The Chairman of Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission, Mr Alaba Adewumi Abejide, has stressed the need to apply ethics in the running of the local governments for effective service delivery to enhance transformative governance at the grassroots.
In his opening remarks at a training program for administration and finance directors held at the Ezekiel Oguntuase Events Centre in Ado-Ekiti, Abejide said the workshop resonated with the challenges and opportunities the local government faced in the quest to serve the people at the grassroots with integrity, transparency,, and accountability.
Represented by the Commissioner for Training, Manpower Development, Information and Civic Orientation, Wole Olujobi, at the workshop tagged “Ethical Revolution And Contemporary Developments In Local Government Administration and Service”, the chairman noted that the topic of the workshop had the potential to address the challenges of governance at the grassroots to enhance integrity, transparency, and accountability.
“There is no gainsaying that local government administration is passing through a revolution that is not just ethical in nature but also deeply rooted in the principles of transparency, accountability, and community engagement. This ethical revolution is reshaping the way we govern, serve, and connect with the public,” Abejide said, noting that the complexities of the 21st century had made it clear that there is a growing demand for ethical leadership and governance in all sectors.
Insisting that there must be a deliberate policy to address transparency challenges in the local government system, Abejide explained:
“We can no longer operate in silos being detached from the people we serve. The people at the grassroots now seek, more than ever, a commitment to ethical practices that foster trust and confidence in our operations.”
He urged the participants to pay attention to the resource persons and counseled them to ask questions and make contributions and observations that would widen their knowledge.
Abejide praised Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji for providing the lead in the transparent governance of the state, even as he also commended the governor for lending support to the local government system to fulfill its mandate to the people at the grassroots.
In his remarks, while noting that the workshop’s topic represented a fresh paradigm in the local government system for accountable governance, Olujobi reminded the participants that the lessons learned must be transmitted to the generality of staff in all the local governments to enable them to discharge their duties in line with the general principle governing the theme of the workshop.
In the communique issued at the end of the workshop, the government was advised to integrate ethics education into the school curriculum to instill moral values in society.
The communique added: “Re-orientation programs must be introduced. That is, the government should revive induction programs for local government officers at professional institutions to enhance service delivery; sanctions should be imposed on erring officers; and government should begin applying punishments on those who flout ethical standards to promote positive mindsets and accountability.”
These measures, the communique added, could help promote a culture of integrity and good governance.
