OHCSF, MFA Train Protocol Officers On Excellence and Etiquette For Effective Service Delivery

Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack 
HOCSF

"The training program will foster understanding of international protocol, etiquette and effective cross-cultural communication, appraise and apply protocol best practices, standards and strengthen collaboration across MDAs." Didi Walson-Jack.

Mrs Didi WaIson-Jack, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has promised year round training for Civil Servants.

This is as she promised that the training will be conducted cadre by cadre and cut across all grade levels in the Federal Civil Service. 

Mrs Didi WaIson-Jack who stated this while declaring open a 3-Day service-wide protocol training programme to enhance the capacity of officers engaged in protocol related duties, canvassed for professionalism, excellence and etiquette among protocol officers, public relations and information officers, as well as personal assistants to senior officers in the discharge of their duties.

At the training with the Theme: Professionalism in Protocol: Elevating Standards for Effective Service Delivery,” was organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation(OHCSF) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Head of Service stated that the training program will foster understanding of international protocol, etiquette and effective cross-cultural communication, appraise and apply protocol best practices, standards and strengthen collaboration across MDAs

According to the Head of Service, "This training is captured under the Pillar 1 of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025 which is now being expanded to enhance capacity building initiatives across the service. 

"Through this strategy, we aim to train Civil Servants year round, Cadre by Cadre, across all grade levels to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills to deliver exceptional service and drive the ongoing reforms in the Federal Civil Service."

The role of protocol officers, public relations officers, information officers, and personal assistants, she said, cannot be overstated.

Mrs. Walson-Jack who stressed the important role these officers play for efficiency in civil service delivery, noted they need requisite skills and knowledge to excel in their line of duty.

She assured. that her office will continue to equip and support civil servant to attain excellent service delivery, she noted that capacity building and re-training among these officers is vital in view of the changing trends in the world to meet international standard.

Walson-Jack urged the participants to focus to the training, assuring that the resourced persons for the three-day training are carefully selected to impact the right knowledge and expose them to current international trends and standard.

According to her, “The role of protocol officers, public relations officers, information officers and personal assistants cannot be overstated. You serve as front-line representatives and interface with dignitaries, coordinate events and manage the media and also ensure effective communication. As a result, the need for professionalism, excellence and etiquette is imperative,” 

Ambassador Godknows Igali, former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, who also spoke at the training, stressed that protocol is in the heart of good governance.

Igali noted that it is protocol officers who ensure orderliness and decorum in the management of events and activities of their principals, thus underscoring the importance of the training.

Also, in her welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office in the OHCSF, Mrs. Fatima Mahmood, called on civil servants to embrace the rudiments of protocol in the discharge of their duties.

According to her, protocol is central to effective service delivery just as professionalism is the hallmark of the civil service.

One of the facilitators and Chief of Protocol, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ben Okoyen, urged protocol officers to observe protocol rules and etiquette in the carrying out their duties.

Present at the training were the former Minister of Information and former Deputy State Governor of Nasarawa State, Labaran Maku, former Permanent Secretary Amb Godknows Igali, retired Civil Servants and Diplomats