Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has urged Heads of Service in states from the South West to come up with innovative ways to improve service delivery.
The governor gave the charge in Ikeja on Wednesday at the seventh Summit of Heads of Service in the South-West Geo-Political zone.
He said that it was through service delivery that the development of the region could be further promoted and the lots of its people improved.
The governor said that an efficient public service was key to strengthening democracy, urging the service heads to contribute meaningfully to strengthening of the country`s democracy.
The Tide source reports that the governor was represented by his deputy, Mrs Adejoke-Orelope-Adefulire.
The theme of the three-day summit is “Deepening Capability: Innovations in Service Delivery.”
“I want to charge you to take proactive steps to improve the public service in our-geo-political zone and groom younger generations so that we can promote the development of our zone.
“As we move to the critical and important period of our democratic transition to new government I charge you to make meaningful contributions to the incoming government as some of you will work with new executives.
“Your long years of experience, will no doubt, be useful to all in the executive and the legislative arms of government,” Fashola said.
The governor said the various interventionist strides recorded by his administration were made possible because the state`s public service was strong and efficient.
He said the accolades being received by his government were due to the co-operation and support of public servants of his administration.
Fashola urged the service heads to use the opportunity of the summit to exchange ideas on how to move the region and the country forward.
Mrs Oluseyi Williams, Lagos Head of Service, said the theme of the summit was chosen to call attention to the commitments, dedication and resourcefulness of public servants to deliver better quality services to citizens.
She said since its inauguration, the summit had continued to bring together a sizeable number of top-ranking technocrats from the six states in the zone to deliberate on issues of common concern for improved civil/public services.
Williams said that the summit had enabled participants to develop enduring bonds that had impacted positively on public services in the six participating states of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo.
The Head of Service thanked Fashola for his consistent support for the summit, saying his support from the inaugural edition had made the yearly summit a continuous success.