FG is committed to actualize the reform programme of Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

[FMINigeria]

                        The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has pointed out that his Ministry will collaborate with the Office of the head of Civil Service of the Federation to actualize the reform programmes of his Ministry.

The Minister made the call recently, when he received the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, in his office in Abuja.

The Minister said that for the sake of Nigerians, it was critical that the Ministry be reformed and professionalized to have the right people doing their jobs for the country.  "For now give us the right tools to do our jobs; that is what we are asking for.  We are asking you to prioritize and help us to transform; assist us to work for Nigerians.  If you are looking for investment, you compete with everyone from other countries to attract investment to your country.  If you are talking about trade, it is not just about regional or domestic trade, it is about international trade.  You have to understand the language, communicate effectively and negotiate appropriately with your colleagues internationally. You need exposure and training to do the work", he said.

The Minister recalled that on assumption of office he had to grapple with the issues of structure and staff of the Ministry.   He stressed the need for capacity building for Directors in the Ministry, suggesting that they need to be trained and exposed to enable them work like their counterparts in the world.

According to him, it was now an opportunity for everyone to transform the economy to address the issues of wealth creation and poverty alleviation, adding that Nigerians are natural entrepreneurs who can run and start their businesses easily; and the tools to move people from line of poverty to high wages and increase in per capita income is SMEs' development.

Aganga pointed out that that no country has ever moved from being a poor to a rich nation without having a strong industrial and related services sector.  He said that now people have come to understand and realize the importance of the Ministry in the economy of the whole country.

In his remarks, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Goni Aji expressed his support for the reform program of the Ministry.

Alhaji Goni Aji who was received on arrival by the Minister, the Permanent Secretary and the Directorate staff of the Ministry, stated that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment was very critical to the nation's economic development and assured the Minister that his office will do everything possible to assist in whatever area the Ministry will require to drive the reform program.

In his words, "Whatever assistance is required to reposition the Ministry to attract foreign partners and investors and improve our national economic development, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation is ready, and we can actually start now."

He advised the Ministry to start the implementation of the reform program with 2 or 3 core departments as pilot departments before implementing same in other departments; stating that the exercise was in line with the earlier directive from Mr. President that any Ministry that was critical to the repositioning of the national economy must therefore be professionalized.

He informed that in the last 3 months, the OHCSF and FEPAR have been working on the reform program of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. He said that the 6 structures have been reduced to 3-office management structure for effective and excellent service delivery.

While speaking earlier, during his presentation of the proposed professionalization of the Ministry, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kigbu, said that in order to enhance the effective pursuit of the Ministry's mandate, and considering the pivotal role it is expected to play in the realization of the Transformation Agenda, the professionalization of the Ministry became expedient.

He said that prior to the engagement of a consortium led by RockHaven, the Federal Public Administration Reform (FEPAR) under the auspices of DFID had undertaken an institutional and functional review of the Ministry.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is among the first pilot Ministries where the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) have approved reforms and the Federal Public Administrative Reform Programme of Nigeria (FEPAR) is supporting its implementation.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria