Ehis Nzewuji February 4, 2019

DG’s Corner

We are investing in our human capital and it is yielding results

BPE is open for business. At the onset of the current leadership, the Bureau introduced a new vision and programme philosophy aimed at rediscovering its core values of transparency and integrity, and repositioning it for a future of responsible reform and privatisation based on professionalism, accountability and result-orientation.

I am quite delighted to see that we are making considerable progress on this journey. We have reorganised our internal structures and retooled our people in the past eighteen months to unleash our productive capacity in a way that has not been seen for a while.

As we ushered in the New Year, it was only fitting that we took stock and reenergise for the journey ahead. The 2019 Management Retreat in the historic city of Kano provided such an opportunity. And what an excellent programme it was!

As DG, it afforded me crucial feedback that we are on the right path and our people, our most-valuable asset, can rise to the occasion and live up to the immense challenge and responsibility of this public trust. Like I mentioned at the event, I believe that it is one of the best retreats I have attended or facilitated in my career, and clearly the best I have experienced in BPE.

The entire programme speaks to the kind of quality and excellent arrangement and execution I have always advocated and opined that we are capable of. The quality of presentations was pristine, the facilitators were on point and impactful, and the logistics and facilities were impeccable.

It was indeed a beauty to behold and speaks volumes in terms of what is achievable when goals are clearly defined, strategy properly aligned, and effort/execution passionately deployed to achieve results.

I wish to express the sincere gratitude of management to the retreat organising team. It is quite gratifying to observe that such a critical and complex event could be fully delivered successfully by a team of mostly non-management colleagues with so much class and impact.

One of the highlights of the retreat was the review of the strategic plans presented by the Directors of various departments. The review was conducted by independent groups of management staff who evaluated the presentations during the break-out sessions.

At the end of a tough but brilliant contest, Team 5, led by Joe Anichebe emerged winners. The other members of the team are: Abimbola Kuru, Rabiu Abubakar Abba, Mohammed Babawuro, Nurain Hassan Ibrahim, Aderemi Azeez, Calistus Ezeh, and Akilu Ibrahim. Congratulations!

Back to Abuja, the focus for this year is clear. Results. Results. Results. The key take away from the retreat is that processes do not, in and of themselves, achieve goals and as such should be seen as enablers of results and not an end. On the whole, we will continue to focus on other institutional issues that should support strategy to deliver results.

In my view, what is critical and required of us is a paradigm shift. Critical thinking suggests that problems are not resolved by the same type of thinking that created or indulged them. We certainly need this mindset, to pursue the progress of the agency with proactive doggedness because indeed, our nation depends on it.

In this regard, we must continue to show commitment to this organisation on behalf of the people of Nigeria. We owe Nigerians and our conscience nothing less than this.

I am positive that we are set to achieve greater results with respect to our statutory mandate this year. I am also supremely confident that the comprehensive change programme we are pursuing will ensure a future of disciplined and responsible privatisation and public enterprise reform.

I wish us all a successful year ahead.

God bless the Bureau of Public Enterprises; God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Alex A. Okoh

Director General