EXCLUSIVE! X-RAYING THE IMPACT OF THE FANTASTIC FIVE IN LESS THAN 100 DAYS IN OFFICE AT LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE COMMISSION
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Commissioner I, Mr. Hakeem Bamgbola; Chairman, Mr. Kamal Baiyewu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu; Commissioner III, Mr. Hammed Seriki; Commissioner IV, Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo and Commissioner II, Engr. Biodun Orekoya, during the swearing-in ceremony of members of the Local Government Service Commission, at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.
* Super Politicians Cum Super Administrators Making Super Moves
Saddled with the policy trust ‘to harmonize and coordinate staff matters and welfare in the Unified Local Government Service’, the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) was established under the Local Government Law No. 14 of 1976 and contained in the Revised Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015 Cap L43 to appoint and retain qualified workforce, have a highly motivated workforce, and ensure conformity with set rules and regulations. Since then, this onerous task has mostly been handled by retired civil servants at the helm of the Commission.
Taking a detour, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu late 2020 decided to go the way of past local government administrators for the leadership of the Service Commission. Not only that, instead of having one Commissioner, there are five Commissioners to man the five divisions viz. Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe (aka IBILE) of Lagos State. Thus, the LGAs/LCDAs under a division will be under the administration of one commissioner, albeit with the same policy, hence synergy is assured. This novel idea stems from the belief that ‘he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches’.
This decision has started to yield immediate results, one of which is the renovation and rehabilitation of the Old Secretariat building occupied by the Commission. The state government used to run its administration there before it moved to Alausa, Ikeja. Another is ongoing discussion to revert the 1% fund allocation that is dedicated to staff training.
On his decision to make the bold move,
Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu shared: ‘As we all know, the local government is the most important tier of government because it is the closest to the people. The policies implemented at the local government level are those with direct impact on the lives of our people. It is therefore imperative for us to ensure that we pay greater attention to local government administration if we are to achieve our objective of inclusive governance and enhanced service delivery at the grassroots level’.
THE FANTASTIC FIVE
The five commissioners sworn-in into the Local Government Service Commission on Monday 7th December 2020 are:
1. Hon. Kamal Baiyewu – Chairman
2. Hon. Hakeem Bamgbola – Member – Commissioner I
3. Engr. Abiodun Orekoya – Member – Commissioner II
4. Mr. Ahmed Seriki – Member – Commissioner III
5. Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo – Member – Commissioner IV
The Fantastic Five are round pegs in round holes being once a chairman or an administrator of LGAs/LCDAs in Lagos. They have requisite knowledge and experience to effectively discharge the responsibilities of their new office.
The Governor expressed his confidence in their capacity to deliver, ‘You have been appointed to fulfill our mandate of bringing governance closer to the people. You have all been in position of leadership at the local government level and you know what needs to be done for the electorate to feel our impact in our local government councils and local council development areas. I charge you with the responsibility of engendering socio-economic reforms at the local government level; you must ensure that our councils have what it takes to provide satisfactory and effective public service.’
EXCLUSIVE CHAT WITH THE COMMISSIONERS
In separate interviews with Trek Africa Newspaper, three of the 5 Commissioners spoke with Oki Samson on the task and what they have been doing in the less than 100 days at the helm.
Hon. Hakeem Adisa Bamgbola
Trek Africa: Why do you think the Governor chose this different path?
Hon. Bamgbola: My name is Hon. Hakeem Adisa Bamgbola, the Vice Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos Central Senatorial District and the Commissioner of Local Government Service Commission.
Most of us who have been appointed are veterans in the local government system. We have been once chairman, sole administrator and so on. We know the terrain, we know the system.
The Governor has done the right thing by bringing the right people into the system. This place has always been occupied by retired civil servants like heads of service but this time around, the Governor decided to bring those who have been through the system, they know how it operates and what we need for our workers.
Trek Africa: What’s your role on this new job?
Hon. Bamgbola: The people we are meant to oversee are the civil servants in the respective LGAs from level 01 to the last cadre. In a system that you have worked for almost 8 years, you will know what goes on in the system and how it operates.
One of our primary responsibilities is to train, redeploy, promote, and discipline staff across the 57 LGAs/LCDAs in Lagos. But the work has been broken down into divisions – Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe divisions.
For me, all the LGAs/LCDAs under Lagos Island are under my purview but it is the same policy that we make for all the staff.
The most important need that we have identified is training. For over a year, a lot of training has not been done and you need to train and retrain workers so that they can compete with civil servants all over the world. There is lack of funding to staff training for the Local Government Service Commission. We have met council managers, council treasurers, the directors, the Permanent Secretaries, the unions and we will meet the local government chairmen too. The local government chairmen are also happy that their own people are there and that is a strategic move by the Governor, so we need to be up to the task.
The Permanent Secretaries and directors at the Local Government Service Commission at the Old Secretariat are also happy because it is been a long time that anything has been done to their condition of service.
Trek Africa: What’s the role of the Civil Service?
Hon. Bamgbola: Civil service is there to support the government. They are the engine room of governance so we need to encourage them, train them, and give them good condition of service so they can perform well. I believe with the right support, we will have a new dawn.
