The Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has promised the civil servants in the state of prompt payment of salaries in the next three or four months.
Ajimobi who gave this assurance on Tuesday at an inter-faith prayer session to mark the commencement of the year 2018 in the state, attributed irregular payment of salaries to the scarcity of financial resources and dwindling federal allocation of the year 2017.
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He said the commitment of the state government to clearing backlog of salaries was evidenced in the reduction of the salary deficit from seven months at the start of 2017 to currently owing to the only salary for December 2017.
“I assure you that in the next three or four months, we won’t owe our workers any salary. We will devise all means to ensure that we pay regularly. †Ajimobi said.
Addressing civil servants who converged on State Secretariat for the event, Ajimobi harped on the need for resourcefulness and professionalism in the state’s civil service.
He ruled out mass promotion of workers but stated that promotion will be based on efficient performance and service delivery.
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“Promotion must be based on performance and service delivery. No more mass promotion,†Ajimobi said.
In asserting the commitment to the good health of civil servants, Ajimobi said that effective January 2018, the state health insurance scheme had become compulsory for all public and civil servants in the state.
The event saw Ajimobi award the sum of N100,000 each to several civil servants across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies identified as most efficient workers.
Meanwhile, Ajimobi has lauded the outgoing state’s Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade as quintessential, a thoroughbred professional and epitome of a true civil servant in Oyo state.
In his valedictory address, Eniade urged workers to be more dedicated and professional in their service, noting that era of mass promotion was over.
“The Performance Evaluation System in the public service will soon be reviewed. In the new arrangement, emphasis will be placed more on productivity, relevance and value addition to governance in the state. The era of mass promotion is about to end.
“Performances will be measured with commensurate reward. Only those who merit promotion would be promoted. The days of ineptitude are over. We are now in an era of strict professionalism,†Eniade said.
He, however, decried high level of decadence in the public service, most especially poor attitude and misconduct of workers, ranging from absenteeism to lateness to work, disloyalty, misappropriation of fund, at various levels of the workforce.
www.sojworld.com © January 17, 2018
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