Press Releases

Fashola’s 1000 Days In Office: Public Servants, Job Seekers Get Joyful News

Feb 22, 2010 - Lagos State Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Monday presented a 1000th day in office gift to all public servants in the state by announcing the payment of 15 percent basic salary as furniture allowance to them.

Governor Fashola who spoke at a public forum dedicated to public servants with the theme: “Repositioning the Public Service For Effective Service Delivery Towards A Model Mega City State” held at the Blue Roof Lagos Television, Agidingbi, Ikeja added that the review of allowances to Judicial Service workers and the processes for its implementation are underway, promising that they should receive payments shortly.

Said he: “Cars are being provided for doctors and other health care workers, and for our principals to ease transportation problems and elevate their status, a new mortgage plan is being worked out, we are liquidating arrears of pensions and gratuity in LAWMA, the Local Government and other parastatals and these exercises will continue until we totally complete the processes”.

“We have kept our promises to review allowances for teachers, judicial workers, approved the payment of Hazard Allowance to Non-Teaching Staff in the State public schools, approved the payment of Clinical Allowance and increased Journal Allowance for Health Workers in the State”, he added.

He asserted that the results of the collaborative efforts of everyone in the present team has become visible for all to see, adding that the evidence of the unmistakable transformation that is taking place here is clearly visible.

He explained that he and his colleagues resolved to dedicate the milestone day, the one thousandth day to the hundreds of thousands of people that constitute the Lagos State public service as a token of the expression of the State Executive Council’s sincere gratitude for their unflinching support, their renewed passion and their resolve to undertake this journey with the Administration, in spite of the odds and even cynism when it started.

In his words: “Our workforce has grown from 100,737 (One Hundred Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty Seven) in May 2007, to 114,516 (One Hundred and Fourteen Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixteen) as at December 31, 2009”

“We have just approved the employment of 3,636 (Three Thousand, Six Hundred and Thirty Six) teachers and 1,555 (One Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Five) Non-Teaching staffs, the promotion of 13,528 (Thirteen Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty Eight) teachers 1,375 (One Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Five) Non-Teachers to new grades with increased salaries and today our wage bill has grown from N2,461,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Four Hundred and Sixty One Million Naira) as at May 2007 to N3,221,000,000.00 (Three Billion, Two Hundred and Twenty One Million Naira) as at January 31, 2010”.

Said he: “As I have said in the past, it is no longer important whether people believe what we say. What is important is that they cannot disbelieve what we do. The evidence of the unmistakable transformation that is taking place here is there for all to see”.

“Many of you will re-call that when we started we were accused of being in a hurry. It was even alleged that we were running a marathon like sprint race and we would soon tire. It is now clear that our morning has showed our day. One thousand days after we are still running, and because you have refused to look back, we remain focused, on course and untiring”, he added.

Governor Fashola who also took a retrospective look at how the journey of the transformation of Lagos started in 1999 with the state generating only about N600Million internally and such that staff salaries and pensions were in arrears and nobody could say for certain whether the next one would be paid.

He added that it started at a time when Lagos was taken over by refuse and the streets were littered with dead bodies and all the signs of failure of a society that anyone could think off were present.

The Governor emphasized that that was the situation until his immediate past predecessor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was voted into office as the Governor thus leading to the journey to reclaim the State. “That was the beginning of the reforms, computerization, restructuring and rebuilding that forms the foundation on which you and I continue to build”, he added.

Governor Fashola recalled his first day in office on the 30th of May, 2007 and how the public servants massively turned out to receive him, adding: ‘I will never forget that day and its impact on me and I continue to hold on those assurances and promises because I treasure them”.

“They have really brought us far. You have, by keeping those assurances and promises transformed the Lagos State Government and its public service to models of reference for the entire continent and beyond. You have restored the confidence of the public service and demonstrated that Nigerians can manage and operate a Government that responds”, he added.

Governor Fashola said today, the Lagos that once was described as a concrete jungle is now adorned with green lawns and trees in places where they used to have refuse dumps, they have improved public health care facilities and with more to come.

“They have sporting facilities, new markets, an operational ferry service and more is coming. School children now have books, laboratories and more facilities are being delivered. Water supply is daily increasing and desperate living conditions are daily being mitigated”, he added.

“From those gloomy days, Lagosians now have street signs, street lights and traffic lights, they have a vibrant traffic management agency called LASTMA, they have a bus service, the BRT, that is now a global model, they have an ambulance service, LASAMBUS, that is saving lives, a fire service that arrives with fire engines and water, a Rapid Response Service, whose response is now truly rapid, to curb violent crimes and emergencies, Lagosians now have emergency numbers 767 and 112 to call in times of distress and they now have a City State that has moved from the dirtiest to the cleanest”.

