The Edo State Government has recruited a fresh group of 219 professionals into the public service as part of continuing reforms in the state’s civil and public service, and has tasked the new recruits to be devoted and committed in the performance of their tasks.
According to the Edo State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa Esq., the recently recruited public servants were selected from more than 5,000 applicants following a rigorous and merit-based screening procedure.
At a one-day engagement session at the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy, Okungbowa addressed the workers and challenged the new public servants to work to sustain the state government’s reforms in civil and public service, thereby advancing the state’s development.
The Head of Service urged them to join in the agenda of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration for public service transformation, noting that the state government is repositioning and retooling the service to be more responsive and provide Edo citizens with efficient and quality service.
He praised Governor Obaseki for emphasizing the welfare of workers in the state and assuring a complete reinvention of the workplace by establishing the ideal environment for a genuine and merit-based recruitment procedure.
We would want to express our sincere gratitude to the Governor of Edo State for the government’s unprecedented focus on the expansion and improvement of the public sector, said Okungbowa.
“We want to congratulate Mr. Governor in particular for the inclusive approach he took in the public sector, which sparked the transition that has taken place over the past several years.
In the course of this employment exercise and the others that have been done previously, it is instructive to notice that this administration has not provided us with a single person to employ.
He added, “This makes it very clear that Mr. Governor’s intention with regard to the public service is that the recruitment process should be fair and inclusive so that everyone has an equal opportunity to obtain employment.”
“Unlike in the past, you no longer automatically get employed if you knew the governor or deputy governor. Under the Obaseki-led administration, employment in the service is now an inclusive endeavor that is open to all Edo residents regardless of tribe and connections, among other things.