Multichoice Nigeria Customer Service Officer, Miss Nnenna Ibekwe (4th right), Branch Manager, Mrs Vivian Odenigbo (3rd right) and representative of Daughters of Divine Love (Ddl) Charity Home in Enugu, Rev. Sis. Obi-Udu Margaret-Mary (right) with inmates of the Home, during a donation by Multichoice, Enugu to mark its 2013 Customers Week in Enugu, recently.
Photo: NAN

The Association of
Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), has reiterated the need for continuous training of its members in the state civil service.
The Chairman of the Association in Rivers State, Comrade Austin Jonah, stated this at a seminar held at the auditorium of the state Ministry of Justice, Port Harcourt recently.
Jonah said the executives were change agents ready to provide the necessary information and training that would transform members and take the union to the next level.
Jonah said in line with Rule 41 of the union’s constitution, the executives organized the seminar to enhance members’ education and expose them to better on information welfare  issues.
He said in the overall interest of members, the union’s constitution enjoined the executive to organize regular education meetings, seminars workshop, symposia, lectures, leaflets and other publication for the union members.
The chairman further stated that in the interest of members in particular and the working class in general, the union was enjoined to adopt and execute educational , cultural, social and economic programmes that would promote the welfare of members.
He promised members of more seminar, workshops and educational training programmes in the years ahead to keep them abreast of relevant information that would enhance their better understanding of their responsibilities in their respective duty posts.
The union leader said the seminar, which was the first in the last 10 years in the state had exposed members to the understanding of the pension fund administration.
Jonah said the union enlisted experts to proffer solutions to the challenges emanating from the pension fund administration and how civil servants could benefit from the fund and partake in the profit-sharing.
He emphasised that paying back money contributed at retirement without benefiting from profit accruing was a challenge that needed an honest answer to the contributors.
Also speaking, secretary of the union, Comrade Princewill Akamo,  queried where the profits and interest from the saved funds go when the fund were being paid to the contributors.
He said the union will never support the payment of retirement benefits for only ten years after retirement without considering the number of service years of the retirees.
Akamo called for review of such law by the government.

Philip Okparaji