Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on Thursday, asked retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries in the South-West region to join hands and support the governments in the respective states through the formulation of ideas that can move their states forward.
Akeredolu who stated this while declaring open the meeting of the South West Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries (SWARHOSPS) in Akure, Ondo State capital, contributions of these retired citizens cannot be overemphasised as they have always been the engine room of every administration.
He attributed the success recorded by his administration to the contributions of the civil servants in the state, saying “their experiences over the years would in no small measure enrich policy and programmes formation and implementation, the public service, effective and efficient service delivery and overall governance to the benefit of the larger society.
“It is therefore, expected that members’ public service experience and the benefit of their closer ties with their respective communities, post-retirement, would indeed provide rare insight and perspective that would be immense benefit to public policy formulation and quality governance.
“I have no doubt, whatsoever, that the South-West chapter of the Association of Retired top Civil servants is indeed capable of helping the governments to sustain their labour of love to the citizenry, particularly considering the contributions of the Ondo State chapter of the Association to the continuous growth and development of Ondo state public service.”
The President of the Association in Ondo State, Dr Laoye Adegoke, urged the members not to relent in contributing to the growth of their states, through their wealth of experience in correcting the poignant decay into which the society has regressed.
He listed some of the areas government in the South-West needed to address to include, security, education, corruption and restructuring.
He said: “All these need to be addressed with speed and skill to assist the governors of various states to evolve policies and actions that will addressed perceived gaps in these identified areas.
The Overseer of the Association in South West, Dr Ebenezer Okebukola, commended the South-West governors for their efforts in tackling the challenges of insecurity and enjoined them to continue to deploy strategies that will ensure security of lives and property in the region.
Source: Nigeria Tribune
