No Unmerited Promotion for Public Servants, Says Ondo Gov

No Unmerited Promotion for Public Servants, Says Ondo Gov

By James Sowole in Akure

The Ondo State Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has said that his administration shall not allow any public servant to enjoy unmerited promotion.

Speaking at the International Event Centre, The Dome, Akure Monday at the inauguration of the new Head of Service (HoS), Mr Oluwadare Aragbaye, the governor said the appointment of the HoS was purely based on merit, adding that the retirement of nine permanent secretaries was done to inject fresh blood into the system and in line with the rules.

“The recent retirement of some top-notch civil servants was based on the need to inject fresh blood into the system.

“You will agree with me that if an officer has put in not less than nine years into the system at the top-most level of his career and has to retire, as supported by extant rules, it will thus not be right to input some mundane reasons for government’s action,” Akeredolu stated.

While saying that the government would continue to give priority to the welfare of workers, the governor admonished those who treat public service with levity to turn a new leaf.

“The new Head of Service is enjoined to put in place measures which will ensure that only those who work hard earn wages.

“I expect to see remarkable shift in the organisation of departments and parastatals for optimum service delivery to the people.

“It should not be challenging for the government to know those in its employ. We should be able to assess the inputs of our workers. We must move away, decidedly, from a practice which encourages indolence in public service.

“I must also hasten to charge the new Head of Service to note that the reward for hard work is more work,” the governor said.

However, the governor said whatever modest success ascribed to his administration was also attributable to the loyalty, discipline and commitment to the pristine practices of excellence and dedication by some patriotic citizens of the state.

“The men and women, with whom I have been privileged to serve, have been wonderful. All the government can do to show gratitude is to protect the interest of every diligent person.

“We vowed that nobody would be persecuted under our watch. We have kept our promise.
We declared publicly that our administration would make the welfare of the people the directive policy of the state.

“We also promised that we would strive not to owe workers’ salaries. We were convinced that no worker would suffer injustice under our watch.

“We have kept our promises till date. While having been paying salaries of Ondo State public servants since we assumed office in February 2017, we have also paid six out of arrears of seven months owed by the previous administration.

“We shall be offsetting the remaining one month soon. It is our firm belief that workers must earn their wages. We shall also demand service from those whose welfare attracts priority from the state. We have always approved the promotion of all deserving public servants since we mounted the saddle. The exercise has been going on seamlessly,” he added.

The governor noted that positive reactions that greeted the appointment of Aragbaye was a testimony that the government action was a right one.

He therefore advised the new HoS not to betray the confidence reposed in him as the head of bureaucracy of the state.

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