By Chioma Iruke
Head of the Civil Service of Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan has urged newly appointed Permanent Secretaries to make Hard-Work, Excellence, Discipline and Meritocracy their watch-word in discharging their duties.
Dr. Yemi-Esan gave the charge while declaring open a two-day induction workshop organised for the new Permanent Secretaries on Thursday in Abuja.
According to a statement by the Press Director, AbdulGaniyu Aminu, she emphasised that the level of transparency and scrutiny adopted in their selection process should give an insight to the kind of culture envisaged for the service,
As drivers of the engine room of government, she urged them to bring new ideas into the administrative processes for them to make remarkable impact, adding that as technical personnel, the success or failure of their ministries depend solely on their value addition.
’’I implore you to leverage on the pool of knowledge and experiences of your colleague Permanent Secretaries so as to take a well-informed position’’ she stated.
She admonished them to take ownership of all reform programmes of the Federal Government, including the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP 2017-2020) and the succession plan (2021-2025).
Dr. Yemi-Esan also advised them not to betray the public trust, by not seeing their new positions as an opportunity to amass wealth, just as she urged them to bring ingenuity, fiscal discipline, prudence and accountability to bear in administering public funds and resources.
“You must justify the confidence the Executive and other arms of Government have in the Federal Civil Service by living above board in carrying out the functions of the Office,” She added.
She also encouraged them to make a difference in their Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by applying diplomacy and ensuring harmonious working relationship in their dealings with Minsters, Directors, Labour Unions and the general public.
She finally enjoined them to align with the policies and ideological direction of Government, so as to deepen and fast-tract the gains of democracy.