Governor Seriake Dickson:

Okafor Ofiebor.

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State on Monday inaugurated 22 newly appointed permanent secretaries to fill existing vacancies in the state civil service.

Governor Dickson, who also swore in a new special adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs, Mr Austin Adigio, to replace Chief Rufus Abadi, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, used the opportunity to reconstitute the management boards of some state agencies.

The boards are the Bayelsa State Physical Planning and Development Board, Hospitals Management Board, Scholarships Board and the Post Primary Schools Board.

Speaking during the ceremony at the Banquet Hall of Government House in Yenagoa, Governor Dickson noted that, the new permanent secretaries were appointed strictly on merit and in recognition of their hard work and contributions to the state public service over the years.

While congratulating them on their elevation, he described the selection process that threw them up as fair and competitive, stressing that, the appointments were devoid of political considerations, in line with his administration’s policy of depoliticising the service.

The Governor, who was also full of appreciation for civil servants and some of their past leaders, including Sir Fraser Okuoru and Dr Josephine Igodo, two former Heads o Service, for their innovative contributions, restated his commitment to prioritising workers’ welfare, especially in the area of payment of salaries and pension entitlements, despite the financial crisis rocking the state and the country in general.

Expressing concern over the issue of gratuity, he empathised with the affected retirees and called on them to be a little more patient with the government, noting that, but for the shortfall in revenues, his administration would have reduced the backlog it inherited to a significant level by now.

He however added: “But by next year, we will unfold a process by which we will begin to pay off the long accumulated gratuity payment, because that is a very serious problem that this government inherited. We are very concerned about that and I like to use this opportunity to call on those pensioners and members of the public service to bear with us. You are all aware that it was this government that started the N250million monthly installment payment. But it was when the economy took a dive for the worst that we couldn’t stop. We acknowledge that the problem exists.”

Continuing, he charged the new permanent secretaries to work closely with their respective commissioners to promote professionalism and improved service delivery in the various ministries.
His words: “It is my expectation and prayer that our own civil service will also be reckoned with like the way people respect the public service in some older states. With what we have started in the professionalisation of the public service since we came in, and building on what others have done, I believe that with time, the Bayelsa State public service will be one of the best in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is my wish for you all.”

The new permanent secretaries who passed the promotion examination that was conducted by the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, ASCON, in June 2014