Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has charged his Commissioners, Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries to be proactive and creative in sourcing for the resources required by the government to deliver on its promises to the people.
Speaking at the opening session of a three -day retreat for commissioners, political appointees and permanent secretaries, Dr Fayemi said the government needs a lot of resources for the plethora of responsibilities on its shoulders; adding that all appointees must think outside the box and come up with creative ways to achieve set goals.
No fewer than 110 top government officials including commissioners, advisers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of agencies are in attendance at the retreat holding at the Royal Park Hotel, Iloko Ijesa, Osun State.
The government officials are, among other things, to reflect on the Fayemi administration of 2010- 2014; devise strategies for service delivery, induct new appointees on the pillars of the administration and to review policies of the administration, budget and programmes.
Governor Fayemi said the retreat, with the theme ; Restoring Ekiti Values: From Promise to Reality, was designed to get all heads of MDAs to buy into the development agenda of the administration.
He said: “At the end of this retreat, we will not be in any doubt as to what our own mandate is regarding the MDAs we preside over. What we will be in doubt about will be the resources that you will need in order to deliver on the mandate that we have assigned to you. So we will have a resource plan.
“Government is much more constrained than when we were here a couple of years ago in terms of resources and there are even more obligations to attend to not the least the issue of #30,000 minimum wage. That’s why this requires more than just attending meetings, sitting in our offices, but creativity and innovation as to where these resources would come from”, he said.
While telling the 110 participants that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would stand a chance to continue to rule the State beyond 2022 if his administration can successfully deliver the goodies of good governance to the people, the governor said a “comprehensive plan of the deliverables” will be handed over to them at the retreat after which they would all sign a performance agreement with him.
Dr Fayemi said the government will expect a certain level of competence and integrity from the appointees. He however charged that anyone of them who feel he is unable to cope with the level of competence, creativity and integrity is free to resign his or her appointment.
Fayemi who noted that the task ahead of his administration is surmountable, said his administration has plans which are measurable and targeted at improving the lot of Ekiti people.
The governor explained that the retreat was moved to Iloko because the state-owned resort, Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which hosted a similar retreat in 2013 was in a state of disrepair having been abandoned by the previous administration.
In his keynote paper, remowned Public Administration scholar, and World Bank consultant, Prof. Ladipo Adamolekun said he was not surprised that Fayemi was already repositioning the State because the governor is toeing the path of late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
