By: Omolara Osindele and Tunde Olayiwola

The Administrative Officers Cadre in the Civil Service has been called upon to continually strive to be professional and expand the frontiers of excellence for effective service delivery.

The Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun, made the call while declaring open a One-day capacity building training with the theme: "The Excellent Administrator", put together by the Administrative Officers' Group for Principal Administrative Officers in the State Civil Service held at the Oba's Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

According to him, as custodians of rules and regulations in the Public Service, the Administrative Officers must always be excellent, professional and faultless while discharging their statutory duties.

Likening the Officers' cadre as the sub-structure of a building which bears the weight and provides stability to the building, the Head of Service charged the administrative officers to be as good, reliable, efficient and resourceful as the Public Service.

He urged them to be at the vanguard of promoting best practices at work, be solution providers in their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) when challenges arise and must adhere strictly to the extant Public Service Rules, Financial Regulations, Public Service Commission Regulations and Circulars in order to remain relevant and always offer objectives pieces of advice.

"You must all regularly update your knowledge and skills in order to be efficient in service delivery and contribute meaningfully to the ISEYA mantra of the present administration in the State", the HoS charged.

While appreciating the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for his personal commitment to the professional growth and personal well-being of the workers through the approvals given all the time for capacity building and the recent roll out of palliative measures, including Hazard and Peculiar Allowances, release of 2021 and 2022 promotion letters, Mr. Fagbohun enjoined the workers to remain steadfast in giving their best to the State Government in order to make the State prosperous, secured and peaceful.

In their goodwill messages, the Permanent Secretaries, Bureau of Establishments and Training, Mrs. Lydia Fajounbo, Civil Service Commission, Mr. Adedayo Somoye and the Bureau of Service Matters, Mr. Hammed Ojo, appreciated the Administrative Officers' Group for the training as government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility and called on the participants to use the training to rededicate themselves and improve on their conducts in the Service.

They urged them to be up and doing in the discharge of their duties, appear well at all times, be well comported, maintain good relationships, portray and project the Civil Service in good light within and without and allow the lessons learnt at the training reflect in their delivery at their various MDAs.

Earlier in a welcome address, the Chairman, Training and Development Committee, Mr. Bode Sotoyinbo, said training, as an enormous task cannot be left in the hands of government alone, hence, the need for the Administrative Officers' Group to organise the programme to equip the Officers as they prepare to get into the Management Cadre of the Civil Service for efficiency and effectiveness.