Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, swore in 12 new Permanent Secretaries and Auditor-General, Local Government, warning them against bullying their directors and other lower grade workers.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Okowa also advised them not to gag subordinates and hinder the free flow of ideas that would ensure proper coordination and growth of the civil service, urging them to allow ideas from them to flow for good governance of the state.
Noting that the best public officer was the one who received advice from his subordinates and put them to good use, he said “the best permanent secretary, commissioner, and governor is the one who has his ears opened to receive advice, because there is a lot of lessons to be learnt from everybody; so don’t look down on people.
“You have been appointed in accordance with the powers vested in me by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Permanent secretaries play a vital role in the running of the civil service. A lot of them have exited from service in the last few months and most times, the spaces are filled from the local government areas where they exited from.
“People have also been elevated to permanent secretaries based on their capacity and competencies. You are very much aware that there is a lot of work for you to do in these trying times”.
While congratulating them on their appointments, he explained that the permanent secretaries were selected because they had satisfied the required competence, seniority, and needed geographical spread.
Okowa said: “Now that you have been appointed, it’s important that you bring your wealth of experiences to bear in the various ministries you will be posted to.
You must have a clear understanding of what our vision, our agenda, and promises to the people are so as to work with us to achieve our goal.
“Set your goals right and work closely with your commissioners, directors, and other staff in your various ministries. Groom other people to step into your position because you will not be there forever.
“Ensure that you are protective of the government that you run and also ensure that you speak truth to power,” urging the Auditor-General to work closely with the local governments to ensure proper direction to navigate the difficult times local government councils were facing.
The new permanent secretaries are; Dr Jude Winful-Orieke, Mrs Joy Enwa, Mr Blessing Edewor, Mrs Toriseju Ubogu, Mr Anthony Nwokolobia, Mr Bernard Okonta, Ms Ngozi Mogbolu, Dr Israel Ogheneaga, and Mr Henry Onyeukwu.
Others are; Mrs Rhoda Osokpo, Mrs Mabel Ekpenisi, and Dr Funmilayo Omoraka while Mr Bruno Ebitonmo is Auditor-General, Local Government. Dr Jude Winful-Orieke, who spoke on behalf of others, assured that they would support the Stronger Delta agenda of the governor, saying; “we are going to do our best to help achieve the objectives of this administration.”
Source: Vanguard
