The Lagos State Government is organising a Fellowship programme aimed at providing training to a cohort of 30 young Nigerians from diverse geopolitical zones across the country.
According to The PUNCH, the programme will focus on imparting knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles and operations of the state public service over a duration of 12 months.
The fellowship, administered by the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, is a highly demanding and rigorous 12-month programme designed for fellows to gain comprehensive exposure to the entire public service.
The Head of Service for Lagos State, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, recently visited the fellows at their designated residence in Magodo Phase II, where they will be accommodated throughout the duration of the fellowship.
“Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy is one of the babies of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to engage the youth and imbibe the spirit of public sector service in them,” Muri-Okunola said.
He added that the associates “will be shadowing cabinet members and members of the body of Permanent Secretaries to understand the workings of the public service; to understand the backstage of the services that are being rendered to the citizens of Lagos State. They will have a backstage pass to the public service.
“So, sometimes they will shadow the governor himself, the deputy governor, they will go round each and every cabinet member, each member of the body of permanent secretaries; from the health to the Teaching Service, to every cadre of service will be shadowed for them to understand the workings of government, the hierarchical system of governance and the bureaucratic nature of governance.”
The Head of Service said the associates would go for international tours to learn “from other climes”, adding, “Particularly, this year, I think we’ll be taking them to Singapore to study the public service of Singapore, to see the things they can learn from there.”
He further said, “We intend to give them a robust platform and entrench them in public service so that at the end of it they can decide what course or path they want to go in their lives. It may be public service, it may be the private sector, but whatever sector they choose, they will be equipped with leadership skills that can take them anywhere because the world is their oyster.”
