Lagos govt to upgrade public service development centre to University

By Editor

Lagos State Government has revealed plans to upgrade and expand the Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) into a University, in a bid to consistently provide human capacity development needed to achieve its vision of a 21st-century economy.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed this during the 25th anniversary of PSSDC, acknowledged the huge role the Centre plays in producing competent leaders in different professions, stressing that he would continue to explore ways of expanding the faculty.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Folashade Jaji, the governor said to give the Centre the needed impetus for expansion, mainly for human capacity development, to assist government officials with requisite training.

Noting that though the Centre has maintained its leading position as an Institute for human capacity development in Nigeria, Sanwo-Olu added that it timed it aspired to take the lead across the continent of Africa.

The Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Mrs Ajibola Ponnle, assured that said the Sanwo-Olu’s administration, is poised to continue to boost the capacity of the State Public Service to keep it ahead of other services in Nigeria.

“By this, the administration believes that Lagos will be able to face squarely, the existential threat arising from the interplay of demographic and climate change as well as those from the continued levels of migration that continues to put the phenomenal strain on the physical and fiscal resources of the State.

Ponnle said the government planned to ensure that training becomes more 21st Century-compliant in the State with the introduction of a Learning Management System (LMS), to allow for greater participation of trainees in different training interventions.

“Since the inception of this Great Citadel of Learning, PSSDC has trained and re-trained a total number of 66,700 public service officers, and some managers in the private sector, and organised not less than 2,300 courses,” Ponnle stated.

The Director-General, Dr Senukon Ajose-Harrison, disclosed that PSSDC is seeking to deepen its partnership with the International Professional Managers Association (IPMA-UK), the Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) Israel, and the University of Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa.

Other efforts aimed at internationalism include opening lines of communication with the Kennedy School of Government, United States of America, and RIPA International, United Kingdom.

Highlighting some of the areas in need of more attention, Ajose-Harrison requested for adequate funding and release of funds for global capacity building for Grade Level 01 to 12 officers in the State through the Centre.

He said: “There is a need for adequate staffing and funding for capacity building of the Centre’s staff, appropriate technology to boost capacity to digitalise training and development, centralisation of capacity building goals through the dethronement of the proliferation of Training schools and centres by various Government Agencies.”