Godwin Obaseki, who took over the mantle of leadership as governor of Edo state from former governor Adams Oshiomhole on Saturday, has directed the permanent secretaries in the state to take full charge of the affairs of their ministries, pending the appointment of commissioners.
This was even as announced the appointment of Osarodion Ogie as the Secretary to the State Government and Taiwo Akerele as Chief of Staff as well as John Mayaki as interim Chief Press Secretary.
Obaseki who had earlier met with the state Head of Service and Permanent Secretaries today, Monday, solicited for maximum cooperation from the civil service to enable him discharge his mandate effectively.
He expressed confidence in the civil service and pledged that his administration would build a stronger, vibrant, trusted, competent and reliable workforce to meet the challenges ahead.
“I have no doubt about the capacity of the civil service, but we will also need to clear the clog on the wheel of progress.”
The governor said that the administration would re-evaluate the recruitment process into the service to ensure that merit and objectivity were not compromised.
He promised to study the report of his transition committee alongside the one submitted by the permanent secretaries, before setting up a policy group to outline specific programmes for the administration.
Obaseki said that the state would not afford a government that would not be able to create value across board, assuring the people of Edo State that he would be a listening governor.
The governor assured them that the administration would be fair to all and would sanction any civil servant found wanting.
The Head of Service, Gladys Idahor, assured governor Obaseki that civil servants in the state are ready for the task ahead and pledged their support and loyalty. [myad]
