Obaseki Charges New Commissioners on Service Delivery,  Devt

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has charged the newly inaugurated commissioners on service delivery to the people of the state, and to ensure the sustainability of the ongoing reforms and programmes in order to improve the livelihoods of residents and place the state on the path of economic growth and development.

Obaseki gave the charge during a one-day onboarding programme for the newly inaugurated commissioners with the theme: ‘Finishing Strong,’ held at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA) in Benin-city.

According to the governor, “If our value is to come into government to eat and enjoy ourselves then it’s something we should test in the political space if it will fly or not. In the past, it was about sharing the money. You give a few people things, go through the political process, buy votes, rig, and do whatever you wanted to do, but today you can’t do that.

“Even with the amount of work we are doing, you can see the amount of expectations from the people and the society. We can’t continue in the old ways.” 

“We must understand that the new value calls for service.”

He further noted that: “Members of the society, particularly the young people, are very angry, as they don’t understand why the entire country is deprived compared to other places. They are asking themselves why they should remain here. It’s an indictment on leaders and politicians.

“In the last six years, we made significant progress and need to communicate that progress to the people as there is still so much more to do.”

Expressing disappointment with the performance of some permanent secretaries in the past few weeks, the governor said: “Let me tell my permanent secretaries that I am going to be hard on them because I watched with a keen interest in the last four to five weeks when we didn’t have commissioners and read most of your memos. Memos from four or five ministries were particularly bad. About 80 per cent of the memos were just about how to spend money on activities.”

Obaseki continued: “The memos have nothing to do about policy but on how to spend money here and there. We are going to have conversations, and I will show you because I kept records; the good thing is that I read. I see why it will cause problems between you and your commissioners.

“If we must finish strong, we will not have weak permanent secretaries but strong ones, with technology for optimal service delivery to the people.

“I welcome you and assure you that in the next 18 months, we are going to have fun and enjoy ourselves while we work together and continue in our developmental strides. We are going to be explaining to our people what we have done and why we have done them and how the future will look as we must sell hope to the Edo people.”

The governor further charged the commissioners, saying: “If you don’t deliver services to the Edo people, they will not come out to vote again as it’s difficult to rig now. Don’t worry about the politics but about the work, so let the people know our achievements for the past six years.”

On his part, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, represented by the Edo State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa, commended the governor for prioritising the interest and welfare of the Edo people in the past six years.