Day Governor Abiodun paid 'surprise visit' to officials

Friday, August 5, 2022 will remain indelible in the minds of many Ogun State officials. That day, Governor Dapo Abiodun dismissed the larger-than-life image of a chief executive of the state and decided to hang out with the workers. After driving his self-driving car, many of his aides were waving him up the stairs to his office when he changed direction. In the offices of the officials he led, starting from the security post.

It was an unusual day for many state civil servants. Many had entered and continued their routine work when the august visitor entered. “Hello, colleagues,” he said, shaking hands with the surprised workers. It was the first time they had met the governor at close range. That day was one-on-one as he interacted with them, asking questions about family, work schedules and the day's agenda. It was a pleasant surprise.

But the governor says that's not unusual. “I came here this morning to see how the workers are doing, check on their well-being and familiarize myself with the office environment. I'm happy with what I saw although there is little to do,” he joked.

“I visited the offices of the Commissioners of Information, Finance, Budget and Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Information, Finance and the Office of Policy and Administration. I also visited the offices of the Chief of Service and Secretary of the State Government, among others,” he said with a smile.

"But that's not unusual. They're the front line in spreading the message of creating the right environment for people to come and invest in the state and so it's important for me to go around and see how they do,” he says.

But why did he choose to make it impromptu, unplanned? Governor Abiodun, an oil tycoon and boardroom guru, describes this as part of the new things to make sure people are where they're supposed to be and not by coercion or inducement.

"The main reason was to first check on them, check on their well-being, see how they were in their offices and familiarize myself with their work environment, and then in doing so, to see what facilities they had or lacked and just generally grading me with how they are. And that's not unusual. We work together, they're always in my office and it's been a privilege for me to walk around and feel their pulse and see How are they doing."

For the state government secretary, Tokunbo Talabi, he was caught off guard. “I think everyone was caught off guard. But from an administrative point of view, it is a very important means of motivating people; it strengthens the cord between His Excellency and most of the people who are on the street,” he said, noting, “I believe it is also another flair trying to ensure that the team stays together because building our future together requires A to take care of B and B to take care of C.

"So if you go to my apartment I'm glad you're there, when you then come to visit me too, it's a different style, it keeps everyone on their toes because it could be you tomorrow."< /p>

As excited workers rushed to catch a glimpse of it, some seeing it for the first time up close wondered what had changed. But it was not the first time for Governor Abiodun, who promised that: “Other MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) that I did not visit today should expect their own unscheduled visit. This is to motivate them and make sure we all share this dream. I am delighted with the conscience of those I met today and I hope that the majority of our staff, through their work ethic and attitude, will encourage us to do more in terms of service delivery and benefits social.

A day after being sworn in, Governor Abiodun held a series of meetings with all senior state officials and ended it with the state civil service permanent secretaries. His intention, he said then, was to have detailed knowledge of the state's situation.

At the meetings, he instructed them to take up the challenge of his administration's "Building Our Future Together" program and to be resourceful in fulfilling their responsibilities as pioneers in steering the wheel progress over the next four years and beyond.

As he did on Friday, the governor took the opportunity to share with them his vision for repositioning the public service as an effective arm of government. He hasn't minced a word about his determination to fix anomalies in appointments to the top echelons of the civilian bureaucracy.

Since then, all high-level appointments have been made in line with the government's desire to fill vacancies within the state civil service with seniority, merit, professionalism and diversity as primary consideration and in accordance with Section 208(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the ...