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As Ondo State civil servants celebrate Public Service Week, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has commended them for their commitment, innovation and agility.
The governor stated this while addressing the workers on Thursday in Akure, the state capital.
He commended workers for their dedication to duty, describing them as the backbone of governance and development.
The year’s celebration with the theme: “Rejuvenating Public Service for Effective Service Delivery,” saw the civil servants having interface with the retired senior public servants.
Governor Aiyedatiwa stated that the celebration offered the workers opportunity to reflect on the past, reconnect with purpose, and reimagine the future of the state’s public service.
He said: “The machinery of government must be agile, innovative, and responsive. This requires a conscious rejuvenation that breathes new life into our bureaucracy and rekindles the spirit of patriotism that defines the Ondo State Public Service.”
According to him, his administration viewed the public service as a partner in progress rather than subordinates.
He, therefore, pledged continued investment in workers’ welfare, capacity building, and timely promotions.
Reaffirming his administration’s resolve to uphold regular promotions, timely salary payments, and the elevation of deserving officers to the rank of Permanent Secretary, the governor said these measures were essential to morale and productivity.
He said: “The public service must move from routine to impact; beyond bureaucracy to creativity; beyond process to performance.”
Speaking on pensions, Aiyedatiwa said his administration had cleared the 2016 and 2017 gratuity backlogs for state workers and 2014 arrears for local government and primary school teachers.
In his address, the state Head of Service, Mr Bayo Philip, said to remain effective, the public service must move from routine to result, process to performance and from excuses to excellence.
Philip, who appreciated the governor and past head of service present, said public service was fully aware that government’s goals without disciplined and innovative workforce.
“I want to once again express my profound appreciation to the governor for his enduring commitment to the welfare and growth of Ondo State Public Service.
