…Receives Fellows of Hubert Humphrey Association
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right) welcoming the Coordinator, Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association, Nigeria, Mr. Jude Ememe during a courtesy visit to the Governor by members of Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Friday, September 18, 2015.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode at the weekend said that selfless service and positive difference is what his administration is committed to deliver in the next four years.
The Governor who spoke when members of the Hubert H. Humphrey Alumni Association and Representatives of the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate General, Lagos, paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja assured that his administration is set out to impact positively on the lives of the people in the state.
Governor Ambode, who is also an alumnus of the Association, said he has benefitted from the Fellowship programme in many ways, which he has resolved to bring to bear in the course of his administration.
“Part of the things I have benefitted from this programme is the way I have tried to touch the life of the next person I come across”.
“The truth is that, your essence is your ability to touch as many people as possible and you know what our mantra is; you have to go out there and make a difference and ensure it’s a positive difference and that’s the whole essence of public leadership”.
“We are here in this administration to ensure that we make a difference and we are also here to make sure that the difference is a positive one that will touch the lives of all Lagosians and that’s why in everything that we have said, we want to make life easier for the people, we want to make them happier and at the same time make things more comfortable for them. That’s the whole essence of this administration and that’s what I stand for”.
He said the experience garnered when he joined the Hubert Humphrey Association, prompted the setting up of new offices and realigning of ministries in the civil service to match up with the changing times in the quest of his administration to better the lot of the people.
“I do read on social media that maybe that’s part of the American side of me, which is wherever we go, we are able to say that we can create institutional framework that would help us to achieve our main goals, that is what we’ll try to do. I know and believe strongly that those new entrants into the public service will create major positive mileage for us and for the people of Lagos state as we move on”.
Governor Ambode also canvassed for a viable partnership between the Alumni Association and the state government which enable them share ideas and values that the late Senator Hubert Humphrey stood for.
“I want to use this opportunity to enjoin our Permanent Secretaries, whatever we can set up institutionally to partner with the Alumni Association; it will be in the best interest of the public service.
You stand to groom leaders from this particular programme and that is the whole essence of this courtesy visit today, so that we can start a new partnership that allows our institutions in the public service to begin to tap into the inherent advantages that this programme stands for”, he said.
Earlier, Coordinator of the Alumni Association, Jude Ememe, said that the visit was intended to intimate the Governor on some of the achievements the association has recorded over the years, adding that most of them have distinguished themselves in several fields of public offices and social services.
He noted that the Governor an alumnus of the fellowship is an attestation to the sterling leadership qualities the association stands for.
“As a distinguished Alumnus of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, your position offers you the opportunity to model the values and philosophy of which Senator Hubert Humphrey stood for. We do not have any doubt that your excellent track record in public service has adequately prepared you for the challenges of this office” Ememe said.
Ememe used the visit to invite Governor Ambode to be the keynote speaker during the Association’s forthcoming seminar themed “Deepening the Democratic Culture in Nigeria”.