The life of a Public Servant is a life of selfless service. It is a life of self-sacrifice, a life of diligence and a life of hard, thankless work. But, however thankless our job is, it must be done and done very well.
We have gathered here this evening to, in a small way, thank and recognize our Public Servants, the unsung heroes in our State’s growth and development. I am privileged to have been on both sides of the divide and so I understand the life of a Public Servant.
When we say Lagos is working it is because of the dedicated and diligent Public Servants in our State. It is because of that Medical Doctor in the General Hospital in Agege; it is because of the LASTMA official on the road in Igando and it is because of the Admin officer here in a Ministry in Alausa.
Our State is working because the Police Force, the Army, the Navy and the Airforce are working together to ensure our security and give investors confidence to do business in our State.
All these Public Servants do not get any accolades when they do their jobs. But whenever they fail in a small task, the whole society jumps on them with criticisms. That is why we are here to celebrate, reward and recognize our Public Servants and single out outstanding individuals.
My message to you, my fellow Public Servants, is that we must keep Lagos working.
The Lagos State Public Service has set a standard which others are trying to emulate. We have put in place a reward system that will encourage healthy competition/rivalry among public servants. We believe strongly that this is one of the ways employees can be motivated to put in their best at all times.
On behalf of the State Government, I congratulate all the Ninety (90) recipients of this year’s outstanding Officers’ Award in both the senior and junior categories. I commend you for your hardwork, diligence and sacrifice which you have demonstrated in your various MDAs.
This recognition is a challenge for you to maintain and improve on the high standard for which you are being recognized. The State is in need of more high flyers like you to accelerate the delivery of quality service in all sectors for the benefit of all residents of our State.
As government, we will always work to ensure a conducive work environment, provide state of the art facilities and exposure of our people to best practices through training and retraining.
I congratulate the Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Adesoye for the successful celebration of this year’s Public Service Week. Incidentally, this year’s edition will be the one and only Public Service Week that will be celebrated under her tenure as the Head of the Lagos State Public Service.
I have no doubt that your tenure will be remembered for novel ideas and innovations, one of which is the event that has brought us together tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate our public Servants, there is still a lot of work to be done. We have set a standard for others. We must not only maintain that standard but raise it another notch.
I count on you all again, to work with, us to keep Lagos working efficiently.
Thank you and God bless you all.
Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko, lo je wa logun!