Akure – The Ondo State government has announced the promotion of 9,704 public servants in the recently-concluded 2019 promotion exercise.
The Chairman of the state Civil Service Commission, Mr Afolabi Adewakun, who stated this on Tuesday, in Akure, added that three civil engineers at the state Ministry of Works and Infrastructure were given special promotion for their outstanding performance.
Adewakun said that the promotion exercise was part of Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s commitment to the welfare of civil servants in the state.
He said that a total of 2,261 deserving civil servants were promoted, based on the briefs forwarded to the commission by the service matters department, office of establishment and training, various ministries and extra-ministerial departments.
Adewakun said that same exercise also took place in all self-accounting government agencies, boards and parastatals, where 7,443 officers were promoted.
He further stated that 190 officers across various the civil service cadres had been given approval to retire either mandatorily or voluntarily after serving the state.
The chairman said that promotion was never automatic, as being insinuated in some quarters, adding that only deserving officers benefitted from the exercise.
“I wish to remark that the welfare of workers has continued to be on the front burner since the inception of this administration in Feb. 2017.
“And that training and retraining programmes have engendered higher productivity, leading to better service delivery for the people of the state.
“In the light of his worker-friendly disposition, Gov. Akeredolu graciously approved the special promotion of one grade level credit for three (3) deserving civil engineers at the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure for carrying out extensive cost-saving road rehabilitation works across the state.
“This is an indication that any outstanding performance will not go unnoticed and unrewarded by government.
“In line with other statutory functions of the commission, five prospective applicants were recruited into areas of special needs, as approved by the governor; they have since resumed duties,” he said.
Adewakun added that some officers were not considered for promotion due to issues bordering on discipline, like financial embarrassment, prolonged absence from duty without official permission and general misconducts.
“Sanctions such as reprimand, written warning and downgrading have been meted on erring officers. Some officers have also been placed on suspension, pending the final determination of their cases,” he said.
Adewakun urged the newly-promoted officers to reciprocate the gesture by being more productive, dedicated, diligent and absolutely loyal to the service.
(NAN)
