VON DG harps on periodic training for public servants
The Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON) Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has stressed the need for governments at all levels to embark on periodic training and retraining of public servants to enhance efficiency and growth of their organisations.
Okechukwu said this during the presentation of certificates to 37 graduants of one-month Basic Production Course, which held at VON Training Centre and Transmitting Station on Monday in Abuja.
The DG expressed concern that the gadgets and tools given to the participants might soon become useless and redundant unless they were often trained and retrained.
“We said for any agency to grow, we must continue to train and retrain.
“Whatever gadgets the government might have purchased for us will be useless and redundant until people who will manage those equipment are trained.
“No matter what we are about to spend on procurement of equipment, if there is no sufficient and constant training, it will be redundant and mismanaged.
“That is why we indulge in training and we are going to continue,” he said.
He therefore described VON as a multi-faceted organisation trying to extend relationships at all levels especially to those who have interests in the organisation.
He assured that such gesture would also be extended to sister and friendly agencies for the growth of the country.
He urged all VON staff to continue to restrain themselves and go for the truth and hard facts in news production.
According to Okechukwu “We must do everything possible to make our dear country to meet up with the competitive world.
“An evidence have shown that a country or agencies that spend more money on training, research and development are definitely going to achieve their goals better than those who do not do that.
“We have a link with the armed forces, we have link with the foreign affairs, we have a link with culture, we have a link with information.”
In her remarks, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture (FMIC), Mrs Grace Gekpe, congratulated Okechukwu for giving such gesture to members of VON.
Gekpe who was represented by the Director, Public Communications, National Orientation in the ministry, Mrs Ihuoma Chinenye, congratulated and called on the graduants to build on what learned and also extend it to others.
Chinenye also urged them to make heroes of the new knowledge they had acquired so as to stand out wherever they find themselves for coverage.
” I urge the DG to train the graduants further. Except if you want to have your old teachers, make good use of those who have excelled in this program.
” I call on the graduants be outstanding where others are standing. So many will be standing out but I want you to be outstanding amongst them, ” she said.
Mr Ben Shemang, Director Training, VON, said that the organisation trained staff of the Armed Forces Radio Abuja, and was ready to train more.
”In terms of training we can do a lot for our colleagues. We are happy that the government said that they are going to establish some radio stations to take care of the nomadic incidentally we have the service to take care of that.
”I call on the government to pump some of the money into VON and they will see what we can do to train many of those people.
“We are assure that when next we have another opening, we will up our game,” he said.
Mr Peter Bahago, one of the beneficiaries described the gesture as one of the best thing that can happen to a journalist and promised to use the opportunity to impact knowledge on others as well.
Mrs Gloria Ezekwe, producer, VON, who was a participant, said that the training had exposed her to ideas in other news departments especially in the areas of production and editing.
Ezekwe said that the one-month program was intensive and filled with different activities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that staff of the armed forces radio, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) were among those who participated in the training.
