By Khadija Kubau
The Kaduna State Government has organised a three-day in-house training on leadership and management for directors, deputy directors and assistant directors in the state civil service to strengthen accountability, institutional effectiveness and service delivery.
The training, organised by the Office of the Head of Service in collaboration with Sustainable Leadership and Management Solutions, is designed to equip senior public officers with practical leadership skills to improve the performance of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Speaking during the training, the Head of Service, Mrs Jummai Bako, said the programme was aimed at strengthening participants’ capacity in leadership, financial accountability, staff supervision and monitoring of official activities.
She described directors, deputy directors and assistant directors as critical to the effective functioning of the civil service, expressing optimism that the training would translate into improved service delivery across Kaduna State.
Mrs Bako appreciated Governor Uba Sani for approving the resources for the programme and reaffirmed the commitment of civil servants to implementing government policies and delivering on their responsibilities.
One of the facilitators, Professor Muhammad Muftahu of the Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, Kaduna State University, who is also the founder of Sustainable Leadership and Management Solutions, said the training covered leadership concepts, ethics, core principles and stakeholder engagement.
He explained that participants were exposed to practical approaches to identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders at different stages of project design, development and implementation.
According to him, inadequate stakeholder engagement can undermine the sustainability of government projects, making it essential for public officers to involve relevant stakeholders in decision-making and project execution.
Professor Muftahu commended the Office of the Head of Service for bringing together participants from different ministries, departments and agencies, noting the diversity and gender balance among them.
The three-day training also featured sessions on emotional intelligence, artificial intelligence, mentoring and succession planning.
Participants described the programme as impactful, saying it had enhanced their understanding of leadership and management and equipped them with knowledge they could apply in their respective offices.
They expressed their commitment to cascading the knowledge gained to colleagues and junior officers to strengthen institutional capacity and promote effective public service delivery in Kaduna State.
