Obaseki appoints SSG, says he’ll be a listening governor

Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, on Monday announced the appointment of Osarodion Ogie as secretary to the state government.

He also appointed Taiwo Akerele as chief of staff, and John Mayaki as interim chief press secretary.

Before making the announcement, Obaseki met with the state head of service and permanent secretaries, promising to be a listening governor.

He directed the permanent secretaries to take full charge of the affairs of their ministries, pending appointment of commissioners.

The governor solicited for maximum cooperation from the civil service to enable him discharge his mandate effectively.

He expressed confidence in the civil service, and pledged that his administration would build a stronger, vibrant, trusted, competent and reliable workforce to meet the challenges ahead.

“I have no doubt about the capacity of the civil service, but we will also need to clear the clog on the wheel of progress,” he said.

He said his administration would re-evaluate the recruitment process into the service to ensure merit and objectivity were not compromised.

He promised to study the report of his transition committee alongside the one submitted by the permanent secretaries, before setting up a policy group to outline specific programmes for the administration.

Obaseki noted that the state would not afford a government unable to create value across board.

He said the administration would be fair to all, and would sanction any civil servant found wanting.

Responding, Gladys Idahor, head of service, assured the governor that civil servants in the state were ready for the task ahead and pledged their support and loyalty.