Don’t allow civil service to fail, Okowa urges permanent secretaries

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has urged Permanent Secretaries to ensure that the civil service does not fail as such would portend crises to the nation.

He made the call on Thursday in Asaba when he met with the state chapter of College of Permanent Secretaries.

“Government is all about service to our people and that the political class cannot deliver that service without a very strong input from the College of Permanent Secretaries and the entire bureaucracy.

”We must always stay in the consciousness of the fact that it is a partnership; a success story for us all.

“As a government, we realise the importance of the position that Permanent Secretaries occupy; that position is not just to display our egos but a position that we are able to impact the lives of the people.

”It is a position in which we must hold in high esteem because any failure in that position does not just destroy the service for the time that you will serve as permanent secretaries, but it will also destroy the future of the civil service.

“If we are going to find the right persons knowledgeable enough with the right commitment to be Permanent Secretaries in the future, then the current persons who sit as Permanent Secretaries or those in equivalent ranks must be ready to guide those working under them.

”It is my prayer that the service will not at any point in time lack the right minds with the commitment to be Permanent Secretaries.

“So, there is a lot of work to be done, let them realise that they stand a chance to make a mark in the service by building a solid foundation; direct them right and I hope that you will do that because being role models and mentors to the younger ones may be time consuming, but in time you will see that it was worth it.”

He called for immediate implementation of the 2020 budget which has been signed into law, and urged the ministries to map out quarterly programmes to ensure 100 per cent budget performance.

The Head of Service in Delta, Mr Reginald Bayoko, who led the Permanent Secretaries on the visit, observed that the governor has done a lot for the people.

Bayoko said that the visit was the traditional New Year visit to wish the governor, his family and members of the State Executive Council a prosperous year.