149 Yobe civil servants depart for capacity building at ASCON
By Baba Dan’iya
One hundred and forty-nine civil servants from Yobe have departed for a capacity-building training at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Lagos, as part of the state government’s effort to strengthen efficiency in public service delivery.
The participants, drawn from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), include 48 directors undergoing Advanced Human Resource Management and 69 staff of the Ministry of Finance attending a course in Financial Resource Management.
The Yobe State Head of Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Musa Shehu, while addressing participants during the send-off ceremony held on Tuesday in Damaturu, urged the beneficiaries to be worthy ambassadors of the state and to uphold excellence throughout the training programme.
Shehu, represented by Alhaji Abbas Isah Bizi, Permanent Secretary, Yobe State Manpower Development, said the training was part of the administration’s sustained commitment to capacity development, adding that the government viewed the exercise as an investment in the future of Yobe.
“The government is not merely sending you to a training programme; it is investing in the future of Yobe State. The knowledge and skills you will acquire are essential to improving the effectiveness of our civil service,” he said.
He commended Governor Mai Mala Buni for his visionary leadership and consistent investment in human capital development, both locally and internationally.
“Under His Excellency’s guidance, millions of naira have been released to support training initiatives within and outside the country. For instance, there have been programmes in Kaduna, Kano, Abuja, and even Saudi Arabia,” Shehu said.
He noted that such initiatives reflected the government’s recognition that the strength of governance lay in a skilled and competent workforce capable of translating policy into tangible service delivery.
Earlier, the Focal Person on Training and Succession Plan, Ibrahim Bulama Yusuf, said the exercise was unprecedented in the state’s history, with all 149 participants fully sponsored by the government.
He said each participant attending the two-week courses in Human Resource and Financial Resource Management would receive N450,000 for air tickets, N400,000 as training allowance, and N210,000 for accommodation, totalling over N1 million per participant.
According to him, those attending a one-week course in Effective Communication will receive N925,000 each, while the Head of Service also approved additional provisions for meals and logistics during the training.
“This is the first time in Yobe’s history that 149 civil servants are proceeding simultaneously for training at ASCON. It demonstrates the government’s serious commitment to workforce development,” Yusuf said.
In his remarks, Malam Tijjani Musa, Deputy Secretary (Administration), Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), thanked Governor Buni, the Office of the Head of Service, and SUBEB management for the opportunity.
He described the gesture as an investment that would yield long-term benefits, expressing optimism that participants would return with renewed vigour and practical ideas to enhance governance.
