Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has sworn in Mrs. Princilla Aziegbemi as a Permanent Secretary in the state civil service, saying a leader must factor in all possibilities and cannot give excuses.
Adams Oshiomhole
Mrs. Aziegbemi was one of the two women who were not sworn-in, last week, for being late for their own inauguration. The other was Mrs. Rosaline Osaghae, who has also been sworn in.
Speaking at the swearing-in, yesterday in Benin City, Oshiomhole said the new Permanent-Secretary’s appointment was based purely on merit.
He said “looking at your record, you are one of the youngest persons that we have appointed as permanent secretary and God helping you, you will serve long after my departure. But I am satisfied that you will be able to bring to bear some fresh air into Edo core civil service and that you will deploy your energy and creativity to ensure that Edo people get value for money in all that we do particularly the ones that will come under your watch.
While admonishing the permanent secretary on the incident that led to her not being sworn-in last week, Oshiomhole said “whatever happened a few days back is part of history and I do not need any soothsayer to tell me that you have learnt a couple of lessons from it.
“I believe that leadership challenge implies that we factor in all possibilities including the possibility that a vehicle can break down, possibility that we can run into a traffic gridlock and the possibility of stubborn security men. The challenge of leadership is to try and overcome those challenges in order to deliver on your mandate”, he said.
He urged the new Permanent Secretary to ensure that she makes punctuality her hallmark, stressing that the lessons learnt would serve as deterrent to others and noting that leadership is not about excuses.
Responding, Mrs Aziegbemi thanked the governor for considering her plea, saying “indeed, you have shown that you are a leader who feels, who listens and shows mercy.”
She thanked the Governor for the confidence reposed in her and assured of her unflinching loyalty to the administration.
