Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said that civil servants in the State have no reason to be sycophantic and unprofessional in the discharge of their duties before attaining the peak of their careers.

Speaking in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday at the swearing in ceremony for 17 newly appointed Permanent Secretaries, the governor stated that the era of cronyism, opportunism, partisanship and lottery which characterised the appointment of Permanent Secretaries under the immediate past administration was over.

Dr Fayemi said he was aware that the Civil Service Transformation Strategy lost steam in the last four years as it was jettisoned in favour of cronyism and opportunism.

“As is customary with our civil service transformation strategy which started in my first term in office, we consider the position of Permanent Secretaries as one of the most critical success factors of any administration.

“Consequently, we ensured that was adopted in appointing these Permanent Secretaries. Every officer that has attained the rank of Director in the Civil Service and above was given the opportunity to sit for the qualifying examination. Those who scored above the cut-off point of 70% are the ones being sworn in today”, he said.

While disclosing the plan of his administration to ensure optimal performance of the service, Fayemi said the government will beam its extra searchlight on the training needs of the service and accelerate the establishment of the State Institute of Public Service Administration.

He added that one of the new Permanent Secretaries will be in charge of capacity development and training of the officers in the service.

Governor Fayemi told the new permanent secretaries to drive the restoration agenda of his government as it relates to their MDAs and to make the working environment conducive for civil servants with whom they are to work.

He reiterated the zero tolerance of his administration to graft; saying their appointment is a call to serve Ekiti people and be a part of positive history.

Speaking on behalf of other new appointees, Mr Ganiyu Titilope thanked the governor for being “sincere, fair and God-fearing” with the selection process which he described as rigorous.

Ganiyu promised that the new Permanent Secretaries will not disappoint government; adding that they would do their best in helping government deliver on its promises to the people.

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