We’ll engage global best practices in civil service- Commissioner

Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions in Lagos, Dr. Akintola Benson Oke, says the government of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode will turn around the fortunes of the State’s civil service by engaging global best practices to deliver value per excellence in the state.

He made this assertion on Thursday in Lagos during the opening of a two-day workshop tagged: ‘Engaging Global Best Practice to Deliver Value Per Excellence in Lagos State’.

According to him, “delivery of value to citizens is the fundamental objective of any democratically-elected government. In today’s world, however, the delivered value must be delivered per excellence.

“This is chiefly because citizens have become sophisticated and exposed to the standards of governance in other climes such that their expectations have been conditioned to demand and insist on compliance with global best practices at all levels of governance.”

Oke said meeting these expectations is the central challenge for governments in the developing world.

“Thankfully in Lagos State, we have a government that has boldly embraced this challenge and is, in fact, executing a reasoned-out plan to transform governance and its processes in such a way that the ever-changing and complex expectations of citizens can be admirably met,” he said.

He said under Governor Ambode, the present administration in Lagos State is poised to examine those areas, processes and institutions and practices that need to be overhauled or remodelled in order to achieve this end.

“In approving this training, state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has led us into his vision for governance in Lagos state. From my vantage position, it is a vision of a Lagos where government objectives, processes and services meet the global standards-conditioned expectation of citizens.”

The commissioner was of the opinion that the overriding observation today is that citizens expect the government to comply with global best practices in democratic governance.

In furtherance of a healthy relationship between the civil service and the citizenry, he said it was important to compile, release and maintain a resource that essentially acts as a citizens’ manual. This, he said, should be a quick reference resource that details the necessary steps and requirements for citizens to quickly complete official procedures.

He added that such an initiative will improve government proficiency, increase citizen satisfaction, enhance public rendering of accounts, increase government transparency and accountability, increase participatory budgeting, among other improvements.