Rivers State Governor, Sim Fubara says he inherited a near dead civil service from his predecessor.
Governor Fubara made the this known when he received on courtesy visit, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack at Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.
He said the Service was abandoned by the previous administration, as workers were not promoted for 11 years.
According to him, lots of initiatives and actions have been taken since he assumed office to reposition the State Civil Service.
“We came in and it wasn’t easy, but we have to give the civil servants hope by ensuring that they were promoted. When we came on board, we inherited a near dead civil service. A service that there was no promotion for 11 years.
“We didn’t even end there. We immediately, when Nigerian Institute of Management visited us earlier, we assured them that they are going to be consultant to the Civil Service in terms of training, which is key,” he said.
Governor Fubara also bemoaned how civil servants have been deprived of functional training opportunities that should expose them to contemporary procedures and work ethics, which had taken a toll on the entire service.
“Training is the only thing that can build the service that will give us that level of result. Result of transparency, efficiency, even assurance that there is hope. It is only when you start building them and they feel secured that they also understand that something is at stake.
“I can’t remember the year that any of the civil servants here had gone for any training. I think the last time we did training was in 2010. That was the last time the civil service was involved in any training. So, I know what it means, because that is my primary constituency,” he added.
