Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde sworn-in 48 newly appointed permanent secretaries in the state civil service, emphasizing the importance of effective service delivery and collaboration to ensure sustainable development in the state.
The ceremony took place at the Government House, Ibadan, where the permanent secretaries took their oaths of office and allegiance.
Gove. Makinde described the occasion as historic, highlighting that the appointments were made based on merit and objectivity, and free from any external influences.
He congratulated the new appointees and praised the Head of Service, Mrs. Olubunmi Oni, for her diligence throughout the appointment process.
The governor stated that addressing the vacancies by appointing permanent secretaries historically filled by coordinating directors was a significant step for the administration.
“If you remember, when this administration came in, what we met on ground was a situation where the appointment of permanent secretaries was discretionary. But, we started a new culture when we came in. We had the exam and we were picking from the list.
“Let me use this opportunity to thank the head of service for handling this situation diligently. She deserves all the accolades. You will notice that in the education sector, we took time to appoint inspectors-general and tutors -general.
“Our future is about how we are able to educate our children because they are the future. So, if you have people that are contributing to building our future, how do you encourage them? That is why we opened up that space so as to institutionalise the process whereby teachers and people in the education sector can also be compensated.
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“The same obtains for those in the local government sector. At the local government level, we felt that you have people also toiling day and night because it’s the closest government to the people.
“But every time I look through the records, I see that it is always a token for the local governments. We are trying to redress that, so that we can encourage the people working at that level to be at the peak of their career as well.
“When you work hard, the reward is more work. So, I want to say to you that this is just the beginning. You have to put in your best to justify the appointment.
“Also, you need to know that you swore to an oath to be fair to everybody. So, don’t forget the oath when you are taking decisions and writing memos. Please do your best for our state,” the governor said.
The event was attended by several dignitaries, including the Deputy Governor, Abdulraheem Lawal, PDP National Deputy Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, and other former officials, legislators, and state commissioners.
