FG restructures National Productivity System, develops implementation strategies for National Policy on Productivity

The Nigerian Government is set to restructure the national
productivity system to maximize, evaluate and monitor resources
invested in the economy and to ensure performance and service
delivery."

The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and
Productivity, Clement Illoh disclosed this in Abuja recently, stating
that measures have been put in place to develop and apply strategies
for implementation of the National Policy on Productivity.
While declaring open a workshop tagged: "Implementing National Policy
on Productivity and Basic Productivity Improvement Techniques in
Workplaces," the Permanent Secretary noted that productivity
improvement tools and techniques are critical instruments for the
realization of Government's Transformation Agenda in the areas of
innovation, excellence at work, global competiveness, products and
quality services delivery.

He also expressed concern that over the past two decades, the level of
national productivity in Nigeria, particularly labour productivity has
been on the decline. According to him, Government's efforts at
enhancing productivity have not yielded the desired impact due to low
performance which has resulted from low capacity officers charged with
handling productivity improvement matters.
Clement Illoh mentioned the objectives of the workshop to include:
uunderstanding the basic concept of productivity and its role in
national development; enlightenment of the participants on the
contents of key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as tool for measuring
performance in workplaces; creating awareness on the National
Productivity Policy (NPP) as a roadmap for achieving productivity
consciousness, national growth and economic development.

He further urged the participants to utilise the workshop for
acquiring new knowledge, skills for competence on productivity
measurement and improvement techniques for application in workplaces.
Also remarking at the event, the Director of Productivity Measurement
and Standards in the Ministry, Theresa Braimah hinted that the
workshop would acquaint the participants with the basic concepts and
the roles of productivity in national development. She added that the
role of productivity in Nigeria's economy is critical as there can be
no meaningful and sustainable development without concerted efforts to
institutionalize productivity and productivity advancement structures
in the society.

In a goodwill message, the Director of International Labour
Organisation (ILO) Country Office for Nigeria and the Liaison Office
for ECOWAS, Sina Chuma-Mkandawire represented by Aly Cisse stressed
that productivity though important can only be meaningful in the
context of decent work, with the right skills and techniques as the
basis. "Productivity also depends on other relevant factors such as
appropriate enabling environment, the right infrastructure, attitudes
of management and employees as well as health and tools, among
others," she averred.

Sina Chuma-Mkandawire emphasized that it is important for both
enterprises and workers to benefit from the improved productivity,
noting that the theme of the workshop underscores the need for all
stakeholders to be committed to the implementation of the National
Policy on Productivity. She expressed the need to emphasise the
essence of imparting the techniques for achieving improvement in
productivity in both formal and informal sectors

Reference: Federal Ministry of Labour