Retired senior civil servants have called on state governments to patronise locally-made goods to boost productivity, create employment opportunities and increase revenue.
The retired senior officials, under the aegis of the South-West Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries, stated this in a communiqué signed by its Chairman, Dr Ebenezer Okebukola and the General Secretary, Afolabi Amure, at the end of the group’s seventh quarterly general conference in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, recently.
SWARHOSPS also advocated for the allocation of oil blocks to each state, to boost the revenue of the states and enable them to meet citizens’ yearnings and aspirations.
The retired senior civil servants urged South-West states to promote patronage of locally produced goods such as cocoa products to stimulate growth and employment in the zone.
They also urged the South-West states “to take advantage of the delisting of air and railway from the exclusive list and come together to improve rail and air linkages along major expressways to the capitals and major developmental hubs in the region to facilitate good linkages and development activities in the zone”.
SWARHOSPS, while appreciating the South-West governors for prompt payment of pensions and gratuities, urged the government at all levels to improve the welfare of serving public servants through realistic minimum wages to reflect the prevailing economic realities.
The body hailed the improvement in security within the South-West and urged governors “to continue to cooperate and deepen the security arrangements to improve the security of lives and property in the South-West.”
It urged the South-West states to harmonise the various ongoing public service reforms within the region to enable the movement of staff across states in the region to improve their delivery.
SWARHOSPS also urged the governors in the region “to domesticate the Nigeria Senior Citizens’ Centre established by the Federal Government and located in Abuja to take care of the elderly and senior citizens’ welfare and care”.
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who declared the meeting open, urged the retired civil servants to continue to be good reservoirs of knowledge and experience to their states, the region and Nigeria at all times.
Oyebanji, represented by the Head of Service of Ekiti State, Sunday Komolafe, urged SWARHOSPS to come up with innovative ideas that would promote development beyond the current level in the region and Nigeria.
