Sports

Foreign travels: HOS office educates MDAs’ desks officers

Published

4 years ago

November 16, 2022

The office of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), has educated desks officers from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on requirements for approvals of international travels/foreign trainings for public officers.

The office says the workshop organised on Tuesday in Abuja by the Civil Service Inspectorate (CSI) department under Special Duties in office of the HOCSF, was to further update the desk/protocol officers in the core MDAs on the necessary requirements.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Faruk Yabo, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, office of the HOCSF, said the workshop became imperative as most desk officers needed more guidelines in the process for foreign trainings and travels.

“It has been observed through the various requests that are forwarded for approval by the office of the HOCSF that most officers working for the international travels schedules in the various MDAs required some form of information on the requirements for such approval by the office of the HOCSF.

“In that regard, the HOCSF approved that a day workshop should hold to further update the Desk Officers/Protocol Officers in the core MDAs on the necessary requirements.

According to Yabo, the main objective of the workshop is to make officers seeking travel to know all that is expected to accompany their requests within the specified period allowed, to enable the office of HOCSF Travel Desk Officers to process for the approval.

“As you are aware, the travel desk in the civil service inspectorate department, under the Special Duties Office is responsible for scrutinising the requests on international travels and making appropriate recommendation for Head of the Civil Service of the Federation’s approval or otherwise,” he said.

Earlier, Mrs Otelemete Olusanya, Director, CSI, said that the department was established in 2017 with the mandate to facilitate, coordinate and promote public service excellence by ensuring that MDAs are operating within the established rules and regulations.

“The functions of the civil service inspectorate department among others spelt out in the circular include ensuring speedy processing of approvals for foreign trips and travels for core MDAs,” he said.

Olusanya explained that the department had observed overtime that travel desk officers in processing request to office of HOCSF for approvals for international travels and trainings have not been accompanying their requests with appropriate and necessary documents, thereby making timely processing difficult.

“It was for this reason that a workshop was organised last year to intimate travel desk and protocol officers of the procedures and guidelines on requests for international travels and trainings.

“In spite of the workshop held last year, some MDAs are still not adhering to guidelines and circulars which necessitated a repeat of the workshop,” she explained

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

8 hours ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.

Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.

In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.

The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.

At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.

According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.

“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.

Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.

He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.

The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.

He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.

“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.

Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.

The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.

According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.

The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.

It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.

The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.

He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.

“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.

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