Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday, says his administration would continue to modernise the civil service in the state, by providing tools required to run an efficient system in the state.
The governor gave the assurance at the 2021 productivity and merit award ceremony, held at the Emeritus Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, UCH, Ibadan, where he also appreciated civil servants for their support and commitment to the service, and by extension, the state.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as explaining that his administration will continue to give priority to the welfare of the workers in order to ensure optimum service delivery in the state.
He stated that the selection of awardees for the 2021 productivity awards was based on merit.
He explained that under his leadership, the government will continue to insist on equity and merit as the guiding principles propelling his administration.
He said: “First, I would like to thank the Merit Award Organising Committee for a job well-done, in the sense that I signed all the award letters in the early hours of this morning.While signing, I was able to recognize about three names who have worked closely with me. So, for the rest of the awardees, it was a decision taken without any influence from anybody.
“I am thanking them for validating that this is our Oyo State. It is the state where you do not need to lobby for whatever belongs to you.So, I want to, on behalf of all of us, say thank you. And for my colleagues, the reward for hard work is more work. We will keep pushing you to even do more.
“I listened to some of the speakers’ goodwill messages. They were showing appreciation for prompt salary payment, timely promotions and all of that. Well, I wish I could do that with my money but the answer is no. It is our commonwealth, because the money belongs to all of us.So, we have to utilise it for the benefit of the majority of our people. I will always say that we are in this together, and we have to do what is needed for the benefit of all of us.
The governor warned the people of the state to be wary of individuals, who out of their desperation to take over power, forget that no matter what happens, the state would outlast everyone and feed the public with falsehood and fake news.
Earlier , the Head of Service, Mrs. Amidat Agboola, acknowledged that Makinde was passionate about workers’ welfare, thus making him have a fantastic and harmonious relationship with civil servants and pensioners in the state.
She said since the inception of the administration, no worker has been retrenched or laid off since 2019, adding that no governor has ever been magnanimous to the Civil/Public Servants like Governor Makinde in the history of Oyo State.
She admonished the awardees to remain good ambassadors of the state’s civil/public service, expressing optimism that the awards would motivate them to prepare for greater and tougher challenges in their respective careers.
