Okon: PSIN Remains Work in Progress
Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
The Administrator/Chief Executive Officer, Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN), Ms Imeh Okon, has said that the institute remains a work in progress, but that the foundations are now firmer than they were 100 days ago.
Okon made the disclosure when the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters paid an oversight visit to the Institute in Abuja.
The PSIN administrator, who also marked her 100 days in office, while welcoming the National House Committee Members, said: “I thank you most sincerely for honouring us with this oversight visit and for the continued interest of the National Assembly in strengthening public institutions that support effective governance.
“Your visit is particularly significant to me personally, as it comes just about the time I have completed my first 100 days as administrator of this institute. From the onset, I took the deliberate decision that the first 100 days would not be about publicity, but about understanding the institution, engaging the people who work here, and putting in place the basic disciplines required for PSIN to function effectively as a federal public institution.”
According to her, one of the first things she did was to engage directly with staff across departments to understand their disposition towards management and the Institute.
“Flowing from that, we instituted a monthly whole-of-staff engagement forum to ensure everyone understands where PSIN is going and how their individual roles contribute to our collective mandate,” she said.
Highlighting more of her achievements, she said: “We also reinstated weekly departmental meetings, which had been absent for some time, to strengthen teamwork, accountability, and coordination. Alongside this, we introduced simple staff recognition initiatives, including acknowledging staff birthdays, as part of rebuilding morale and a sense of belonging.”
On service delivery and execution of core mandate, Okon, noted: “I am pleased to inform the committee that within this period, we successfully concluded the final stage of onboarding the PSIN CBT Centre on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s list of accredited CBT centres. This is an important milestone for the Institute and strengthens our capacity to deliver credible, technology-driven assessments.”
she said added: “over 400 public servants from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been trained on carefully curated modules aimed at improving professionalism and service delivery. Just this weekend, we successfully conducted INEC promotion examinations nationwide across the 36 states and the FCT for over 2600 staff members of INEC.
“This is a demonstration of PSIN’s national reach, operational credibility, and integrity-sensitive service delivery capacity. A strong emphasis was placed on restoring financial discipline, strengthened financial controls, reporting, and audit processes. There was also alignment of all expenditures with Federal Government financial regulations and public service rules.
“A comprehensive audit of PSIN facilities and assets was conducted, with recovery and regularisation of outstanding revenues commenced. These actions created an enhanced transparency, value-for-money culture, and institutional credibility. We also considered it important to reconnect PSIN with its key stakeholders. Accordingly, we undertook over 20 courtesy and strategic engagements with MDAs to sensitise them on the reforms underway and to reposition PSIN as a more responsive and demand-driven institution.
“It was interesting to hear that some public offices were not aware of our existence and this opportunity to engage expose our offerings to them. Distinguished Honourable Members, we paid attention as well to the physical state of the Institute.
“Within the first 100 days, lecture rooms were repainted, toilets rehabilitated, and some abandoned ones completed. Similarly, a central sewage system for three major training centre work was completed. The entire compound fumigated and cleaned. These may appear modest, but they are critical to restoring the dignity of a federal training institution.”
Continue, she explained: “From a governance perspective, we conducted an audit of PSIN facilities to identify tenants owing the Federal Government through the Institute, and we introduced measures to restrict unauthorised motorcycle access into the premises to protect government property and improve security. As we look ahead to the next phase, there will be a focus on clear governance and decision-making frameworks, improving training quality, by modernising our curricular, offering flexible options to capacity building, and instituting performance management systems.
“The institute will expand e-learning and blended learning platforms, digitise registration, certification, and evaluation systems. PSIN will re-engineer internal processes and introduce service delivery timelines and digitization.”
Okon, however, said that PSIN will evolve beyond training delivery, noting: “it would fully embrace its think tank mandate and engage on Policy dialogues, roundtables, and advisory services to government, deepened engagement with MDAs, development partners and commence the twinning partnership between PSIN and the Singapore Public Service Institute in a bid to reposition PSIN as a global centre of excellence. Our objective is to ensure that the progress made so far is not personality-driven but embedded in systems that endure.
“Distinguished Honourable Members, We value the oversight role of this Committee and see it as a partnership in building a disciplined, credible, and responsive institution that effectively supports the Nigerian public service.
“We remain open to your guidance, observations, and support as we continue this journey. Now, to the reason why our most distinguished Honourable members are here with us, the budget performance for 2024.”
Responding, Chairman, House Committee on Public Service Matters, Hon. Sani Bala, said, that the visit is particular significant, as it marks the first official engagement of the Committee with the institute under the leadership of the administrator.
“We once again, congratulate you on your appointment and look forward to a productive working relationship anchored on accountability, innovation, and institutional growth,” Bala said.
