Ambode

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has said that the era of unnecessary bureaucracy hampering the delivery of public services was no longer acceptable, saying that ensuring quality service to the people must be the paramount consideration of civil servants at all times.

The Governor who spoke at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium at the Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Thursday during the 2016 Public Service Day celebration, said his administration was working round the clock to ensure that the State Public Service rose up to the growing challenge of prompt and qualitative service delivery to Lagosians.

He said the theme for this year’s celebration ‘Inclusiveness and Public Service Delivery’ was apt as it reflected some of the goals of his administration to deliver first class service to all Lagosians and to run a government of inclusion that would leave nobody behind.

The governor, however, said that for these to be achieved, there must be continuous overhaul of government machinery for efficient service delivery.

“This informed our decision to introduce some reforms on assumption of office. The result of these efforts is that our government has become more responsive to the yearnings of our people. We have brought openness and inclusiveness to governance to increase involvement, enhance wider citizen participation and thereby contribute to the emergence of useful innovations. The impact of social media on good governance is instructive here.

“It is no longer acceptable for the provision of public services to be marred by bureaucracy or red-tape. At every point in the execution of a public servant’s duties, the paramount consideration must be the need of the general public to enjoy better services. I therefore urge you to rededicate yourselves to the goal of delivering quality service in an honest, effective and transparent manner always.

“I must say that we are yet to witness a full-cycle of change in attitude of our civil service. I am hopeful that the message of improved quality service delivery will permeate the rank and file of the entire service,” he said.

The governor, a former civil servant, also commended the workers for their perseverance, support and abiding faith in the policies and programmes of his administration, saying that their efforts had contributed in no small measure to the achievements of his administration so far.

He assured that his administration would continue to build incorruptible institutions and systems in the coming years that will respond to the needs of Lagosians, adding that his wish was to see all government ministries and agencies become veritable tools of growth and development.

State Head of Service, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola said the occasion, which was the grand finale of the Public Service Week was an event entrenched in the African Union calendar and coincides with the United Nations Public Service Day set aside to celebrate the values of public service to communities.

She said the event was also to reward excellence in the public sector as well as motivate public servants to promote innovation and enhance professionalism in the public service.

Ademola thanked Ambode for his commitment to the general welfare and well being of all public servants in the state, saying that it has motivated the staff force to give their best in service to Lagosians.

The event featured award presentation to 59 outstanding public servants who had put in several years of meritorious service to the State.