The Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has urged Public Servants in the State to be diligent, people-centred and focus more on giving their best in the discharge of their duties to residents of the State.

Muri-Okunola gave the advice while declaring open the Y2020 Annual Service Charter Week with the theme “Service Charter: A Reliable Service Delivery Instrument for the 21st Century Economy”, held virtually for Public Servants in the State.

According to him, the need for Charter Champions and Public Servants to be more proactive in rendering efficient and effective services to the citizens cannot be over-emphasised, saying that “We should be good Ambassadors of the State by attending to our clients and the Public, conscientiously, while also interacting with them in a friendly manner”, he said.

The HoS, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Mr. Samson Olusegun Ajibade, stressed that the way the general public are served by civil servants goes a long way in projecting a positive image for the State Government, adding that “If Lagos is the Centre of Excellence, it is because of the people who are engaged in rendering services in the best way possible”.

Commending the Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (OTCI) for successfully making the annual event a reality this year despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Muri-Okunola added that efforts made by them in ensuring that an efficient and effective service culture is entrenched within the State’s Public Service has contributed towards the development of the State.

In his remarks, the Director-General of OTCI, Mr. Toba Otusanya said the Service Charter is a reliable service delivery instrument for the 21st Century Economy, designed to put citizens at the centre of service delivery.

He added that the rationale behind the Service Charter Initiative was to make government accountable to the people, noting that in the course of the last eight years, several MDAs had come up with creative ideas on how to improve the Service Charter, which in turn had reflected positively on the MDAs and enhanced serviced delivery to the citizenry.

Otusanya said that the two-day event provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to rub minds on the way forward for their MDAs, in line with the COVID-19 protocols which had created a ‘new normal’.

“We would like MDAs to share their service delivery experiences so that collectively, we can look at more ways to design service delivery to meet the 21st Century expectations of Lagosians”, he asserted.

In a paper presentation titled “Service Charter: A Reliable Service Delivery Instrument for the 21st Century Economy”, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Abdul-Ahmed Olurunfemi Mustapha, described Service Charter as a document of intent, articulated by MDAs, informing service takers about the MDA, what it does, how it does it, how to access its services, to whom the Charter is targeted, grievances redress mechanisms and the redress available in case of service failure.

Stressing the need to embrace ICT as a veritable tool to enhance service delivery in the Public Service, the Service Charter route, the PS maintained that the need to change service delivery, the Service Charter way, cannot be over-emphasised.

The highlight of the event was the Recognition and Rewards Ceremony, where individuals and MDAs, who had contributed positively to the development and sustenance of the Service Charter Initiative, were recognised.