Governor Seriake Dickson has reiterated the need for regular training and re-training in the State’s Public Service, in order to reinvigorate and strengthen the Service in the State.
He stated this while declaring open, a three-day retreat/seminar for Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Chief Executives of parastatals and agencies of the Government at the Public Service Training Institute, Yenagoa, organized by the Office of the Head of Service, in collaboration with the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, (ASCON), Badagry.
Represented by his Deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah(rtd), he advised public servants, especially those in the top echelon of the service to be apolitical, while discharging their duties and focus on delivering efficient and quality service .
He also emphasized the need for accountability and transparency in the management of public funds, given the current financial situation in the State, in particular and the country in general.
Governor Dickson also lauded the robust partnership between the State government and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Badagry, which provided the resource persons for the programme and also been involved in the conduct of promotion examinations for top civil servants in the State.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Head of Service, Dr. Peter Singabele stated that, the three-day retreat was packaged to improve the performance of top civil servants in the Service, adding that participants should take full advantage of the retreat by improving on their skills and knowledge of the service.
In a lecture titled “Bayelsa State, its Land and People and Antecedents”, Dr. Stephen Olali, Chief Historian/Archivist of the State, noted that history is the study of man, through the evidence of his past actions.
According to him, every action of man borders on history and took time to trace the evolution of the people of Bayelsa State and indeed, the Ijaw nation.
Present at the opening ceremony were; Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, Secretary to the State Government ; Mrs. Ebiowou Koku Obiyai, Member of the State House of Assembly ; Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, Commissioner of Information and Orientation; Mrs Ebizi Ndiomu-Brown,Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, amongst others.