The Lagos State Government is strengthening the capacity of its public institutions through a series of professional training programmes designed to improve data-driven planning, technical expertise and workforce management across the state.
The initiatives, organised by the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget and the Ministry of Establishments and Training, brought together local planning officers, engineers and human-resource professionals as the government seeks to improve the quality and effectiveness of public administration.
At a capacity-building session for Heads of Planning, Research and Statistics from Lagos’ 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Olayinka Ojo, emphasised the importance of reliable grassroots data to effective development planning.
She urged the officials to improve the collection, management and use of local-level information, stressing that accurate data should inform government budgeting, policy formulation, programme implementation and monitoring.
The training, held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ikeja, brought together representatives from the Lagos Bureau of Statistics, UNICEF, N-CARES, the Economic Planning Department, Budget Department and Social Protection Coordinating Department.
The focus reflects a central challenge for governments managing complex urban economies: policies can be difficult to target effectively when decision-makers lack timely and reliable information about communities, households and local economic conditions.
In a separate programme held at the same venue, the Ministry of Establishments and Training commenced job-specific training for engineers and human-resource officers in the Lagos State civil service.
The engineering programme, titled “Effective Engineering Solutions for Public Sector Challenges,” focused on strengthening participants’ ability to address technical problems within government. Human-resource officers, meanwhile, received training on “Human Resource and Organisational Management.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Establishments and Training, Dr Olubusola Abidakun, encouraged participants to engage actively with the sessions, acquire new skills and share professional experiences.
Former Permanent Secretary Abiola Kosegbe also addressed the engineering participants on challenges affecting the delivery of effective engineering solutions in the public sector.
The programmes underline a broader institutional priority for Lagos: improving government performance requires both dependable information and a workforce capable of converting that information into effective decisions and public services.
For the state, the ultimate test will be whether the training translates into stronger planning, better resource allocation, improved project execution and more efficient service delivery.
