Chief Executives of Government Agencies in Nigeria have been admonished to work towards building strong institutional frameworks to promote rapid economic growth and the ease of doing business with Nigeria on a sustainable basis. A retired Permanent Secretary, Barrister Osuagwu Sunny Uwanuakwa gave this advice while responding to his inauguration as Chairman of a 5-man independent Committee of distinguished Nigerians charged with the responsibility of reviewing management practices in the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) with a view to strengthening them for improved service delivery. Barr. Uwanuakwa commended the Director General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim on his novel approach towards realising his vision for the organisation and promised to hit the ground running with members of the Committee. He promised that the members would endeavour to devote their time and passion to the assignment with a view to delivering on the terms of reference within the time frame given.
A member of the Committee, Mr. Kabir Wudil, retired Director and former Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff to the President described the setting up of the Committee as an introspection capable of transforming SON towards greater contributions to Nation building. Another member, Dr. Rukayyatu Abdulkareem Gurin pledged the Committee’s commitment to adding value for the benefit of SON, its stakeholders and the Nigerian economy. Speaking earlier while inaugurating the Committee, SON Director General Mallam Farouk Salim, described the occasion as historic and going against the norms in an attempt to build strong processes for the organisation that would outlive the Chief Executives’ tenures. He mandated the Committee to help examine the structure of SON, its processes and practices with a view to providing a template to address operational, service delivery and staff welfare challenges to entrench equity and fairness as well as provide greater opportunities for staff to better contribute to attainment of organisational goals.
Mallam Salim enumerated the Committee’s terms of reference to include control and coordination, communication and effectiveness, manpower dispositions and manning levels, recruitment, postings and transfers as well as public perception of the organisation and its services among others. The Director General stated that the Committee members were carefully selected given their rich pedigrees and experiences in the public sector and the Management’s belief in their competence and ability to contribute to the growth of SON. According to him, copies of departmental presentations containing the activities, achievements, challenges and meaningful suggestions already obtained from interactions with Directors, Heads of Departments and Units as well as relevant portions of the handover notes provided by the last management would be made available to the committee.
Mallam Salim enjoined the Committee to invite additional inputs, presentations, clarifications or opinions from members of the SON Management and the Staff Unions as it may deem necessary. He stated that arrangements have been made for the Committee to visit SON major operational offices in Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano to feel the pulse of the staff and have a broad view of the organisation. The Director General stated that the Committee had four weeks from the date of inauguration to submit its interim report and would be expected to submit its final report before the end of the year. Other members of the Committee were, Pharmacist Mashood Oluku Lawal, retired Director, Federal Ministry of Health and a former member of the SON Governing Council and the SON Director, Human Resources Management, Mr. Abdulkadir Usman, who is to serve as facilitator.
