- Governor Godwin Obaseki emphasized the lack of selfless service in Nigeria, hindering growth, during the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy commissioning
- The academy aims to enhance civil/public service delivery, bridge knowledge gaps, and boost Edo State’s digitized governance efforts
Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State, has stated that a lack of selfless service by Nigerians is hampering the country’s development.
Obaseki made the remarks during the commissioning of the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOSPA), which was part of activities commemorating the former governor’s 84th birthday.
What is lacking today in Nigeria is that nobody wants to sacrifice for the good of the nation. It is if not me and my family, nobody else. But, society doesn’t work work that way to grow.
He said the academy named after Oyegun is a centre of excellence in capacity building positioned to transform civil/public service delivery and bridge knowledge gaps in pursuit of excellence.
The state government embarked on the task of setting up the Academy on the premise that only a well-skilled workforce can drive meaningful and impactful change in governance. With the roll out of the state’s e-governance work mode, there was need for such a facility to upgrade the skill and knowledge base of the workforce to reflect the emerging realities in the workplace.
The state is set to be the most digitized public service in Nigeria on account of the investment in digital infrastructure, having laid over 600km of fibre cable across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
The Academy is named after the first Executive Governor of Edo state and former Permanent Secretary, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who embodies the fine ethos of integrity, fidelity and excellence, Obaseki said.
Obaseki also stated that his administration is committed to investing in capacity building through JOOPSA in order to enable public servants to live up to the mandate of providing optimal services to the public as well as the horde of private investors rushing to capitalize on the state’s favourable business climate.
Former Federation Head of Service, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, stated that “without a motivated workforce, no administration can deliver on its mandate, hence an academy like this is needed.”
Oyegun thanked everyone in Edo, especially Obaseki, for honouring him by naming the Academy after him.
Precious Ajoonu, Director General of the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), stated that the Academy was established by the government as a learning and development institution to drive accelerated human capacity building within the Edo State public service.