Success of Governance; Bayelsa Governor Attributes it to Public Servants

Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State has attributed the success of governance in the country to the efforts of the Public Servants.

According to the Bayelsa Chief Executive, "without Public Servants, government policies and programmes would fail woefully".

He stated this during the opening ceremony of the 2017 Meeting of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council which took place in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State Capital. 

Stressing that if government programmes must succeed, the public servants remain the only vehicle to bring it to fruition, Gov Dickson pointed out that no political leader would be able to achieve anything meaningful without the workforce, saying further that public servants are the critical link between policy formulation and practical achievements.

“You are one of the most important assets not just of our state but in all the local governments councils and states throughout the Federation. No political leader is able to achieve any meaningful thing without the public servants. You are the landlords of the Public Service while we are the tenants. As a matter of fact, you are the most important people if we are talking about service delivery", he stated.

According to Governor Dickson who noted that, after political leaders have formulated ideas and issued directives, it is the Public Workers, whom he described as "the true custodians of public power and authority that, actually translate the government policies and programmes into tangible achievements, any society, state or nation that is serious about capacity building, service delivery and probity in public service must start with public servants", emphasizing that his administration takes the issues of workers welfare and productivity seriously.

“There are nations in the world, including our colonial masters, the British; if you look at the real strength of those nations, you will discover that their real strength lies in the public service”. 

Governor Seriake Dickson thanked the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and the conveners of the meeting for choosing Yenagoa as the venue, even as he pledged to host the annual event in Bayelsa while also, urging participants to explore the state and be its Ambassadors.

In her remarks earlier, Chairman of the Joint National Public Service Negotiation Council and Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office (SWO) in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, noted with delight the warm hospitality accorded members of the council by the Government and people of Bayelsa State.

She assured the Governor that, the council will continue to collaborate with the government in ensuring industrial harmony and improved service delivery in the public service across the country.

Walson-Jack stated further that the Nigerian economy is on a path of recovery and this improvement she said is attributable in part to the Public Service, which according to her, is the effective driving machinery of Government.

The Nation’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020) focuses on three strategic objectives of restoring growth, investing in the people (in which civil servants are critical) and building a competitive economy, she said no

 In this regard, “it is the quality of the human capital that would make the other two objectives feasible”.

Similarly, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), observed that workers were fundamental partners in the wealth creation process, and progress of any nation and therefore, deserve to be adequately remunerated.