20 Nov, 2017 : The Ondo State Head of Service, (HoS), Barr. Toyin Akinkuotu, has charged the 14 newly appointed Permanent Secretaries to shun corrupt tendencies and to offer sound, impartial and technical advice to their Commissioners and Political appointees in their various offices of assignment.According to a press release issued by the Press Officer of the Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Tope Akinjide, Akinkuotu who gave the charge during an interview in his office after the State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, announced the appointment of the Permanent Secretaries at the weekend, described their appointment as a call to service and therefore urged them to continually build their technical capacities
He said the position of Permanent Secretary is a top post in the administrative hierarchy, charging that “your appointment confers on you responsibilities to your fatherland; our citizens are expectant and they should not be disappointed.”
The number one civil servant in Ondo state further said holders of these positions are expected to be highly experienced technocrats, who are able to deliver sound, impartial, high-level quality, and technical advice to their political heads.”
The HoS explained that Permanent Secretaries were entrusted with the public purse and could be called upon anytime to account for their time in office, hence the need for them to be transparent and be accountable.
He therefore charged them to shun corruption and ensure strict compliance with the rules in the management of resources.
The Ondo state Head of Service said the body language of the Governor to this regard is clear to everyone, saying anyone found wanting should not expect any protection.
According to him, it is necessary for the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries to strive to match the pace at which the political class wants to develop the State if they must remain relevant.
Akinkuotu therefore enjoined them to be ICT compliant and to be abreast of latest development in the face of the growing demand for transparency and accountability from public office holders.
The HOS, however, advised the new permanent secretaries against being in competition with their commissioners, saying doing so would be unnecessary and could be suicidal.
He reminded them that the state Government is very serious about its Change ideology and advised them to key in to it.
Consequently, Akinkuotu tasked the newly appointed permanent secretaries to prove themselves as true agents of development as expected of them by the state government to enable them deliver on their mandate.
He called on the Permanent Secretaries to energise and support their agencies, parastatals and commissions in a manner that would enable them deliver government’s priority designed for the benefit of the people, saying, “they are indeed the barometer for measuring the success and impact of government policies and programmes by the public.
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