Ayantayo urges officers to be proactive
As part of efforts to restrategise and reposition the Ministry for greater service efficiency, the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments and Training has commenced a three-day strategic management retreat for senior staff.
The retreat, which began on Friday at Novatel Hotel, Lekki, brought together key stakeholders, including the Chairman, House Committee on Establishments, Training, Pensions, and Public Service, Hon. Oladele Ajayi; the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Sam Egube; the Honourable Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo; the Permanent Secretary, Directors, and officers on Grade Level 13 and above.
With the theme, “Unfreezing Change: Building and Institutionalising High-Impact Leadership”, the retreat aligns with the strategic goals of the Lagos State Government’s THEMES Plus Agenda and seeks to foster visionary leadership and institutional reforms within the civil service.
Delivering the keynote address, the Honourable Commissioner, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo urged the Ministry’s leadership to become more proactive, agile, and committed to results.
According to him, achieving the vision of a #Greater Lagos requires a public service that is responsive, reform-driven, and anchored on high-impact leadership. He described the Ministry as a foundational organ of government with responsibilities that are both strategic and far-reaching, emphasising the need for institutional reengineering.
The Commissioner highlighted some of the Ministry’s strategic focus areas for 2025, including the full digitisation of establishment records to boost operational efficiency, the reform of outdated service rules to reflect modern realities, and the implementation of competency-based, sector-specific training designed to link learning directly to performance.
He also spoke about plans for a unified human resource development framework to ensure standardised training across MDAs and equitable access for all officers, alongside a strengthened monitoring and evaluation mechanism to track the impact of capacity-building initiatives.
He encouraged participants to use the retreat as an opportunity to reflect, recalibrate, and recommit to the task of institutional renewal, stating that building a culture of high-impact leadership must begin at all levels of the Ministry.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Olubusola Abidakun acknowledged that while the Ministry had made commendable progress, there was still a need for deeper introspection. She posed critical questions to the staff, urging them to reflect on the effectiveness of internal systems, the agility of operations, responsiveness to feedback from client MDAs, commitment to mentoring younger officers, and the Ministry’s openness to innovation.
She stressed that honest answers to these questions would ultimately define the Ministry’s preparedness for the future.
Delivering a goodwill message, Hon. Oladele Ajayi commended the Ministry for the initiative and encouraged staff to approach the retreat with all seriousness, describing it as a crucial platform for rethinking public service leadership and performance.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Sam Egube delivered a lecture on the Global and National Economic Outlook. In his presentation, he urged public servants to place a premium on performance over bureaucracy and to embrace ingenuity rather than remain bound by outdated traditions.
He emphasised the importance of cultivating a forward-thinking public service that catalyses sustainable growth and innovation.
The retreat continues with interactive sessions, workshops, and strategic discussions expected to help reposition the Ministry for better performance.
