As part of efforts to ensure better service delivery and productivity for a well informed society, the Association of Senior Civil Staff of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the Federal Government to improve budgetary allocations to the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
The ASCSN National President, Comrade Dr. Tommy Okon canvassed this position during a working visit to the NOA Director General, Dr. Garba Abari.
Comrade Okon said that, considering the high level of moral decadence in the country, NOA as an agency saddled with the responsibility of guiding the moral ethos of the nation should be on government’s priority list for funding. He said it was time for government to have a rethink about the little attention it has paid to the Agency which also, as part of its mandate, communicates government’s policies, programmes and activities to create public awareness and buy-in.
He expressed delight at the cordial and healthy relationship between management and labour unions in the NOA, conditions which he described as essential for an active and productive work force. Okon however called on the management to make staff welfare paramount in the areas of promotion, transportation, promotion arrears, bonuses among others to promote productivity, urging the government on its part to boost the Agency’s funding to enable it carry out its statutory responsibilities.
The NOA Director General, represented by the Director, Human Resource Management, Mr. Kehinde Ogunkuade reiterated the Agency’s commitment to its cardinal mandate despite constraints of funds, noting that NOA has continued to deliver on its mandate. He said that NOA, as a citizens engagement Agency, has presence in all nooks and crannies of the country with robust platforms to carry out its public enlightenment, orientation, behavior modification and mass mobilization functions for national cohesion and development.
The DG NOA urged the union, as partners in progress, to continue to support the Agency in its quest for better welfare and continued cordial relationship with the management, pledging that NOA will continue to create an enabling environment and provide unflinching support to the union at all times.
Paul Odenyi
Assistant Director, Press
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