Edo Govt Parleys Workers, Seeks Sustained Collaboration to Realise MEGA Agenda

The Edo State government has called for the support of all stakeholders to sustain ongoing reforms across all sectors of the state.

It reassured that the government was committed to realising the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) Agenda and achieving economic prosperity for Edo people.

Edo State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa, while speaking at a meeting with different workers’ unions in the state, noted that ongoing reforms by Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration would improve the livelihoods of the people, ensure sustainable growth and development and achieve a progressive and prosperous state.

The unions included the state’s chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), among others.

Reassuring the government’s commitment to improving the state’s civil and public service for effective and efficient service delivery, Okungbowa was quoted in a statement to have urged the unions to support the government’s drive at repositioning the service.

The HOS stated that the meeting was aimed at strengthening the unity that exists between the government and the organised labour, adding, “The industrial harmony that we have in the state today is because of the cooperation that exists between the government, organised labour and various unions. This has helped in deepening the gains recorded by the government across all sectors of the state.”

He further noted that the government placed emphasis on critical sectors of the state, including infrastructure, education, manpower development, and physical planning, among others.

Noting that the government had recruited over 300 personnel in the first phase of the ongoing recruitment exercise into the state’s civil and public service, Okungbowa said, “The recruitment was done strictly on merit as the most competent and qualified hands were brought into the service.”

“The government has concluded plans to further employ more hands in the coming year. The government has no plan to retrench workers but has put measures in place for the training and retraining of every Edo worker to enhance effective service delivery,” he added.

“We are moving forward; the world is moving forward and the civil and public service in Edo State cannot afford to lag behind,” he said.

On their part, the TUC Chairman, Marshal Ohrue; JNC Chairman, Oisamaye Godwin and the Secretary, Edo NLC, Barry Imade, were said to have hailed Obaseki for prioritising the reform of the state’s civil and public service.