Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos on Monday swore in newly appointed Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and members of the Civil Service Commission in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanwo-Olu swore in three new members of the State Executive Council, five members of the Civil Service Commission and five Permanent Secretaries.
The new political appointees are one Commissioner and two Special Advisers, who will be joining the State Executive Council. They are Mr Paul Martins, as the new Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Gbenga Oyerinde is Special Adviser to the Governor on Central Business District and Mr Ganiyu Ayuba as the Special Adviser, Urban Development.
Also, Mrs Regina Fabanwo was sworn in as the Chairman, Lagos Civil Service Commission along with Mr Adeshina Odeyemi, Mr Avoseh Suru; Mr Kamal Olorunoje and Mr Babatunde Seriki as Commissioners in the Commission.
The five new Permanent Secretaries are Mr Olujimi Ige, Debt Management Office; Mrs Kafayat Ajenifuja, Parastatal Monitoring Office; Mr Hakeem Adeniji Oduyinka, Office of the Civic Engagement; Mr Isaac Thorpe, Ministry of Information and Strategy, while Dr Aina Ayoola moves up as the PS Primary Healthcare Board.
Speaking at the occasion, Sanwo-Olu said his administration would continue to ensure its programmes were tailored to the benefit of the residents of the state
‘As a government, we will ensure that our programmes are not only time bound but also people focused; that they are programmes that we believe will touch and impact all our citizens on a daily basis,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu charged the newly appointed members of Lagos State Cabinet, as well as commissioners in the state’s civil service commission to kick off action immediately.
He urged the new appointees to further add value to the administration toward delivering democratic dividends to Lagosians.
According to him, the new appointees are called to serve from the pool of numerous competent and highly qualified Lagosians, hence, they must work hard to justify the confidence reposed in them by the appointment.
”You have been brought on to add value in our quest to deliver the dividend of democracy to the citizens.
”We must remember that in four months time, we will be celebrating our first anniversary and the question that people will be asking is that what have we done in one year?
”Time will come and time will go but it is what we do with time that posterity will judge us with. The essence of this reminder is to keep each and everyone of us on the go and to let you know that we need to hit the ground running.
”We cannot afford to be complacent in our approach to governance because there is so much to be accomplished within the 1,460 days that we are rushing against.
”We cannot afford not to succeed because our success has indication for the mission’s wellbeing. We owe it a duty to live up to the reputation of centre of excellence through the injection of innovative and visionary ideas into governance,” he said.
Earlier, the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said that the governor was a team player.
Muri-Okunola said that it was in this spirit that he appointed more hands to further deliver on the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of his administration.
Martins, who spoke on behalf of other appointees, thanked the governor for bestowing the honour on them.”It is a challenge to duty, therefore, I give you the assurance of our commitment to duty, hardwork and dedication.”We assure you of our loyalty, we promise not to disappoint you or the good people of Lagos state,” he said.
