Oyo State Governor, ’Seyi Makinde, on Monday, urged the civil/public servants in the state to be committed to their work as he admonished them to sustain ethics of the service.

The governor, who was speaking through the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, said that the Seyi Makinde-Led administration has trained over 9,000 civil/public servants to enhance service delivery.

A statement by the Chief Press to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted Makinde as saying that his administration will continue to train and retrain the state’s workforce in order to enhance its performance in order to engender high productivity.

The statement indicated that Makinde gave the charge while speaking at the training workshop organised by the ministry of establishments and training for civil/public servants, held at the Ibadan Business School, old Bodija, Ibadan.

He said: “When I took over the mantle of leadership on May 29th 2019, I assured the good people of Oyo State that I will bring governance to the doorstep of all and sundry. One of the ways in achieving this is through the State Civil Service, which is in charge of the implementation of policies for the State Government.

“To this end, it is my conviction to put in place competent, qualitative, dedicated, committed, responsible and incorruptible Civil Service that will be able to stand the test of time.

“Undoubtedly, the Civil Service is the Engine room of any administration hence, the need to train and retrain the state workforce in order to enhance their performance towards high productivity of the service.

“The Ministry of Establishments and Training, being the training arm for both junior and senior staff, usually forward to my office a training work plan, on yearly basis which is promptly approved by me to serve as training manual for each year. Similar training approvals were given to Office of the Head of Service, Local Government Service Commission, Teaching Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board, to conduct trainings relevant to their offices.

“In effect, over 9,000 Public/Civil Servants have been trained to date in various fields since the inception of this administration in May, 2019. Today again, I am sure, is another milestone in the training packages of the Ministry of Establishments and Training. As I was told, the training modules at this occasion cover Effective Time Management, Emotional Intelligence and Effective Customer Service in the Public Sector.

“The three thematic areas will go a long way to impact in all our participants the best practices of the Public/Civil Service in line with a contemporary world. You should therefore make the best use of it as we cannot continue to do things the same way and expect different results. Hence, the reason this government places high premium on training and retraining of its staff.

“There is no doubt that Oyo State Civil/Public Service is built around competencies. This goes to show that the State can boast of having the best brain in all fields of endeavour be it Engineering, Law, Administration, Accounting, Medical etc. With all these human resources, training the officers cannot be a time and resource waste, but a way of adding quality value to the service.

“I wish you all the very best in your efforts to continue to play the role of significant team members in the continuing efforts to make Oyo State great. We are assured that the time-tested spirit of resilience, commitment to excellence and service attributes for which the public service in Oyo State was known in the past will be re-invigorated as to retrain our hard-earned relevance and respect among the services in the federation.

“More importantly, this administration will continue to raise the bar of governance to make life much more abundant not only for its workers but also the entire citizenry of the State. Accordingly, we shall ensure regular payment of staff salaries and allowances, to those still in active service and equally not shirk our responsibility in the payment of all the arrears of gratuities inherited from the past administration.

“Also, we shall ensure the continuous payment of monthly pension to the retired workers the same time those in active service receive their salaries. It is a commitment we have pledged to fulfil. By God’s grace we shall not fail.

“In reciprocating this gesture from government, therefore, I enjoin you all to be committed to your work, sustain the ethics of the State Public/Civil Service and put in your best towards ensuring the development and growth of our dear State.”

Earlier, Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Alhaji Ayansiju Lawal, said that a total number of 195 staff were drawn from all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to train them on Effective Time Management, Emotional Intelligence and Effective Customer Service in the Public/Civil Sector.

“In today’s programme for instance, we have carefully packaged three modules of training. They are – Effective Time Management, Emotional Intelligence and Effective Customer Service in the Public/Civil Sector. I have implicit confidence that at the end of the training, these three topical areas, will go a long way to further shappen the minds of all our affected workers to be much more time conscious, have emotional stability to face workload and equally imbibe the right attitude for high productivity and cordial relationship with the people they are supposed to serve.”

“Your Excellency, this is our journey so far, and this smooth journey will not have been possible if not for your kind support and flair for staff welfare. “Your Excellency, you are indeed a marvellous leader and we shall remain grateful to you. May God continue to strengthen you in energy, wisdom and sound health.”