Directors on grade level 17 or as the case may be, seeking to be elevated to the position of permanent secretaries (Perm Sec) in the Lagos State civil service, will now be subjected to written examination and rigorous interviews, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said.
Similarly, regular promotion of civil servants from one level to another will also be based on performance, thereby disrupting the usual grade level model being used by the civil service.
Sanwo-Olu introduced the new rules at the launch of knowledge-sharing platform tagged: “A Disruptive S.H.i.F.T” which held in Ikeja, Wednesday.
The event was organised with an objective to harness the creativity and innovativeness of civil servants to transform the state’s public service into a 21st century compliant public service.
S.H.i.F.T is an acronym for Simple, High-Impact, interactive, Focused, Transformational.
According to the governor, the reward system in the Lagos public service must be performance-based, saying the scheme would bring back the culture of commitment to work.
“From today on, our public service will be performance based. For anyone to be appointed as a permanent secretary, such person will have to sit for an examination and pass through interview process.
If we use the permanent secretary as a testimony, everyone will know that it is performance based, and not based on connection. It was something we started years ago and I think we have to go back to it.”
Sanwo-Olu urged civil servants to demonstrate high level commitment in their various areas of duty and be mentors to their colleagues in the lower cadre of service.
The governor added the innovative programme brought an opportunity for those in the employment of the state to learn, unlearn and relearn for improved service delivery.
For developing a user-friendly mobile application named “Alausa sabi” to aid seamless communication and efficiency of the entire Lagos government workforce, Seun Ogunmolu, a Level 8 officer in the ministry of budget and planning, got a reward of double promotion to level 10 from Governor Sanwo-Olu, who was thrilled by the wizardry of the young civil servant.
The governor was also applauded presentation by a level 15 officer, Temitope George, who raised the need by the civil servant to shift their mindsets to a more productive and innovative engagement, which, she said, must be anchored on respect.
Sanwo-Olu said: “We believe the future is with the young people. If you check the demography of Lagos, the youth are the future. So, we are going to use Seun as an example to demonstrate that there is hope for the youth.
The governor commended the two speakers at the event, George and Ogunmolu for leading innovation in their respective areas of duty, disclosing that the both would be nominated for National Productivity Award.
Joshua Bassey
