The Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani, has commended Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, for his efforts to revive the state’s civil and public service. Mrs. Anani made the remarks during a courtesy visit to the Director General of the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), Mrs. Gina Otamere, in Benin City.

Mrs. Anani praised Mrs. Otamere for her dedication to championing training for civil and public servants, social welfare, women, children, and youths. “It is good to know what you do at JOOPSA. It is good to have you at the helm of affairs because I know how professional you are,” Mrs. Anani said.

She also commended the Governor Okpebholo-led administration for extending opportunities to serve in governance to the Edo people. “It is also good to know what the Governor is doing, enhancing his own people. In the past, we had outsiders, foreigners, consultants taking the job of civil and public servants and almost making our workforce redundant. However, we are hardworking people, and it is time we take ownership of our roles.”

Mrs. Anani emphasized the importance of training and retraining in enhancing productivity. “With the mandate we have now, and you have, you have been saddled with that responsibility by His Excellency, the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo. Your task is to revive the civil service, train and retrain, and make them grow on the job, becoming more productive, efficient, and hardworking.”

In response, Mrs. Otamere appreciated Mrs. Anani for her visit and reaffirmed her commitment to abide by the policy statements of the Governor Okpebholo-led administration. “This is John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy, saddled with the responsibility of providing capacity building, training programs for civil and public service in Edo State. Our main focus this year is to work in line with Mr. Governor’s policy statements.”

Mrs. Otamere emphasized that Edo State will no longer use consultants in line with the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led administration’s policy. “Our focus is developing those functional skills across the civil and public service to enable civil servants to be self-sufficient, carry out their role and responsibilities, and we are looking at building capacity among staff that will enable them to perform effectively and efficiently on their jobs.”