The Governor said Lagos is at the threshold of building its intra city rail service and in spite of global depression, the Lagos economy continues to provide and create jobs and opportunities for employment, adding that unlike anywhere else, Lagosians are voluntarily paying taxes and obeying laws and are happy to do so.

Governor Fashola said the credit of all the performance should not go to him but to all members of the team, saying they resolved to change what they did not accept and in so doing the public service has become a service of pride, and one that he feels humbled and privileged to lead.

While restating his commitment to the solemn cause, he urged his colleagues not to see every demand on them as a bother, but as a vote of confidence in their ability to deliver, and do their best to respond even beyond the call of duty at all times. “Truly, if people did not believe that we can do it, they will not ask us”.

Governor Fashola explained that: “As the leader of this team, I am aware of your expectations and your needs and I will continue to do all that I can in mitigating difficulties that limit your abilities to discharge your duties and in improving the conditions under which you work and the remuneration for your effort and I will never hesitate to reward outstanding service, characterized by integrity, utmost courtesy to the members of the public, compassion and dedication”.

“The objective is simple, to make life better for the people we serve, to reduce the time it takes to get things done and to bring about a greater efficiency in Government. We have resolved that if banks can reduce the process of getting a bank draft from 3 (three) days as it once was in this country, to a few minutes, the public service can do better in reducing its response time”, he added.

Governor Fashola also said: “In all of this, I assure you that in a lifetime, we cannot finish the work, but we have an opportunity to demonstrate that the African is not doomed. Our society will get complex and new demands and problems will arise and even in periods of great prosperity, the problems will never finish as long as people remain on earth. This is the case in every country and ours is not different”.

The Governor declared: “What we must do is to rise up and confront those difficulties with courage and optimism. History beckons on us to make the difference while we have the opportunity, the talent, and the energy, we therefore cannot afford to turn back. We are too far gone on this great journey; the Lagos of our dreams is within reach”.

Governor Fashola who also spoke about the 2009 budget said overall the budget recorded a 73 percent performance overall with the impact being felt in all sectors.

He said the budget has occasioned an increased enrolment in public schools, adding that Government has provided 60,000 benches and chairs for teachers, students and all stakeholders in public schools with the production still continuing.

Governor Fashola said in the health sector, the budget implementation has helped deliver two Maternal and Child Care Centres in Ikorodu and Isolo with two hundred additional bed spaces for women and children.

“In the utility sector, the implementation of the budget has enabled us deliver eight million gallons of water in the last four weeks and there is 22 million gallons yet to be delivered in various stages of implementation”.

In terms of security, Governor Fashola said life is increasingly getting more secure and safe with the State taking delivery of helicopters to complement the State’s ability to protect the people on land, air and water, adding that it has also helped take delivery of two special purpose vehicles designed to fight high rise fire in the state.

The Lagos State helmsman said the faithful implementation of the 2009 budget has also helped the State roll out its secondary road rehabilitation project across the State which has seen the aggressive patching and restoration of roads and secondary roads across the State.

He explained that the budget implementation has also helped the State hand over the driving institute in Epe to compliment the one in Ikorodu and Ikeja while those for Badagry and Lagos Island would be ready before the end of the year.

Governor Fashola also dislosed that all road projects such as the ones in Yaba, Funsho Williams, Apapa, Okota Link bridge, Opeloyeru in Orile and the Lagos Badagry Express Way are underway as planned with the design for the light rail project being almost completed preparatory to the groundbreaking and commencement of construction.

He told the audience that the budget implementation has also made it possible for the Skill Acquisition Centres to continue to provide jobs to thousands of young people with engagement at the centres at an all time high.

Earlier in his welcome address, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele said since the inception of the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), the public service has waxed stronger as every effort has been put in place to ensure that it is well positioned to meet new challenges.

He said it is the intention of the administration to leave behind a public service that will be the pride of all and indeed truly worthy of being associated with the Centre of Excellence. For the umpteenth time, apparently making a clarification on the alleged rift between Governor Fashola and his immediate past predecessor in office, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Commissioner noted that only pretenders will claim knowing or either of the parties more than themselves.

In his goodwill message, Head of Service, Alhaji Yakub Balogun said the forum should be seen as a testimony of the respect for and the high esteem in which the administration of Babatunde Fashola (SAN) holds public servants.

He assured that public servants are ready more than ever before to continue to be dedicated, loyal, efficient, productive and effective in the discharge of its public service responsibilities.

Prominent among those who attended the event were the Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, members of the State Executive Council, State Chairman of the Action Congress, Chief Henry Ajomale, 2007 Action Congress Governorship Candidate in Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, AC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Permanent Secretaries, senior government functionaries and a cross section of public servants.