By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Federal Government will train at least 12,000, junior low-rank civil servants, under the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning on financial literacy by December 2022.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, disclosed at the official flag-off of the Service–Wide Financial Literacy Programme in the workplace on Financial Inclusion in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN) and other relevant stakeholders.
Represented at the event by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mallam Aliyu Ahmed, the minister said the pilot stage will have 12,000 staff in the ministry benefit from the training but plans are underway to extend the opportunity to all federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
“The ministry intends to extend the programme to other MDAs in January 2023,” she said adding that she has requested the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to mandate other MDAs to cooperate with the implementation of the programme to empower the targeted civil servants with final literacy empowerment.
She noted that “there is a great concern on how government employees manage their finances. These days public employees face serious financial challenges as a result of the dwindling economy. Studies have shown that lack of primary skills on how to manage money, save and invest is one of the reasons public employees experience financial troubles.”
He also pointed out that “another study discovered that most public servants do not cultivate saving habits rather they are likely to spend more than what they earn. Financial education can lessen financial crises for public employees. This measure can also help promote economic reviver and reduce poverty. The pilot stage should impact 12,000 employees by December 2022: he said.
She further explained that “a number of people are involved but those we are targeting are those at the lower rank of the salary system in the civil service. Those involve include our development partners like GIZ, Central Bank and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning are involved in the programme.
“The aim is to give financial education to the target audience which is the civil servants to be able to manage their finances appropriately and by that you will have a critical mass of people in the country who can manage their finances effectively.”
The minister said the programme will run for as long as the government is able to get the majority of the target off the table.
“So, it is going to run for at least three years but it depends on the number of people that will be captured within this period. If we see that we are not able to capture the target audience, the target will be extended. For now, we are starting with the Ministry of Finance but we are calling on the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to ensure that this cascades across the whole service”, she added.
