by crossriverwatch admin
As part of the civil service reform program of the Imoke administration, the governor said the best legacy he we wants to leave behind in the Cross River State civil service is to encourage merit.
In his sermon-like message during the 2013 Civil Service Day celebration at the cultural center Calabar recently, Imoke said “I don’t want my civil servants to feel intimidated by their colleagues anywhere in the world that is why we trained some of you abroad.
“If we are going to meet the vision of being the number 1 civil service state in Nigeria that can compete globally, we must change our attitude while on our part as government, we will continue to invest in you”
Continuing, Imoke said, “Again I think there is a need for us to acknowledge that when some of us went to school we took exams and were rated based on merit. Some of us were not so bright we got 2:2. Others were very bright they got 2:1 and 1st class. I think you recall all of that; I think you will also recalled that when I came and I said that the top echelon of the civil service who want to become permanent secretaries should take an exam, I don’t know if you recall the resistance and the demonstration, or some of you don’t remember that?
“There was serious resistance that, what is this man talking about? How can we take exams? They just normally appoint us, if they look at us and like our face they make us permanent secretaries no matter what, it doesn’t matter whether the person is incompetent, as long as I have been in the service for 35 years, I must become a permanent secretary. Let me just see if I can get access to the Governor, if he can see me and like my face or anybody that knows him, I will be a permanent secretary, and I said I don’t want to do that”
“I want reforms in the civil service and if we are going to reform we must reform by example by starting at the top. And I’m glad I can tell you today as I’m standing before you that since I became Governor and since we started instituting that exam, the pass mark has been 60 and I have never appointed a permanent secretary who scored below 60, never! And I will never do.
“I have a lot of friends who have become my enemies because they scored 59 and 58 and they wanted me to appoint them. I did not and I will not. We must meet up with some minimum standards as part of our reform in the sector”.
“Again when you do this, you institute meritocracy. Merit is celebrated all over and that is why we are celebrating with merit in the awardees today. That is what we are celebrating and what we need to do so I’m very happy with the Head of Service today for taking us this far . Next year we are going to give out a car to the winner who will drive from here. I want all the heads of MDAs and every one to understand and emulate the importance of merit”. The Governor concluded.
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