The sole test of a civil servant’s
conduct should be his ability to perform the tasks which are entrusted to him.
Anything else is entirely immaterial. Therefore, the fundamental virtues of a
civil servant are punctuality, unquestionable courtesy, pleasant disposition,
modesty and willingness to serve the public at all times. It must be said of
him, the civil servant: he is so efficient and hard-working and yet so humble.
These virtues are naturally expected of them to uphold in the performance of
their duties.
The Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa , with
this understanding and knowledge of the role of the civil service as an
instrument for putting into effect the socio-economic programmes of the
government as well as the machinery through which his government and the
party in power can effectively implement his SMART Agenda, didn’t
hesitate as he inaugurated Mr. Reginald Ebitimi Bayoko, as the Head of Delta
State Civil Service on June 13, 2016 to the admiration of Deltans.
With his mindset for success, Governor Okowa didn’t expect
anything less from the number one civil servant in the state as he
admonished Bayoko to live up to expectation by causing positive transformation
in the service in the performance of his duty with the highest integrity that
would bring true satisfaction to the people.
Having set the ball rolling as governor, Bayoko, in his post
-inauguration statement, said “we need an adjustment to our attitude; we have
to adopt a new positive mindset, coupled with a shift in our thinking system.
And this involves internalising the core values of civil service and with
special focus on productivity, quality innovativeness, discipline so as to
create a forward-looking flexible market -driven public service motivated to
meet the challenges of rapid development. I am an optimist, who is full of hope
about the future of the service, despite apprehension and skepticisms
“At this point, I will like to outline the measures I intend to
explore under the direction of His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and in
line with the goal of revamping the service. The areas I intend to tackle
include offering some useful suggestions on the recruitment and appointment
process, capacity-building, performance management, promotion, including
conduct, integrity and discipline. I have the responsibility to dedicate myself
to maintaining the political neutrality of our service, safeguarding our
legitimate interest and ensuring that we have a clean, efficient, committed and
professional service that gives full and loyal support to the government in its
policy execution and provide quality services to the citizenry. I will dedicate
all my energy towards uplifting the service and together, we should share in
this collective resolve.”
Bayoko’s response depicts great leadership qualities,
particularly with regard to accepting responsibility for what may come out of
the office entrusted into his care because of his great positive antecedents
over the years when he became a civil servant in the defunct Bendel state.
In order to retrain civil servants for the task ahead, a seven –
weekend management training course was organized for the senior management
staff in the Delta State Civil Service by the Office of the Head of
Service in collaboration with the Administrative staff College of Nigeria
(ASCON) at Staff Training Centre, Asaba, Delta State.
In his address at the event, Bayoko was appreciative of the
office of the Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, for the unflinching support for
the training in general and the approval as expressed by the immediate approval
granted for the edition. He said participants were expected to learn some key
leadership skills and techniques in line with global best practices, with
particular emphasis on policy formation and implementation in the public
service.
“It is, therefore, on this basis that it is mandatory for all
senior management staff in the state civil service to not just undergo the
programme but pass the written examination that follows before they can be
promoted beyond salary grade level 14,” he said.
“As we look ahead, we, no doubt, need a strong public service
leadership that will boldly lead the service to seize new opportunities to
surmount challenges that crop up on a daily basis. On this occasion, therefore,
let me just briefly provide a description of what may be required to develop
superior leadership for which this course has been designed for you as a key
chain in the process.”
Bayoko said that it was imperative that the civil service builds
a diverse leadership corps with varied skills to meet evolving challenges. The
civil service needs to forge deeper and more extensive partnership with all
stakeholders. The civil servants need to envision members’ future together to
build a better civil service and indeed the society. In all these areas, you as
participants of the programme, have a key role to play. He told them that they
represent key pillars of the leadership corps, providing pipelines by virtue of
their position and participation in the programme.
“The drive towards “prosperity for all Deltans “which is the
overreaching goal of the present administration as anchored by the SMART
Agenda, places a huge responsibility on your shoulders as senior management
staff of the state civil service, and you cannot afford to fail,” Bayoko said.
Bayoko’s remarks at the dialogue with the Head of
Service held on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at the Unity Hall, Government House,
Asaba, with the theme, Dwindling Oil Revenue: Strategic Option For
Increased Internally Generated Revenue in Delta State, was quite
inspiring. He said improving the state’s economic performance depended in
part on harnessing the vast resources and facilities available in the state, while
the civil service can turn their minds to proffer useful suggestions on
harnessing other resources available in the state outside crude oil and natural
gas such as the several solid minerals, agriculture and forest resources,
aquatic resources and the huge infrastructural potentials of the ports and
other industrial complexes.
According to him, given the reality of recession, there was the
need for a compelling vision of the future which shifts focus to a
post-recession view of government and engages, as much as it challenges them,
the public sector workforce, to do better with less.
His words: “They have to look at a future where they meet rising
citizen expectations and deliver outcomes by doing things differently in a
positive way. In that direction, the citizens expect from them some form of
personalized customer service as well as a willingness to go the extra mile.
That can be achieved in the face of constrained funding if they refocus their
minds and look in the right direction.
“The recession reawakens us to the urgent reality for
reorientation in our attitude and consciousness as civil/public servants
towards selflessness and development. It will not be far-fetched to assert that
the well-being of the citizenry is intertwined with the ability of the system
to deliver. It is therefore our desire to galvanize the workforce in the state
to stand behind the present administration. I urged you all to brace up to the
challenge.”
Bayoko’s various presentations at different fora, have always
brought to fore the general key points of the civil service, which include
obedience to constituted authority, dedication to duty, adherence to rules and
regulations, willingness to learn and be mentored, punctuality and regularity
at duty post (which today has given birth to clock in and clock out scheme
designed to checkmate staff lateness and absenteeism in workplace as well
as reveal ghost workers), team spirit, confidentiality, eschew in financial
embarrassment, discipline and reliability, flexibility, self-motivation and
time and attendance. These are the components that served as oaths of office
for every civil/public servant.
The multi-million naira question is; Has Bayoko, in his two
years in office as HOS, made positive impact to the benefit of the government and
Delta state citizens? The answer, in all honesty, is a resounding yes.
The evidence! They are as many as there are credible proofs of a good
performance by the HOS.
Just one example is the strategy of clock-in- clock-out now in
place. Credible evidence indicates that the mechanism of Clock- in and
Clock-out, as has been revealed, has led to the discovery of a
sizeable number of ghost workers and has also saved the state N2billion wage
bill monthly. The construction and completion of HOS building and the on-going
construction of the new secretariat complex along Maryam Babangida road is
another of his major achievements.
Besides, the issues of being punctual, regular at duty post,
training of workers, time and attendance have improved greatly. However, like
all other sectors, there is room for improvement to consolidate the already
impressive performance of Bayoko. For example, something should be done in the
area of school runs and turning offices to business centres. For the business
centres, shops should be built within the secretariat premises so that civil
servants can take permission to walk up to those shops to get what they
want and return to their duty posts within minutes. And also, let a break hour
strategy be introduced to reduce roaming around during working hours.
Bayoko dedicated all achievements to the Delta State Governor,
His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, according to him, the glory goes to him
because, the governor provided the enabling platform for him to achieve that
much within two years. He said “I am eternally grateful to the governor for the
encouragement and confidence reposed on him.”
BY HARRISON AKAMULE, published in www.emeraldng.com
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