What is due to workers must be done by chairmen of local councils, especially the 1% training fund. We expect a better workforce at the local government areas.
L-R: Publisher, Trek Africa Newspaper, Oki Samson with Hon. Abiodun Taofeek Adaranijo.
Trek Africa: Why do we have the Local Government Service Commission in Lagos?
Hon. Adaranijo:
My name is Hon. Abiodun Taofeek Adaranijo, one of the Commissioners at the Local Government Service Commission. The Local Government Service Commission was set up to oversee the activities in the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas of Lagos state.
Trek Africa: Your leadership in the Local Government Service Commission is populated by past local council administrators, briefly tell us about your track record?
Hon. Adaranijo: I have served in various offices. A former Councillor, Supervisor, Vice Chairman in Agege LGA. I served for three terms as Chairman in Orile-Agege LCDA before becoming a member of the House of Representatives representing Agege Federal Constituency.
I want to say my appreciation to God, my leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my speaker Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, the good people of Agege Federal Constituency and Ikeja Division, all members of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, and all citizens of Lagos that brought Babajide Sanwo-olu into office because if he is not there, I will not be here. All of them have played a role in what I am today.
Trek Africa: What’s your expectations on this new role?
Hon. Adaranijo: I believe we are going to turn things around in Lagos in the Local Government Service Commission. Our blueprint is to deliver a skilful workforce that is professional in all local government areas in Lagos state. It is the joint effort of all the commissioners.
We want to improve on the standard and wellbeing of our workforce so that they can deliver excellence. We want to justify the need for the 37 LCDAs that were created by Asiwaju Tinubu and the 20 constitutionally-registered LGAs.
Our board is mainly concerned about staff of local councils. We want to ensure that they perform well. It will affect the fortunes of the state, the party, and Nigeria. Local government needs to employ a lot of people. That is why we are here.
Some people don’t even know that the LGAs do anything. It is the job of the PROs and information officers to project the image of their LGAs.
L-R: Publisher, Trek Africa Newspaper, Oki Samson with Hon. Ahmed Ayinde Seriki
Trek Africa: Can you briefly share your career path?
Mr. Seriki: My name is Ahmed Ayinde Seriki
I started as a career officer (as Public Relations Officer, Somolu LGA) in the local government, then I contested for Chairman in 2011 and was appointed Supervisor for Education and Information. In 2014, I was appointed Executive Secretary of Epe LGA. In 2016, I was appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the Office of the Chief of Staff to Governor Akinwumi Ambode. Later I became Senior Special Assistant/General Manager to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Lekki Free Trade Zone. In October 2020, I was appointed as Commissioner in Local Government Service Commission to represent Epe Division.
Trek Africa: What are your deliverables?
Mr. Seriki: As a commissioner, we have a target given to us by Mr. Governor. And that is our blueprint to ensure that professionalism is put in place and to ensure that we restore confidence of our people on the local government administration, making it comparable with any civil service system in other parts of the world.
We want to have a civil service that we can say we have touched in terms of welfare and professionalism.
In the past, the Civil Service is kind of stereotyped but now with computers and IT, activities will be automated. We will ensure that local government staff are IT-literate especially our secretaries.
It is imperative to note the charge of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu to the Commissioners on the day they were sworn in so that their performance can be measured in line with the set target. The Governor’s charge, ‘a critical factor in the attainment of grassroots development is the quality and commitment of the local government personnel saddled with the responsibility of ensuring smooth administrative processes and effective implementation of policies and programmes.’
‘As Chairman and members of the Local Government Service Commission, you have the important role of overseeing recruitment, promotion, discipline and career management. This is an onerous responsibility which must be performed with a strong sense of purpose and intentionality. You must exercise due diligence by ensuring that all your decisions are guided by relevant rules and guidelines. You must also strive to be fair and just in all your decisions because this will go a long way in boosting the morale of council workers.’
‘I am hopeful that you will provide visionary leadership that will eventually engender better councils with the capacity to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.’
L-R: Newly appointed members of the Local Government Service Commission, Commissioner II, Engr. Biodun Orekoya; Commissioner IV, Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo; Commissioner III, Mr. Hammed Seriki; Commissioner I, Mr. Hakeem Bamgbola and the Chairman, Mr. Kamal Baiyewu during their swearing-in ceremony at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.
In his acceptance speech on the day of inauguration, the Chairman of the Commission, Hon. Kamal Baiyewu remarked: ‘Today marks a new dawn in local government administration in Nigeria and Lagos State in particular. In line with the change mantra of our party, Mr. Governor handed the local government administration through the Local Government Service Commission to former local government administrators. This is a clear departure from the past.’
The Commissioner, Hon. Baiyewu assured the Governor and the people of Lagos, ‘Sir, we pledge to reciprocate this confidence you have reposed on us and promise to deliver a highly professional and motivated workforce that can compete with any civil service in the whole world’.
It is hoped that the new leadership at the Local Government Service Commission will create a robust environment that will engender the fulfilment of the mission of the Commission that is ‘to appoint and retain professionally qualified and well motivated workforce required in the provision of efficient and effective service delivery at various local governments and local council development areas of the state.’
