INTRODUCTION
The Department of Administration and Supplies provides routine assistance to the Chief Executive in the administration of the Commission particularly in ensuring that matters affecting the Organization and Staff are handled and processed in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules, Circulars, Extant Rules and the Commission’s Staff Conditions of Service.
The Department carries out general administrative duties bothering on the control and coordination of personnel and equipment. Being a supportive department, all its functions are geared towards assisting other Departments to ensure the effective implementation of the UBE programme.
FUNCTIONS
The functions of the Department mainly centres on the efficient and effective management of both human and material resources of the Commission. These include:
- Handling Senior Staff Matters such as Appointments, Promotions and Discipline.
- Processing applications for Secondment, Transfers, Upgrading, Conversions of Staff, Regularization and Merger of Service, requests for participation in both local and international seminars and workshops, etc.
- General maintenance of the Commission‟s equipment, furniture and provisions of other related utility services for better service delivery.
- Liaising with relevant agencies on staff welfare such as Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Code of Conduct Bureau, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), etc.
- Organizing training and manpower development programmes for staff.
- Serving as the Secretariat for UBEC Board and its Standing Committees, as well as the Management Committee.
- Making purchases on behalf of the Commission in line with requests from departments and issuing Job Orders and Local Purchase Order (LPOs), as well as auctioning of unserviceable furniture and equipment in the Commission.
- Liaising with Pension Fund Administrations (PFAs) to update Staff Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs).
- Assisting in the review of administrative, welfare and manpower development policies of the Commission.
STRUCTURE
The Department has five (5) units namely, Establishment; Welfare; Board, Management and Training; Maintenance and Services; and Stores. It is headed by a Director who is assisted by a Deputy Director in the day-to-day running of the Department.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The following activities were carried out by the Department during the year under review:
Conducted 2020 Promotion Examination for senior and junior staff.
- Conducted interview for the replacement of 74 staff that exited services of the Commission.
- Successfully serviced all the meetings of UBEC Board and its Standing Committees, as well as Management Committee.
- Organized a retreat for UBEC Board and Management in Kano, Kano State.
- Conducted orientation workshop for UBEC staff in the South-West Zone and Kwara State Office in Ibadan, Oyo State.
- Conducted a Training for UBEC staff in Ibadan, Oyo State from 4th – 7th March, 2020.
The Exec. Sec., Dr.Hamid Bobboyi Members of management present making a speech during the training for at the Training UBEC staff in Ibadan, Oyo State
Cross section of members of staff at the Training
- Facilitated the elevation of the Commission to Category „B‟ by Abuja Environmental Protection Board for effective management of Environmental Master Plan (EMP).
- Provided hand sanitizers to staff and disinfected UBEC Headquarters Office Complex following the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Facilitated the renewal of Rent Agreement in respect of three (3) State Offices i.e. Delta, Ekiti and Abia.
- Renovated the Boardroom, Conference Hall; four (4) offices in the Department of Planning, Research and Statistics and one (1) office was also partitioned in the Department of Administration and Supplies.
- Processed the payment of Rent Supplement to all qualified staff in January, 2020.
- Ensured prompt payment of financial relief/assistance to three (3) Staff on grounds of fire outbreak and health challenges.
- Processed payment of monthly pension to 101 UBEC Pensioners.
- Remitted pension deductions to Staff Retirement Savings Accounts.
- Conducted pre-retirement workshop for staff who retired in 2020.
- Facilitated the successful conduct of Environmental Impact Audit Assessment of UBEC Head Office facilities.
CONSTRAINTS
The following constraints were experienced by the Department in carrying out its functions during the year:
- Inability to conduct verification of UBEC Pensioners in the year under review.
- Delay by the FMBN in refunding National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions to retirees and families of deceased staff.
- Lack of imprest to run some units in the Department.
- Inadequate budgetary provision to organize capacity building workshop for staff.
- Inadequate computers to migrate from manual operation to Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) as directed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
- Insufficient budgetary allocation for maintenance/high cost of maintenance works and exorbitant cost of parts due to inflation.
- Lateness in reporting faults to the Maintenance and Services Unit for quick remediation.
ON-GOING ACTIVITIES
The following activities are on-going in the Department:
- Routine maintenance of office equipment and furniture.
- Processing of outstanding utility and services bills for 2020.
- Processing of Stores Receipt Vouchers (SRVs) for the supply of 2019 Instructional Materials and 2020 Constituency Projects and the payment of Contractors.
- Processing of staff requests for Long-Term Training.
- Establishment of a revolving housing loan for staff, as well as partnering with reputable Estate Developers for UBEC Staff Housing Estate.
- Liaising with FMBN for prompt registration and update of Staff NHF contributions and direct on-line access to individual account details with ATMs, POS and internet linkages.
- Making arrangement for all retired and deceased UBEC Staff to get full refund of their unutilized contributions from FMBN.
- Pre-retirement workshop for Staff who will retire in 2021.
- Implementation of Environmental Impact Audit Assessment findings.
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
The following activities are slated for implementation in the future by the Department:
- Conduct of 2021 Promotion Examination for Senior and Junior Staff.
- Establishment of a Sick Bay equipped with appropriate health facilities to avoid contagious diseases and maintain a healthy workforce in the Headquarters.
- Conduct of Annual Long Service/Merit Awards for staff.
- Provision of security angle bar for Sound Proof Generator.
- Addition of two more couch on the perimeter fence between UBEC and FCMB.
- Re-roofing of the water pumping machine room.
- Servicing and flushing of the boreholes.
- Provision and improvement of office security facilities (internal and external).
- Provision of Fire Fighting Equipment.
- Training of staff on Record Keeping and Store Management
CONCLUSION
The Department has achieved a lot in the year under review and it remains committed to ensuring the smooth running of the Commission. It will also ensure that staff matters are handled in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules, Extant Circulars and the Commission‟s Staff Conditions of Service.
