Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, on Tuesday, promised the State’s Public Service a better deal in the new administration that will succeed him on May 29 as the Governor-elect, Akinwunmi Ambode, is an experienced public servant who would consolidate on the achievements of the present administration.
The governor, who met with members of the State’s Public Service at the LTV Blue Roof Multi-purpose Hall, Ikeja, thanked them for their massive votes that reinstalled the All Progressive Congress (APC) government in the State and solicited their support for the incoming administration which he promised would do better to take the State higher.
Addressing a capacity gathering of Body of Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Government Parastatals, Agencies and Departments as well as other stakeholders, Governor Fashola said now that the elections were over all must go and give their best and ensure that the State continued to remain the Centre of Excellence.
Noting that the essence of democracy was freedom of choice, the Governor said whichever side any one voted during the elections was no longer important now that the elections were over adding, “The beauty of life is its diversity and diversity must enrich us. We have relations, we have friends and we must respect all of that on all sides of the divide”.
“For me, the most central message is to thank you very much. The other message is that choice must never divide us. So, yesterday, across Lagos, across Nigeria, on Saturday we were PDP and we were APC, but today when the elections are over, we are Lagos. That is the most important thing. It was a contest to serve that is the most important thing. The majority has spoken and this is where the majority is”, he said.
The Governor, who urged all Lagosians to see elections as contest, pointed out that once things were like that they should not constitute a problem adding, “So we must move from yesterday to Lagos today to professionalism now because the task ahead is daunting, both at the State level and at the national level”.
He declared, “As I said last week, those who did not vote as we expected should not be our enemies. As our Governor-elect has said, he is going to be Governor to all; there will be no discrimination and in the few days left of my tenure, no such thing will happen. People must feel confident to continue to carry on the way they used to because this is the place we call home”.
He told his audience, “The essential content of your training is political neutrality. As individuals we expect that you will have choices; we expect that you will vote. Indeed, democracy is about choices. If there is no electricity, as a Civil Servant you are not insulated from the failure of electricity. You buy generators; so we expect that you will have choices”.
Thanking them again for choosing the Governorship Candidate of the APC “to keep the model of what has already been developed”, Governor Fashola urged the Public Servants to be sure not to lose what have been achieved pointing out that if they were lost, they had to be rebuilt.
“I have continued to say this and I will continue to reinforce it because if we lose it we will have to do it again”, the Governor said adding that the State has become the flagship government in Nigeria and requires extra effort and continuous reinvention to remain at that position .
According to him, “Getting to the top is easier than staying at the top. The top is where everybody wants to be and so you will have competition. You will have to decide how close you want that competition to be; because you must continue to reflect, indeed, you must continue to reinvent. We must continue to set new standards for ourselves”.
“We must continue to move the boundaries of excellence. That is what will make it more difficult for the opposition and the competitors to catch up. We must never be content with any achievement, what we achieved today must go behind us and we must set our focus on the next role. That is the way to stay ahead of the curve”, the Governor said.
Governor Fashola urged the Civil Servants to prepare for more work as a reward for the good works they have done already adding, “Now, is more work a problem? No; more work is an honour. The people of Lagos will be asking for more because they know you can do it. The day they form the impression that you can’t do it they will ask you to leave”.
“You won’t ask, for example, somebody who has no training at all to come and fly you in a plane, you will be asking for trouble. So, when people ask for more, see it in a positive light, it is a vote of confidence in your abilities that is why they are asking you for more. It is not a bother; it is a measure of trust”, the Governor told his audience.
He said the whole idea of electing an APC government in the State was to reinforce and to consolidate on what has been achieved so far expressing confidence that the Public Servants would hold their own in the new dispensation.
“I know that 16 years ago few people believed that government could work again. But those who held that belief did not reckon with you, they did not reckon with your undying spirit, they did not reckon with your determination or with your can-do spirit. But today not only have you proven that government can and will work, you have also proven that the Civil Service is really the driver of development in any part of the world”, Governor Fashola said.
Expressing dismay at the attempt by the opposition to divide the State Civil Service on the alter of politics through passing false information on their campaign posters which flooded the Secretariat during the campaigns, Governor Fashola said in his participation in elections since 2003 he had never witnessed such a brazen affront.
The Governor said, “Let me say that I have been involved in four elections, 2003 as Chief of Staff, 2007 as Candidate, 2011 as Candidate and 2015 as Governor. But not in any of those elections have I seen a campaign that tried to divide our Public Service”.
“I have not seen posters in front of the secretariat distorting the realities of our conditions of service, alleging that Minimum Wage was not being paid, alleging and inferring that leave bonuses have been withdrawn; that was dangerous for the Public Service because they did not reflect the realities”, he said.
Describing the Public Servants as “a wonderful team”, Governor Fashola declared, “You have been a wonderful force; as I have said, I have learnt very much and I continue to learn. Even sitting down with the Head of Service for sometime was a learning process. But the most important thing is that our Party finally gave government to the Public Service”.
Also thanking the Public Servants for reposing their confidence in him, Governor-elect, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, pledged that the three arms of government, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary, would work together “as it has been in the last 16 years” adding that while the Civil Servants would remain apolitical, they would be there to tell the executive arm where it was going wrong and proffer right direction”.
Pledging to make the Lagos Public Service the best in Africa, Ambode, who said it was “all about Lagos and what Lagos should be”, added, “We all know where we were 16 years ago; we can all see where we are 16 years after. I want us all to join hands together and consolidate what we have done”.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, thanked God for successful and peaceful elections, expressing joy that in spite of all the doomsday predictions concerning the exercise, God in His infinite mercy, granted Nigeria peaceful and successful elections.
Also present at the occasion were the Deputy Governor, Hon. (Mrs.) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Deputy Governor-elect, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule, Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Mr. Lekan Akodu and his Ministry of Works counterpart, Engr. Paul Omotayo Bamgbose-Martins among other members of the Body of Permanent Secretaries, top Public Servants and other government functionaries.
