offices through lackadaisical attitudes of staffers , the commission organised a two day sensitization and mobilisation program to address not only Infrastructural development problems prevalent at that level , but manpower utilization that had been neglected by sheer inactions on the part of staffers at that level.
Having identified such anomaly and misgivings, at that level , in contradiction to the activities at the national level , the commission had raised alarm with the dearth of lack of performance, improved productivity and efficiency, in spite of the creation of an enabling environment, Infrastructural rejuvenation and manpower development.
Aside execution of it’s statutory programs both at the national, zonal and state levels , particularly as it affects Basic Education, strengthening of these offices in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not negotiable and desiring.
Since the core mandate of the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC trickled down to both states and local government levels, the usurped functions of the Zonal and State offices according to the leadership of the commission under Hamid Bobboyi is not acceptable, not modest and modern in line with its vision and mission, as it seems concentrated at the commission’s headquarters.
With the current leadership revolving administrative and Infrastructural development that led to the upgraded physical planning and execution at the national level , reducing to the barest minimum office accommodation problems and gradual implementation of similar program both at the Zonal and State levels, the need to streamline manpower and performance in tandem with the new order is sacrosanct.
Therefore, the desire of the commission to extricate its activities at the Zonal and State from a non- functional status that could tackle going forward it’s statutory functions in the area of project monitoring, program monitoring, other major programs and projects need not to suffer, as the officers at that level are fully paid to perform their statutory functions.
With determination of the commission through the two day sensitization, mobilisation workshop, training and retraining , the prevalent presentation of inaccurate reports of its activities, rash inspection of projects that had led to payment for shoddy jobs, uncompleted and abandoned projects will no longer be tenable.
The new order which is capable of turning around the Zonal and State offices, deliver Basic Education programs, abhor absenteeism, redundancy and low morale, as well ensured harmonious working relations, with a rejiged and refocused Zonal and State offices with a view to performing the statutory functions.
With concerted efforts by the current management under Dr Hamid Bobboyi that had improved staff training, provision of working tools , decent accommodation, funding, transport among others to encourage productivity in the commission.
The positive development by the leadership has challenged the field officers both at the Zonal and State offices to synergise and devolve responsibility with both the national and sub- national levels.
No doubt, with the new zeal , optimum and seamless performance in line with UBEC act will not be compromised.
*ABUBAKAR YUSUF writes from Abuja,he can be on [email protected].
