31st January, 2018
The Oyo State Government has announced the redeployment of 144 staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) to other Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs).
Alhaji Olalekan Alli, the Secretary to the State Government, who made the disclosure on Wednesday in Ibadan, said the redeployment was with effect from Thursday.
The state government had engaged the services of KPMG Advisory Services to carry out a comprehensive audit of the radio station and propose appropriate structures and strategies.
He stressed that none of the workers was sacked, disengaged or released from the services of Oyo State Government.
Alli said that the overall intent was to transform BCOS into a media and entertainment hub which would host several business segments.
“Among the business segments are TV and Radio Broadcasting, Production Studio Services, Theme Parks and Resorts, Hospitality and Leisure Services, Live Events and a Media Academy.
“The vision is to be the leading media and entertainment hub that propels the unique cultural heritage of the Yoruba to the global market.
“It is also to create pleasurable experiences for our target markets through provision of exceptional products and services,’’ he said.
Alli stated that the reports of the assessment exercise revealed over bloated workforce, low qualification, under-utilisation of assets, ageing and over dependence on government subvention.
He stated that the exercise also revealed knowledge and capacity gaps, adding that the report of the exercise necessitated the ongoing restructuring toward the repositioning BCOS.
“BCOS has high staff strength of 513 with 70 percent being permanent staff while 30 percent are contract staff. The contract staff were engaged to bridge the yawning skill gaps of the permanent staff.
“Of the 416 assessed, 209 were junior staff from levels 1 to 7; 149 were senior staff from levels 8 to 13, while there were 58 management staff from levels 14 to 15.
“A summary of the assessment outcome revealed that 197 of the 209 junior staff passed, 35 out of the 149 senior staff passed, while 16 of the 58 management staff passed,’’ he said.
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Alli said that the consultants, based on the competency test and panel interview, found that 70 percent of the senior and management staff did not demonstrate the competence required for their respective grade levels.
He said that the culture of efficiency and productivity had since led to the evaluation of current systems and practices in several ministries, departments and agencies of government.
“The committee reported that persistent, consistent and mostly malevolent interference in the activities of the corporation by the past political leadership of the state had simply turned BCOS into an arena of grandstanding.
“Coupled with lacklustre programming, this resulted in a huge loss of viewership/listenership and consequent loss of advertising revenue,’’ he said.
Mr Yanju Adegbite, the Project Manager of BCOS, said that he was part of the audit and restructuring exercise, adding that the initiative was done in good faith.
“We have ensured that those who are able and willing as well as those unwilling but able are equipped and worked upon.
“Those redeployed were not sacked but redeployed to other MDAs where the best of their capabilities can be effectively and efficiently used,” he said.