By Tope Musowo
Lagos
Lagos state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday swore in two new permanent secretaries with a charge on them to be champions of his administration’s continuity with improvement mantra.
The governor, who spoke at the Executive Council Chambers of the Lagos House, Ikeja, said Permanent Secretaries, as drivers of various government ministries and agencies are important to him, and as such, his administration would always appoint only the very best.
Ambode, who described the appointment as “a testament of his commitment” to continually reinvigorate the machinery of government through elevation of worthy and qualified personnel from the pool of skilled human capital available in the State Public Service, said the appointees must hit the ground running and not hesitate to take tough decisions.
He said: “Leadership at any level of human organisation, especially at this challenging time, requires innovation, creativity and resource management. Our new appointees are therefore enjoined to immediately hit the ground running as our people are eager to see the direct and indirect impact of government policies and programmes.
“Let me state that our civil and public servants are agents of change and enablers of government policies. The permanent secretaries are, therefore, the mirror which reflects the quality of service our civil servants are offering.
“As I congratulate our newly sworn-in permanent secretaries on your well deserved appointments, I urge you to live up to the dictate of your new status as the appointment was based on your outstanding trajectories which were found to be in line with the skills and competency required to drive Lagos state.”
The new Permanent Secretaries are Dr. Olayiwole Shakirudeen Onasanya and Mr. Olumide Abayomi Lawal.
Responding, on behalf of his colleagues, Lawal thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their unalloyed support to the programmes and policies of the current administration.
“We are determined to join the fast moving train which the Governor has put in place and we shall not disappoint,” he said.