Akeredolu charges political appointees on excellent service delivery

ONDO State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has reiterated his promise to run a government where capacity building and service delivery would be the watchword.

The governor also charged political appointees and the top echelon of the bureaucracy in the State to work assiduously at translating the vision and mission of the present administration to ensure the provision of a good life for the people of the state.

Akeredolu, who vowed to build a new and functional state, made the remarks yesterday while addressing the participants at the first Ondo State Cabinet Retreat, in Owo. The governor said the people are expectant, and urged the participants, including cabinet members and top civil service workers in the state to work towards making life worth living for the people.

Governor Akeredolu reminded the functionaries of the promises of a better life made to the people of the state during the electioneering campaigns consequent upon evident challenges of hunger, misery, anxiety, pain and frustration in the state.

“In our journeys to every nook and cranny of this state, we promised our people to mobilise the inner strength within us all as a people, to take a decisive leap to optimally harness our overall potential for greatness, prosperity, peace and stability.

“We promised to build a new Ondo State where honesty, prosperity and confidence can, once again, be our identity, he said.

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While appreciating the facilitators and resource persons for their interest at building the capacity of the participants for efficient service delivery, which he said will ultimately develop the state, Akeredolu expressed optimism that the 4retreat will be the catalyst for the workings of government for an all-round development of the Sunshine State.

According to him, “This event, therefore, is a key ingredient in the fulfilment of such promises.

“It provides us with that opportunity to bond together, interrogate our mandate, encounter our tasks and retool ourselves to run the huge engine of government in a seamless, precise, deliberate and productive manner.

“Our ultimate aim should be to use the legitimacy which that popular approbation confers to engender unprecedented opportunities and prosperity for the benefit of our people.

“This retreat, its curriculum and methodology also establish a clear self-definition for all of us here present. It indeed challenges our leadership ability and traits. In point of fact, it clearly separates and draws a line between our personalities as politicians and our identities as formulators and drivers of government’s policies and actions,” the governor asserted.

Akeredolu used the occasion to list the strategic steps so far taken by his administration at entrenching good governance in Ondo State through the Programme for Change, as defined in the Blueprint to Progress document that was based on the Report of Strategic Development and Policy Implementation Committee inaugurated immediately after the Governorship Election of 2016.

He said: “In specific terms, the Blueprint is anchored on five cardinal principles which are popularly known as our Programme for Change. These are:

“Job creation through agriculture, entrepreneurship and industrialisation; massive infrastructural development and maintenance; provision of functional education and technological growth; provision of accessible and qualitative health care and social service (delivery); rural development and community extension services.”

“This Programme for Change is erected on strong pillars which consist of the core sectors of government activities which the Blueprint lays emphasis on. These are: Finance and Management of state resources, Health and Social Services, infrastructure and public utilities, Agriculture and Natural resources, Commerce and Industrial development, Education and Technology, Land, Housing and Environment, Women Affairs and Social Development, Youth and Sports Development, Culture and Tourism as well as Information, Civic orientation and mobilisation among others.

“There is no gainsaying that the mantra of our government, “Think anew, Act anew”, has become the motto of our people. But beyond these words lie the crucible of performance which are ideology, clarity of thoughts, self-conviction, intelligence, dedication, commitment, discipline, endurance, team spirit, fairness, vision and justice.”

Governor Akeredolu, who said the retreat was not politically motivated, said it is expected to come up with policies that will take the state to the next level.

“We here to formulate policies. We are here to take our state to the next level. We are not here for politics”, he said.

Earlier, the facilitator, Dr Goke Adegoroye had taken participants through the reason, objectives and expected outcomes of the retreat.

He said a statement of rededication to excellent service delivery to be coded ‘Owo Declaration’ would be presented at the end of the programme.