Resign now if you can’t cope with me – Fayemi tells political appointees

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has charged his Commissioners, Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries to resign if they feel unable to cope with the level of competence, creativity and integrity of his government.

He spoke at the opening session of a three-day retreat for commissioners, political appointees and permanent secretaries, on Thursday.

No fewer than 110 top government officials, including commissioners, advisers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of agencies are in attendance at the retreat holding at the Royal Park Hotel, Iloko Ijesa, Osun State.

The government officials are, among other things, to reflect on the Fayemi administration of 2010- 2014; devise strategies for service delivery, induct new appointees on the pillars of the administration and to review policies of the administration, budget and programmes.

Governor Fayemi said the retreat, with the theme: “Restoring Ekiti Values: From Promise to Reality,” was designed to get all heads of MDAs to buy into the development agenda of the administration.

He said: “At the end of this retreat, we will not be in any doubt as to what our own mandate is regarding the MDAs we preside over. What we will be in doubt about will be the resources that you will need in order to deliver on the mandate that we have assigned to you. So we will have a resource plan.

“Government is much more constrained than when we were here a couple of years ago in terms of resources and there are even more obligations to attend to not the least the issue of #30,000 minimum wage. That’s why this requires more than just attending meetings, sitting in our offices, but creativity and innovation as to where these resources would come from”, he said.

Fayemi told the 110 participants that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would stand a chance to continue to rule the State beyond 2022 if his administration can successfully deliver the goodies of good governance to the people.

The governor said a comprehensive plan of the deliverables will be handed over to them at the retreat after which they would all sign a performance agreement with him.

Fayemi said the government will expect a certain level of competence and integrity from the appointees.

He however charged, “anyone who feel he is unable to cope with the level of competence, creativity and integrity is free to resign his or her appointment.”

Fayemi who noted that the task ahead of his administration is surmountable, said his administration has plans which are measurable and targeted at improving the lot of Ekiti people.

The governor explained that the retreat was moved to Iloko because the state-owned resort, Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which hosted a similar retreat in 2013 was in a state of disrepair having been abandoned by the previous administration.

In his keynote paper, remowned Public Administration scholar, and World Bank consultant, Prof. Ladipo Adamolekun said he was not surprised that Fayemi was already repositioning the State because the governor is toeing the path of late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

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Prof. Adamolekun said Fayemi had demonstrated that he’s well prepared for governance by coming up with an 8-point agenda in 2010 and a 5- pillars of development in 2018.

“Overall, there were significant elements of Awo’s good governance example during Fayemi’s first administration. Strikingly, this finding was reflected in citizens’ praise for results on the ground (notably roads, education and health services, and care for the elderly) during the 2012 State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) assessment”, he said.

While concluding his paper, Adamolekun made four suggestions that could help the government ensure effective movement from promises to reality as regards good governance and quality service delivery.

These are Annual State Development Performance Reports which should be produced in Yoruba in order to enhance wider circulation among the grassroots, dissemination and implementation of Civil Service Transformation Strategy, insulation of the public service from political participation, and the establishment of an Institute of Governance.

Other speakers at the retreat include a former Governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; a former Sierra Leone Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Richard Konteh; renowned economist, Dr Ayo Teriba; Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, Dr Otive Igbuzor; Prof Bolaji Aluko and Mr Jaiye Opayemi.

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