Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state, on Monday attributed the feat recorded by his administration in all facets in the state to the cooperation, dedication and capability of the civil servants in the state.
Mimiko who stated this during the inauguration of the Public Service Training Institute (PSTI) in Ilara -mokin, in Ifedore local government area of the state, described the state public servant as the heroes of this administration.
The governor said the PSTI was not an accident of project execution but was borne out of the desire of his administration to improve the quality service delivery.
He said, “It came as an offshoot of the philosophy of this administration. When we set out to retool the Public Service of Ondo State, to enable it to meet its crucial mandate of prompt and quality service delivery, it was clear that prime consideration must be given to human resource development and capacity building, generally.
“In the ever-changing world of technology and knowledge, we realised that it had become imperative to train, retrain and equip Public Servants in global best practices in Public Administration.
“We were, therefore, determined that nothing short of a world-class training institute of this nature would suffice. The journey then began in earnest in 2011 and today the project is ready to be inaugurated.”
According to the governor, in order to achieve this, the state government sponsored top echelon of the state public service, to a week-long training and brainstorming session at the Lagos Business School in 2010, “which gave birth to the Public Service policy thrust, coined in a catchphrase – COMESERVE”
He emphasized the commitment of training and retraining of the state civil servants saying, “From the outset, the bureaucracy has been identified and taken as a critical partner in our endeavour to provide responsible and responsive governance to turn around the fortune of our people, for the better.
Mimiko stated that the institute was designed to provide quality training programmes, which will enhance the capacity of the public service of the state to deliver, saying the Institute would also be open to other public and private services in Nigeria and beyond.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the use and gains of this Institute will be maximized to take the Public Service of the State to greater heights. I urge all the public servants who are direct beneficiaries of this gesture to guide it jealously and make the very best use of it,” he said.
Also speaking during the inauguration of the institute, the Head of Service in the state, Toyin Akinkuotu, commended governor Mimiko for his philosophy in developing the public service in the state.
Akinkuotu said the public service of the state has performed better under the present administration in the state in terms of regular promotion, decent working environment, payment of highest minimum wage, and allowing Permanent Secretaries to retire with their official vehicles among other welfare packages.
He said, “this edifice to be commissioned will be an enduring legacy bequeathed to the Public Service of Ondo State and to generation yet unborn by this administration.”
He said the PSTI, apart from training of graduates, is also expected to cater for management training within and outside the state while it would also serve as a research center for the state and other states.
The PSTI has an administrative block of about 300 capacity conference hall, 100-capacity board room, a standard restaurant, 5 standard lecture theatres, 10 syndicate rooms, library facilities and well-furnished administrative offices.
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