Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Agaka pledges continuity of policies at NSITF

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
01 March 2016   |   12:30 am
THE change of leadership at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) would not lead to policy reversal, the Acting Managing Director of the Fund, Ismail Agaka has said. Speaking in Abuja while taking over the mantle of leadership of NSITF, Agaka lauded the immediate past managing director, Munir Abubakar, for remaining steadfast and courageous…

NSITF-LOGO

THE change of leadership at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) would not lead to policy reversal, the Acting Managing Director of the Fund, Ismail Agaka has said.

Speaking in Abuja while taking over the mantle of leadership of NSITF, Agaka lauded the immediate past managing director, Munir Abubakar, for remaining steadfast and courageous during stormy periods in the evolution of the Fund.

He said: “I will ensure there is continuity in policies embedded in team work while we strive to break new grounds to ensure we push the frontiers of success of the Fund as well as the workers. I have known Munir for the past 26 years, and all through that time, we have worked together harmoniously. Today is a landmark in our relationship because 25 years ago, I took over from him as Special Assistant to a former Minister of Labour and today I am taking over from him as the managing director of the NSITF although in an acting capacity.”

Agaka assured the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Labour and employment, Dr. Clement Illoh, that all his admonitions and advice have not fallen on deaf ears.

Supervising the handover in his office, Illoh stressed that exit of the former managing director is not a thing to mourn over at all but a celebration of a distinguished carrier of a fine public officer.

He charged the workers to eschew bitterness and work for the betterment of the organization.

His words: “I want to solicit the cooperation of the top echelon of the Fund for the new team. Managing an organization is team effort by all. We should all understand that once people enter an organization, they have individual goals and objectives to bring to the organization. They also have group goal because in every organization people always form group interests which could be formal or informal. Again, the organization has its own goals. So, for us in top management, if we begin to pursue the goal of the individuals, that of organization or that of group, we cannot be defined good managers. A good manager must be able to balance all the various interest groups, individuals and objectives of the organization to make life easier for everybody. We cannot afford to talk about organizational goals in isolation because it is the individuals that operate the system.”

Talking to the General Managers, Illoh stressed that it has become much more compelling now than ever before to work as a team saying this is a period of test of whether they can survive or not.

“There is no board and there is no substantive Managing Director. Now you guys are left alone because nature does not allow vacuum and that is why the circular mandated the out-going managing director to hand over to the most senior officer who in this case is Ismail Agaka. My appeal to all of you is to work as a team. Nobody should hoard information thinking that such would hurt the Acting managing director because invariably such an act would hurt the organization and hurt every individuals working in the organization,” he explained.

The former helmsman expressed appreciation to the staff for their cooperation while he was at the helm of affairs at the organization.

0 Comments