Akwa Ibom government has approved a 14-day paternity leave for male civil servants in the state, the head of civil service, Effiong Essien, said in Uyo, on Monday.
Essien said the paternity leave was part of the state government’s welfare package, adding that the usual annual leave is now 30 working days, not calendar days, as previously calculated.
The head of civil service stated this at Community Secondary School, Aka Offot, Uyo, where he declared open a pre-examination seminar organised for candidates writing the 2021 administrative and other professional officers examination (APOCE).
He explained that these were some of the amendments contained in the recently approved 2022 edition of the reviewed and gazetted public service rules which came into force on December 1, 2022 following the repeal of the 2010 edition of the rules.
Read also: AIB-N begins transition to multimodal accident investigation body
He announced the availability of the new public service rules in his office and encouraged workers to get copies for their guidance on the operations and demands of the service.
On the APOCE, Essien, again, stressed that it was a qualifying examination that enables the confirmation of appointment of administrative officers, as well as an indispensable requirement for further progression in the service for other professionals.
He said the seminar was a part of the training and retraining programmes to strengthen the state civil service. He added that apart from preparing staff for success in the examination, it was a unique opportunity for staff to acquire the requisite skills, knowledge and attitude for effective and efficient service delivery.
Earlier, the permanent secretary, Department of Establishments, Esther Inyang, thanked Governor Udom Emmanuel, for approving the conduct of the examination.
