The Edo State Governor,
Adams Oshiomhole, last Thursday swore in 18 new Permanent Secretaries into the state civil service. The Governor, however, did not swear-in two out of the 20 earlier appointed, for arriving late for the inauguration.
The two female appointees from the Ministries of Justice and Education were said to have arrived the venue when the relevant oaths were already being administered on their colleagues.
The Governor, who wondered what time the two directors got to work daily, if they could arrive late for their own swearing-in, said, “Your punishment is that you will return to your offices as directors and be sworn-in with the next batch of permanent secretaries”.
Oshiomhole, while congratulating the new permanent secretaries, disclosed that his administration had been working on this list for the past six months to ensure transparency and merit.
He said, “One of the problems of public service in Nigeria is that some people believe that it is not what you know but who you know that will make you make progress and determine what you get. In Edo State, I have tried my best to reverse this perception. People must define how far they want to go by how they approach their work.
“Hard work will be appreciated and rewarded. You choose not to work hard, then you remain static. We have ensured that as much as possible, we have followed seniority. For example, all those that have risen to level 17, having risen to that level on the basis of evaluation by their supervisors, then you are qualified to be appointed”.
He decried that quality of advice given by some civil servants and urged them to discharge their duties efficiently.
Oshiomhole said, “I want to appeal to our civil servants to realise that no matter the ideas that the government may have, without an efficient and effective civil service, government policies may suffer poor implementation. You are the custodian of norms and traditions of the civil service. Your responsibility is to proffer solution and help us to understand the consequences of any of our policies”.
Responding on behalf of others, one of the new secretaries, Dr. Ofure Eboremen, while appreciating the governor for the appointment, pledged the loyalty of the new permanent secretaries to the state government and promised to perform their responsibility with fairness.