By Sodiq Yusuf
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Thursday identified integrity and diligence as key ingredients to the sustainability of an effective public service.
Aregbesola also called for the inclusion of thorough-bred technocrats in the nation’s ivory towers to shape the next generation of individuals to man the public service.
The Minister spoke at the public presentation of a book, “On Merit”, an auto-biography detailing the profile and 35-year-experience of the retiring Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Barr. Georgina Ehuriah-Arisa.
He described Euhriah-Arisa as an Amazon, whose sterling achievements as a public servant is indelible and worthy of emulation.
Aregbesola described the outgoing Ministry of Interior Permanent Secretary as a quintessential civil servant, who is loyal, diligent, firm, efficient, effective, knowledgeable and hark working.
“She has proven to be an excellent civil servant. Her capacity for work and diligence are extraordinary. Having worked across several federal establishments, she capped her career with the appointment as Permanent Secretary. Because she distinguished herself, she was at the Presidency, the pinnacle of government, where nothing but the best is good enough. I therefore consider it a privilege to have worked with her – one of the best the service ever produced.
“She is also a good person. A human-being to the core. She is courteous, reserved, graceful and dignified. Her book is therefore a treasure trove of the experience and wisdom of her meritorious service. It should be a compulsory read for students and teachers of public administration and civil servants. Beyond that, as I have always advocated, someone with her experience should have a place as a faculty in any top university and civil service training academy, teaching public administration and shaping the intellect of those who will mind public service at all levels in the country.”
