A WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE HEAD OF SERVICE, MRS `PEJU BABAFEMI, ON THE OCCASION OF THE REVIEW OF THE EKITI STATE PUBLIC SERVICE RULES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND THE HEAD OF SERVICE AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE HELD AT THE CONFERENCE HALL, GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, ON FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021, IN COMMEMORATION OF THE YEAR 2021 AFRICA PUBLIC SERVICE DAY
Protocol
I warmly welcome you as we celebrate the year 2021 Africa Public Service Day (APSD).
The United Nations (UN) Public Service Day is held on June 23 each year. It recognizes that democracy and successful governance revolve around the foundation of a competent Civil Service. The day aims to celebrate the values and virtues of public service to the community. Public Servants are recognized and praised for their efforts on Public Service Day. It rewards the achievements and contributions of Public Service institutions worldwide. This event promotes the role, professionalism and nobility of Public Service. At the same time, Africa Public Service Day is celebrated in Africa to coincide with UN Public Service Day. Many Public Service organizations worldwide celebrate the day by holding various events to recognize the valuable role that Public Servants play in improving society.
Nigeria has been commemorating the day annually since 1991. The aim is to enhance professionalism in the Public Service, discover innovations and motivate Public Servants to promote innovation, reward excellence and strengthen trust in government, among others.
The theme for the year 2021 Africa Public Service Day in our country is “Deploying technology to sustain and enhance service delivery in the face of this challenging COVID-19 pandemic climate“.
llToday in Ekiti State, we are commemorating the day in two ways. First, the review of our Public Service Rules (PSR) with the support of the Ministry of Justice. I thank the Ministry under the leadership of the HonourableAttorney General and Commissioner for Justice for the invaluable input and for supporting us to hold this event. The Ministry of Justice received the report of the panel headed by Mr James Owolabi, Permanent Secretary set up by my predecessor, the former Head of Service, Mr Ayodeji Ajayi and painstakingly did the review. Also, there is no gainsaying that democracy and successful governance depend on a virile Civil Service. During the pandemic, Public Servants served selflessly, ensuring continuity in service delivery to the people. Many officers performed their assigned duties, covered and filled the gap because of the stay-at-home directive for the junior officers. Therefore, today we will honour a few out of the many outstanding officers in the Public Service.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I also wish to inform you that four (4) Accounting Officers and a Director were given the 2020 National Award of Excellence and Productivity by the Federal Ministry of Labourand Productivity. These awardees would equally be recognized today for doing the State proud. It is an obvious fact that governments across the world find themselves under resource pressures and increasing public demands, having to do much more with less. I thank His Excellency, the Governor, for providing purposeful leadership and strategically navigating the State through the challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful for his commitment to placing the well-being of workers at the centre of the administration’s policies.
The review of the PSR (2017) process became necessary to address archaic rules and some gaps. It is expedient to update the PSR and make it fit for 21st Century Public Service. Therefore, the government set up a review panel consisting of top technocrats to review the Rule Book. The Office of the Head of Service forwarded the report to the Ministry of Justice for further consideration. Having examined the observations of the Ministry of Justice and the recommendations of the Review Panel, I consider it necessary to bring together the top echelon of the service for us to have a robust engagement on the PSR. There is a new and emerging world of work globally. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019/2020 brought new approaches into the world of work. Information Communication Technology (ICT) for government business and zoom for virtual meetings, which were uncommon pre-COVID-19 pandemic, has come to stay. It is necessary to integrate these developments into our Rule Books to validate their use.
I wish to congratulate the awardees on this well-deserved recognition through awards of honour. Undoubtedly, this would serve as a morale booster to them and other workers.
Once again, I welcome the Chairman of the occasion, Executive Council members, the Civil Service leadership and everyone.
Thank you, and God bless.
