By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
In its bid to turn the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) into media and entertainment hub, the Oyo State Government on Wednesday announced the redeployment of 144 workers of the corporation into its various Ministries.
Secretary to the Oyo State Government (SSG) Alhaji Olalekan Alli stated this in Ibadan while addressing a ministerial press briefing on the restructuring of BCOS by the state government.
The SSG declared that the redloyment of the 144 workers was part of the moves by the Oyo State Government to rescue BCOS from imminent collapse, saying, presently, the corporation “is a sorry source of embarrassment for Oyo state.
” As a first step in the pursuit of this new strategic direction, Government hereby announce the redeployment of a total of 144 members of staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State to other arms of the government work force with effect from Thursday 1st February, 2018. The letters of redeployment are already dispatched accordingly. They are therefore expected to resume at their new places of work with immediate effect” he said..
He disclosed that the outcome of the assessment by the 5 man starring committee set up by the Oyo State Government ” showed that of the 209 junior staff assessed, 197 passed while 12 failed; of the 149 senior staff assessed, 35 passed and 114 failed while of the 58 management staff assessed, only 16 passed and 42 of them failed.”
“Based on the competency test and panel interview, the consultants found that 70% of the senior and management staff did not demonstrate the competence required for their respective grade levels. The details of the performance distribution by grade level and by department were provided in the report.” .
The SSG added that ‘a key outcome of the assessment exercise was the identification of knowledge and capacity gaps in the staff of BCOS” saying, “over the years, BCOS has been managed more like a Ministry dependent on OYSG subvention rather than as a corporation aimed at generating revenue for the government through annual dividends.”
“It is to be noted that NONE of these workers is being sacked, disengaged or released from the services of Oyo State. On the contrary, they are only being redeployed to new offices and establishments where the government believes they will add greater value to its service deliver mandate. Their postings and redeployments are therefore in accordance to the Service provisions. Government wishes them to report in their new offices with the required vigor and enthusiasm worthy of their employment and respective status”
Emphasizing that “the operation of BCOS is not financially sustainable as operating costs continue to outstrip revenue. Without OYSG subvention, the cost is more than double the current IGR capacity’, Alhaji Alli said ” the BCOS workforce is over bloated” saying, “high staff strength of 513 with 70% being permanent staff while 30% are contract staff. The contract staff were engaged to bridge the yawning skill gaps of the permanent staff.”
” The workforce is heavy on staff with low skill qualifications .e.g. 55% have qualifications below HND. YAgeing workforce ; 73% of staff are aged above 40 years while 52% will retire in the next 10 years. The organization is not sweating its assets, as it should. It has so much under-utilized land assets, in addition to broadcast equipment bought by previous administrations gone obsolete.
Speaking further, the SSG stressed that the imperatives for “A New Strategic Direction for BCOS” is to make it ” to be the leading media and entertainment hub that propels the unique cultural heritage of the Yoruba to the global market” while the vision is “creating pleasurable experiences for our target markets through the provision of exceptional products service”.
According to the SSG ” the business segments will include (i) TV and Radio Broadcasting, (2) Production Studio Services (3) Theme Parks and Resorts, (4) Hospitality and Leisure Services, (5) Live Events and (6) A Media Academy.”
He maintained that “some of the imperatives that Government intends implement in order to deepen and sustain the legacy and new vision of BCOS include the granting of Operational and Financial Autonomy to the corporation; strengthening Governance and Management; Commercial Sustainability, encouraging Partnership and Alliances as well as Legal restructuring to enable the corporation to take full advantages of public-private-partnership with the global organized private sector towards the creation of the leading entertainment and cultural hub in the South West of Nigeria.”
