Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has commended the Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki for giving automatic employment to First Class graduates who are of the Edo State origin but from any of the universities in the country.
He gave the commendation at the official commissioning of the Edo State Civil Service Secretariat Complex in Benin City.
Dr. Jonathan said that the state governor’s automatic employment slots cut across political divides and that others governors can do well by emulating such an act of leadership.
“Let me also join the Head of Service, the young First Class graduate you employed, we thank you. When the Head of Service mentioned that in his speech, I was quite pleased. Infact, if you go to some states, governors are busy encouraging criminals because of politics, people that will rig elections for them, carry ballot boxes, carry knives and cutlasses to pursue people but you are encouraging the brains.
“The brains don’t come from one political party. The brains come from all political parties. The brains come from those who are supporting all candidates. So you are not supporting these brains because you want to win election but because you want to build a state and for you to build a state, you have to build the people”, Jonathan said.
He also commended the state governor for improving the welfare and providing a conducive working environment for the civil servants in the state
“Let me also join the civil servants to thank you in improving their welfare. Of course, before this time, civil servants have been going home with salaries that cannot take them home, now, you are paying them salaries that can take them home.
“And people are wondering just like Mike Ogiedomhe said. When I read that on the newspapers that he is going to be paying N70,000 I was also being worried. This my good friend, I hope he can pay. In words of a visional and that is what I wanted to say. To be a leader, especially a political leader, you want to be a local government chairman, you want to be a governor of a state, you want to be the president of a country, you must be somebody who has a vision and not just I want to be this and when you get to the office, you don’t know what to do with the office.
“If you have a vision, no matter the challenges, you must find a way to do what you need to do and that is why you are the governor, that is why the chairman of a council”, Jonathan added.
Former Chief of Staff to president Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Ogiedomhe, while commending the achievements of the state governor, prayed that God should give his successor the ability to build on his legacies.
On the part of the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, he said the Civil Service Secretariat Complex was the first place he visited when he assumed office as the governor of the state.
He said that the complex was in a very sorry state and he promised to revamp it and make it conducive for workers to carry out their day-to-day work believing that a conducive working environment can always lead to a very productive workforce that can boost productivity.
Also speaking the state Head of Service, Mr. Anthony Okungbowa, thanked the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki for revolutionizing and digitalizing the state civil service.
He said that the governor has provided a conducive environment for the state workers to be effective in their day-to-day assignments.
Mr. Okungbowa said that the state is the only one paying its workers the highest minimum wage when other states are making excuses and couldn’t raise their own to that amount of money.
Okungbowa added that the state is the only one that offers automatic employment to first class graduates of Edo origin from any of the universities in the country.