LAGOS State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, said on Thursday that his main goal is to make Lagos the 3rd largest economy in Africa, the basis for which his administration has been embarking on capacity building for the state’s public servants.
Lagos is the 5th largest economy in Africa currently.
Governor Ambode said this in his address at a 2-Day Workshop for Public Servants in the state, which took place at Ikeja.
The governor, according to Nigerian Tribune, was represented by the State’s Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson Oke, said his administration was investing so much on the public servants to prepare them for the challenges of being one of the most prosperous economies in Africa.
He described the workshop organised by the state’s Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in conjunction with the Viewpoint Educational Services as strategic move towards realising the target of the Africa’s 3rd largest economy.
“Lagos State is the 5th largest economy in Africa, we are determined to move from the fifth to the 3rd largest economy in Africa. Again, Lagos State as we speak is a mega city that is currently moving from a megacity to the smart city. What this entails is that we want to replicate most of the things obtainable in the United Kingdom, Soviet Union and other developed countries of the world in Lagos with little adjustment because of the difference of the social settings.
“We will replicate some of those things with minor adjustment. This is why the governor approved the capacity building programme for public servants to enable them to cope and compete with their foreign counterparts all over the world because the public servants in the state are the real engine room of Lagos,” Ambode said.
The governor, while noting that the training would enable the staff competes with their foreign counterparts, added that employees themselves would benefit from increased productivity in any organisation.
“More often than not, when an organisation is highly productive, it eventually becomes successful, and because of this, incentives are bound to be made available to the employees, such as pay raises, bonuses, and so on,” he said, adding that productivity in the workplace would often translate into acceptable service and interaction.
According to him, this is the total client experience which is the key to satisfying key stakeholders, pointing out that almost all highly productive organisations used this approach to gain customer loyalty.
