Ondo govt introduces innovation challenge to involve civil servants in policy formulation

Ondo State government said it has instituted a mechanism to involve civil servants to initiate implementable ideas and innovations that can bring about developments to the state, rather than being the instrument through which government implements and administer its policies.

The state Head of Service, Mr. Kayode Ogundele who stated this during the maiden Civil Service Innovation Challenge for workers in Ondo State, said the policy was conceived with the objectives of improving productivity as well as attracting, nurturing, and making the best of the civil servants in the state.

Ogundele said the challenge was designed by the state government to involve civil servants in policy formulation and implementation process of governance.

He said conventionally, civil servants do not take part in policy formulation but they clearly influence its outcome through their advice and effectiveness.

He said the state government has begun the move to stop hiring consultants for effective service delivery and improved revenue generation through the introduction of the Civil Service Innovation Challenge.

The HoS said this will bring out creativity and innovations among public servants as well as see how civil servants, through their creativity, add value to the process of governance.

Also Speaking, the Director-General of the Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit (PPIMU), Babajide Akeredolu, said the Innovations Challenge was an opportunity for people to come up with ideas to solve some of the problems confronting the state and the civil service.

Akeredolu said it was hard for the administration to bring consultants from outside to fix what they (consultants) do not understand.

He said, “It is people from inside that should be able to fix it. We are running an open and transparent Government. You give us an idea and when we want to implement it we carry you along. You will be part of the implementation.

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“When we put this together. We were driven by a statement by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that every idea already exists in the civil service.

“We look at that statement and we decided to unearth that idea that has been buried for whatever reasons. We believe this is an opportunity for the best and brightest to come out with ideas on how to fix Nigeria.”

Secretary to the State Government, Princess Catherine Oladunni Odu, explained that a total of 28 entries were received and were pruned down to five out of which the best three would be selected for reward.

Odu stated that it was a way of getting the ingenuity of the civil servants so that they can be more productive and bring new innovations to the state.

She said the challenge is designed to enhance the involvement of civil servants in the policy formulation and implementation process of governance, in line with Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s REDEEMED agenda.

At the end of the presentations, Dr. Adeola Richard Alonge, emerged winner following his presentation on Agricultural Land Information System, while Mr. Olaseeni Olubunmi Foluso came second position on his proposal on clean environment using Biogas while Oladipo Joyslyin Omobola took the third position with her ‘One community, one commodity’ presentation.