As part of efforts to restrategise and reposition the ministry for greater service efficiency, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments and Training has commenced a three-day strategic management retreat for senior staff.

The retreat brought together key stakeholders, including the Chairman, House Committee on Establishments, Training, Pensions and Public Service, Oladele Ajayi; the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Sam Egube; the Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo; the permanent secretary, directors, and officers on Grade Level 13 and above.

With the theme “Unfreezing Change: Building and Institutionalising High-Impact Leadership,” the retreat aligns with the strategic goals of Lagos State government’s THEMES+ Agenda and seeks to foster visionary leadership and institutional reforms within the civil service.

Delivering the keynote address, Ayantayo urged the ministry’s leadership to become more proactive, agile and committed to results. According to him, achieving the vision of a Greater Lagos requires a public service that is responsive, reform-driven and anchored on high-impact leadership. He described the ministry as a foundational organ of government with responsibilities that are both strategic and far-reaching, emphasising the need for institutional reengineering.

The Commissioner highlighted some of the Ministry’s strategic focus areas for 2025, including the full digitization of establishment records to boost operational efficiency, the reform of outdated service rules to reflect modern realities, and the implementation of competency-based, sector-specific training designed to link learning directly to performance. He also spoke about plans for a unified human resource development framework to ensure standardized training across MDAs and equitable access for all officers, alongside a strengthened monitoring and evaluation mechanism to track the impact of capacity-building initiatives.

In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Olubusola Abidakun, acknowledged that while the ministry had made commendable progress, there was still a need for deeper introspection.

She posed critical questions to the staff, urging them to reflect on the effectiveness of internal systems, the agility of operations, responsiveness to feedback from client MDAs, commitment to mentoring younger officers, and the ministry’s openness to innovation.

Delivering a goodwill message, Ajayi commended the ministry for the initiative, encouraging staff to approach the retreat with seriousness, as a crucial platform for rethinking public service leadership and performance.

Egube delivered a lecture on the Global and National Economic Outlook. In his presentation, he urged public servants to place a premium on performance over bureaucracy and to embrace ingenuity rather than remain bound by outdated traditions.

He emphasised the importance of cultivating a forward-thinking public service that serves as a catalyst for sustainable growth and innovation.