By Mark Eneng
In its continuous effort to rejig local government service administration, ensure productivity and peace building, the Local Government Service Commission has sealed partnership with the Institute for Universal Harmony, University of Calabar, to train staff on Conflict Resolution and Peace Advocacy. The partnership was reached when the leadership of the Institute paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman and Commission members.
Briefing the Chairman on the importance of the program and possible areas of collaboration, the International President of the Institute, Dr. Charles A. Bassey, disclosed that the choice of Local Government Service Commission is because of its critical role in training and development of manpower for public service.
“The Institute for Universal Harmony is a professional training institution, collaborating with the University of Calabar. This visit is very important because, we consider the Commission as a critical government organization for training and manpower development, especially Local government employees.”
“We are into conflict resolution and peace advocacy and we believe, as government managers, that the staff need this specialized knowledge to enable them handle government affairs properly. That is why we came officially to introduce the Institute and our operations in the state.”
Dr Charles further unveiled the Institute’s 12 weeks online and onsite Executive Professional Training Programs in Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms, with specialization in areas such as Arbitration; Mediation; Investigation; Counseling and Reconciliation. .He also hinted that certification will be issued at the end of the training with award of certificates in Conflict Resolution Management and Peace Advocacy.
Commending the initiative, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr Darlington Bassey Eyo, conveyed the commission’s interest and readiness to engage the Institute for overall development of staff in the stated areas, while underscoring the importance of peace building advocacy for community development.
“This is quite timely. We want to go into robust training of our staff and we need to get a lot of them to be trained on peace advocacy, because and you will agree with me, that any community without peace, cannot grow and the governor, Prince Bassey Edet Otu, is very serious about matters of peace and security.”
The chairman further gave his assurances of cascading the training to include local government council officials and the traditional rulers, who according to him, are gatekeepers that ensure local communities are kept safe, secured and peaceful.
This partnership is tune with the commission’s avowed mandate which is centered on training and retraining of workforce.
Highpoint of the visit was presentation of proposal for partnership by the president of the Institute and official endorsement of the Institute’s programs by the commission chairman.
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