The Office of the Head of Civil Service of Oyo State is a statutory agency of government saddled with the responsibility of:-

(i) Providing leadership and direction to  the Civil Service by maintaining high morale, espirit de corps and good image of the Officers.

(ii) Fostering professionalism among Civil Servants.

(iii) Advising the Governor on the appointment and deployment of Permanent Secretaries.

(iv) Career development of all Senior Management Staff.

(v) Handling every Establishment matters of the Civil Service.

(vi) Providing Management Service to the Civil Service.

(vii) Serving as member of the State Executive Council.

(viii) Co-ordinating industrial relations of the Civil service.

(ix) Active participation at the National Council on Establishments.

(x) Providing staff for newly established ad-hoc bodies.

(xi) Liaison with Federal and State Heads of Civil Service.

(xii) Overseeing Promotion and acting appointments in the Administrative Officer Cadre, and in the Senior Management Posts, that is, posts attracting salaries GL.13 and above.

(xiii) Discipline of Administrative Officers and Officers in the Senior Management posts.

(xiv) Treating of petitions within and outside the Civil Service

(xv) Provision of general Management Services.

(xvi) Maintenance of adequate personnel records.

(xvii) Granting of permission to any Public Officer wishing to Travel overseas.

(xviii) Provision of general welfare services.

(xix) Making proposals for overseas and local training of Civil/Public Servants.

Since its resuscitation in June l999 following the emergence of a new democratic era in the Country, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of Oyo State has been very active, dynamic and effective in carrying out all the aforementioned statutory responsibilities and other duties that are assigned from time to time by the Chief Executive of the State.  The tempo of achievements of this office however assumed a momentous and unprecedented dimension within the last two years. A lot of innovations were introduced that spurred Oyo State Civil Service to its present enviable status.  Some of the innovations include:-

(i) Training and Capacity Building of Civil and Public Servants in the State.

Access to relevant information is considered to be a vital ingredient of   transformation.  It is against this backdrop that the Office of the Head of Service took a bold step to resuscitate regular training and re-training of Civil and Public Servants.  Between June 2007 and May 2009, over 9,000 Civil and Public Servants across junior, middle level and Senior Management grades have been sponsored by the State Government to attend both local and overseas training programmes. Teachers in the Primary and Post Primary Institutions were not left out in the training programme. Labour leaders were also sponsored to attend a training programme in Industrial Relations in South Africa. This was done with a view to making them well-informed, sharpen their skills and broaden their horizon for effective service delivery. The impact of these training programmes has been conspicuously noticed in the attitude and productivity of workers in the State.

(ii) Internally Generated Revenue:

As a proactive leader, the Head of service led the vanguard for aggressive Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive campaign. Even before the current global economic melt-down, he had foreseen a time when revenue from crude oil will drastically reduce or not forthcoming at all.  In order for the State to overcome such imminent problem and become self-reliant in payment of salaries and allowances and prosecution of capital projects, an EXCO Committee on revenue generation was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Head of Service.  In the same vein, a Revenue Generation committee was set up in all Agencies of Government under the Chairmanship of the Permanent Secretaries. Through this aggressive revenue drive, the State Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has increased significantly. For instance the State IGR in 2007 was N5,988,883,569.46 per annum.  However, as at February 2009, the State realized the sum of N1,599,527,917.62 as IGR.  0ur target is to reach N3 billion on the  short run so that salaries and allowances and pension of officers could be paid from IGR.  In other words we should not be dependent on Federation Allocation to pay workers salaries on the long run.

(iii) Re-orientation and re-branding of Civil and Public Servants.

Having noticed the nonchalant attitude of some Civil and Public Servants in the way they dress to work and outside workplace, the Office of the Head of Service issued a circular that prohibited indecent dressing by Civil and Public Servants either in the work place or outside workplace when on assignment.  Since the issuance of this circular on dress code, all Civil and Public Servants across various grades in Oyo state Civil and Public Service now dress in corporate manner that portrays the pace-setting status of Oyo State.  In addition, Civil and Public Servants report punctually for work and stay at their desks courtesy of a circular on movement of officers within and outside the State Civil Service.

Besides, attitude of Civil and Public Servants to service delivery has changed considerably.  They now discharge their duties in a timely, honest, fair and transparent manner.

(iv) Institutionalization of e-government in Oyo State

Towards institutionalizing e-government in Oyo State, the Office of the Head of Service midwifed the Oyo State Government Assisted Personal Computer Purchase Scheme (GAPP), an offshoot of Computer For All Nigerians Initiative (CANi) whereby Civil and Public Servants were assisted by the State Government to procure personal computers of various configurations through instalmental payment.  The first 250 beneficiaries of the Scheme were assisted with 50% subsidy on the prices of computer purchased.  Apart from increasing computer literacy rate of Civil and Public Servants, the Oyo GAPP provides solid foundation for the recently installed internet facilities in all Ministries and Agencies in the State as part of efforts towards attainment of e-government and paperless office in the State Civil and Public Service.

(v) General Worker's Welfare:

Apart from prompt payment of salaries and allowances, the State Government has approved the new vehicle acquisition programme facilitated by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) Oyo State Council with a view to assisting senior civil servants to own personal brand new cars without collateral security.  In the same vein, junior workers were also assisted to procure new motorcycles without collateral security or down payment.  With this logistic assistance, mobility and transportation problems confronting workers in the State has been reduced to the bearest minimum. The two schemes were approved by the State Government in view of the positive disposition of the Office of the Head of Service to the schemes.

(vi) Building of new office of the Head of Service Complex:

The foundation of a new complex for Office of the Head of Service was laid by the Governor on 18th March, 2009.  The building situated at the back of the Governor's Office Complex is unique and a significant landmark in the history of Oyo State Civil Service as Oyo State is reputed to be the first State in the Federation that will have such a separate office Complex for Head of Service apart from Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.

(vii) Promotion Examinations and Examinations for appointment of Permanent Secretaries.

Through the efforts of the Office of the Head of Service the State Government adopted a policy on promotion examination for all Civil and Public Servants in the State.  The Policy took effect with the outstanding 2006 promotion exercise.  In a related development,  Officers aspiring to become Permanent Secretaries now write examinations and attend oral interview, before their appointment.  This is done with a view to ensuring that only competent and brilliant officers are appointed to the enviable position of Permanent Secretaries in the State Public Service.  The situation is the same for officers aspiring to attain the position of Heads of Non-Ministerial Departments in the State.

Without any doubt, with this catalogue of innovations, the Office of the Head of Service of Oyo State has really transformed Oyo Sate Civil and Public Service and restored its enviable status of Number Civil service in the Federation.

I want to express my profound appreciation to His Excellency, Otunba (Dr) Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala for the visionary and focused direction he has given the Civil Service. We appreciate his love for Civil/Public Servants. I congratulate him on the successful completion of 2 years in Office as Governor of Oyo State. I wish him more success in years ahead.

In conclusion, I want to thank all workers of honour i.e the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary for job well done at this period especially for making the welfare of the staff working in all Arms of Government a priority on their plan. Your pens will never grow dry. Our IGR will continue to climb. Let us all work harder to make Oyo State to continue to set the Pace in all good things in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

May God bless you all. 

Overseer (Dr) E. O. Okebukola (JP)

Head of Service.