The John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), has hosted an Open House for journalists and social media influencers, offering first hand insights into its organisational dynamics and milestones under the leadership of its pioneer Director General, (DG) Precious Imuwahen Ajoonu.
The DG of the academy noted that contrary to doubts in some quarters about the productivity levels of civil servants, the same civil servants constituted the bulk of personnel she deployed to establish the academy which is now attracting patronage from all over the country in just one year of its existence.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki commended JOOPSA for using training to impact positively on the way civil and public service operate.
“I must commend what Ajoonu is doing at JOOPSA. She has changed the way the civil and public service operate and that what we sought when we put up the academy.
“This has also made the digitalisation of government activities easier as the civil servant can now function within a system that promotes continuous learning and development due to the training they have been given at JOOPSA.
“The entire state will definitely benefit from the impact of JOOPSA in the near future, as we focus on strengthening our institutions, through capacity building,” governor Obaseki said.
The event was held at JOOPSA complex, 1, Okada Drive, G.R.A, Benin City, Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
During the event, the Director General emphasised JOOPSA’s transformative impact on Civil and Public Service training, ushering in a new era of excellence under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s visionary leadership.
“When I was drafted to come and operationalise this academy, the governor told me he wants to build a world class training centre.
“I asked the governor if I will be allowed to do things on my own or just be a yes-man because one of the things we did not want to do was to put a template and just start running training.
“There is a report that this place was organising training so we decided to involve the civil servants so that whatever we are going to do will be sustainable and that was how I asked all the ministries to send personnel to us including the Civil Service Commission.
“I requested for those who were currently doing training in the service and I brought all of them here. Some of them were skeptical and believed it would not work but I said if we can convince these critics, then we can make progress and that is the success story today.
“The training document we are using was collectively produced by all of us after the civil servants were convinced that we are not coming like the government as usual. His Excellency did not set this up for political gains because it was not going to give him any”, she said.
Established in March 2023 by Governor Godwin Obaseki, and officially launched on August 12, 2023, in honour of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun’s birthday, JOOPSA has rapidly become a knowledge and skills hub for public servants.
Precious Imuwahen Ajoonu explained strategic partnerships with industry experts, including collaborations with institutions like Nexford University, the Project Management Institute of Nigeria, and Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI).
“To date, the Academy has successfully trained 7,040 participants, aligning with its mission to shape a skilled and innovative public service workforce. JOOPSA offers a diverse program portfolio covering vital topics such as Managing the Retirement Disruption; Negotiation and Collaboration for Leaders and Public Policy Evaluation and Interpretation”, the DG stated.
In his presentation, Dr Christus Etoka urged participants to creatively use their minds which he said is what can distinguish a man from others.
Participants were drawn from the media, civil society, academia, religious organisations, social media activists, entrepreneurs and other professionals.
The highpoint of the event was an attendees guided tour of JOOPSA’s advanced facility which revealed its commitment to a conducive learning environment.
