Gov Diri Swears In SSG, Pledges Better Welfare For Workers, Teachers
...Calls for investigation of the activities of Council Chairman
By Oyosongo Udoyo
The Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri has sworn-in the former three-term Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Friday Konbowei Benson as new Secretary to the State Government (SSG), urging him to see his appointment as a call to higher service for the overall benefit of people of the state.
The governor during a brief ceremony yesterday at the government house in Yenagoa, hinted that SSG’s mandate is to liaise with the Head of Service and Permanent Secretaries towards ensuring effective implementation of government’s policies and programmes.
Diri, who expressed conviction that the new SSG would perform his duties creditably based on his pedigree, urged him to utilise the new opportunity to demonstrate his capacity and wherewithal in the performance of his functions.
He said: “From the curriculum vitae presented before all of us, clearly he is a square peg in a square hole. We believe that he will perform his duties creditably as SSG.
“He has the duty of liaising with the engine room of government, the Head of Service and the Permanent Secretaries.
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“He has the duty of ensuring that the policies and programmes of this administration are implemented to the letter. That means he equally will be liaising with the Government House from where most of the policies and programmes will be coming from.
“So I charge you today to take your office not as a treasure but as a service to the people of Bayelsa and to mankind,” he said.
Governor Diri later met with leaders of the organised labour in the state during which he expressed his commitment to better the welfare of civil servants, describing the workforce as critical to the success of his administration.
He said he was aware of some of the contentious labour-related issues having interacted with organised labour before the November 16, 2019 governorship election and thought it wise to once again meet with them after being sworn in.
