By Patrick Ahanor Benin City
Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday lamented the spate of corruption in public service, saying he was tricked to approve N280million against N30 million for the conduct of last Saturday’s Primary School Leaving Certifi cate Examinations. Obaseki, who disclosed this at the swearing-in of 12 permanent secretaries, warned that any government offi cial, engaged in corruption, would be dismissed and tried in court.
Th e governor said: “With that amount of haemorrhage, no system can survive” and assured that for his administration to experience economic growth and fulfi l the promises made to Edo people, the civil service would be institutionalised. “Without institutionalising the civil service, you can’t achieve growth. People will come and go, but institutions will remain”, he said. While declaring that his administration has zero tolerance for corruption, Obaseki stated that the new permanent secretaries, made up of seven male and fi ve female, were selected strictly on merit. He said: “You were all selected based on the result of the examination you wrote which was conducted by the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON).
I went through the marked scripts and selected the best results. “You were appointed based on merit, none of you lobbied for this position. Nobody infl uenced your appointments, so you owe it to your God, yourselves and the Edo people as well and be ready to serve the state. “We expect you to be absolutely loyal, dedicated and abide by the oath you took.” Responding on behalf of the newly inaugurated permanent secretaries, Dr. Asogun Izielen thanked the governor for the confi dence the state reposed in them and pledged their loyalty, commitment, dedication and support for the vision of the administration