NOSDRA strengthens staff with Performance Management System  implementation workshop

Oritsegbubemi  Omatseyin

Lagos — The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, has held a workshop on implementation of the Performance Management System, PMS, framework for agencies of the Federal Ministry of Environment.

The workshop aims to strengthen the capacity and productivity of its staff aimed at ensuring high performance culture in service delivery with regard to the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025(FCSSIP 25),

In his opening remarks during the workshop held in NAIC Hall in Abuja on Monday and Tuesday, the Director-General/Chief Executive of NOSDRA, Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke, opined that the timing of the event was very apt against the backdrop of the scourge of oil spills the agency was confronting in Nigeria, particularly in the oil-bearing Niger Delta region.

Woke, who established a nexus between the performance of NOSDRA and PMS, noted that the agency had the primary objective of coordinating and implementing the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, NOSCP, for the country as may be formulated by the Federal Government from time to time.

According to him: “Specifically, among other things, the agency is to ensure safe, timely, effective and appropriate response to major or disastrous oil pollution in the country by identifying the high-risk areas, as well as priority areas for protection and cleanup”.

He said the rules establishing the PMS, which replaced the Annual Performance Evaluation Report, APER, for the Federal Public Service, had made it mandatory for all Federal Ministries and Extra Ministerial Departments and Agencies to comply with the provisions of the framework.

Woke further stated that the rules of the system provided shall be the tools for goals and objectives to be set for employees, and that individual performance must be tracked, assessed and reported upon in the Federal Civil Service.

In his words: “The PMS shall focus on the measurable output of employees, as well as specific competencies, knowledge, skills and personal attributes needed to deliver jobs and meet the agreed targets”.

He further averred that the rules establishing the PMS emphasised that it shall be result-oriented, thus justifying the importance of the workshop for the staff and alerting them to the imperative of capacity, competence, skill and output as the key indicators of service delivery by NOSDRA.

According to him, the utilisation of such considerations will be vital in the performance evaluation, assessment, tracking, reporting and training of staffers. The DG/CE mentioned other critical components of the PMS to include adept performance, management timeline, performance planning, performance review and performance regard.

He expressed the opinion that as a critical agency under the Federal Ministry of Environment, all staff must be ready and able to avail themselves of the value of the requirements of the PMS as the framework to determine their competence and skill in their career growth and development.

Mr. Ogan Ukpabi, a Deputy Director who represented the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment at the workshop said the objective of the PMS is to ensure clarity and relevance on the vision, mission and core values of the civil service.

According to Mr. Ukpabi, the PMS establishes a framework for tracking performance and taking corrective actions, facilitating the development of an accountability-driven, result-oriented and high performance in the Federal Public Service and ensuring organisational and employee effectiveness by cascading institutions.

In her address on the occasion, Mrs. Vivan Iorfa, a representative from Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, OHSF, maintained that excellence in governance was a direct outcome of effective management of the public trust as embodied in civil service, hence the imperative of understanding the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs,’s Performance Management System, MPMS.

She said the Ministers signed deliverables with Mr. President in November 2023 and one of the outcomes was the PMS.

Mrs. Iorfa added that by virtue of the service delivery compact, Ministers and Director-Generals were to be assessed based on the bond signed with Mr. President and public servants were bound to perform, as the new system was not only the pillar of the service but also one of the criteria for promotion of public servants from 2023.

The thematic presentations made by the resource persons at the different sessions of the PMS workshop were “Overview of Ministerial Performance System (MPMS), “Hands-on Practical Session on Development of MPMS: Planning for the Agency”, “Overview of Employee Performance Management System (EPMS)”, “Development of Departmental Performance Contract” and “Cascading Session for Departments”.

Apart from the Directors and Heads of Units who highlighted some of the challenges facing them in the workshop and the prospects, some of the participants expressed hope that the knowledge and skill gained would help them redouble efforts in productivity and service delivery in NOSDRA.

In her closing remarks at the workshop, the Acting Director, Human Resources Management in NOSDRA, Mrs. Lilian Iyamu, commended the participants and hoped they would use the knowledge and experience garnered from the training to contribute their quota towards the growth and development of the agency based on the principles and requirements of the PMS.