Oshiomhole swears-in 18 Perm-Secs

(Nigeria) Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has sworn in the former Chief Press Secretary to Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, Mr Dan Aigbavbua and 17 others as Permanent Secretaries in the state Civil Service.

He did not  swear-in two others who arrived late for the inauguration.

The late-comers, both of them women, arrived the venue while the relevant oaths were already being administered on their colleagues. One is a Director in the Ministry of Justice while the other is in the Ministry of Education.

The Governor said he wondered what time the two Directors get to work if they could arrive late for their own swearing-in, saying “your punishment is that you will return to your offices as Directors and be sworn-in with the next batch of Perm-Secs.”

To those sworn-in, Oshiomhole said their appointment was based on merit.

He, said “Allow me to congratulate each and every one of you who has just been sworn in as Permanent Secretaries and who will soon be posted to various ministries. I apologise for the delay in the appointment of this new set of Permanent Secretaries. We have been working on this list for the past six months and the whole idea is to ensure that only those who deserve to be appointed are appointed.

“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 you approach your work. You choose to work hard. That hard work will be appreciated and rewarded. You choose not to work hard, then you remain static where you are.

“The second point we are trying to make is that when workers confront government, that confrontation whether they are right or wrong should be seen as something that is designed to remind government that these people are playing a very important role in the development of our country and remind us that we are truly in a civil rule and that government can be interrogated on the decisions that they make, even when the decisions are wrong. That is the logic of the promise of democracy.

“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.

“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.”

Oshiomhole, said “I also want to say that I am worried by the quality of advice from our civil servants. I read some memos signed by commissioners and these Memos are prepared by the Permanent Secretaries and Directors and their quality is low. So I have advised the commissioners to ensure that their Permanent Secretaries sign a copy of their Memos. 

“Edo People expects us to use our collective wealth in a way that will deliver prosperity to our people. We cannot afford to take anything for granted. Ensure that you guide your Commissioners very well. Vertically and horizontally, pay attention to what is happening in your ministries. You must put the interest of Edo people first,” he said. 

Responding on behalf of others, Dr. Ofure Eboremen thanked the governor for the appointment and pledged the loyalty of the new permanent Secretaries to his administration.