Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has issued a direct and uncompromising charge to the state’s permanent secretaries, telling them that the quality of governance depends on their ability to serve as a professional bridge between political leadership and the civil service, and warning that public servants who fail to update their knowledge will become disconnected from the realities of modern administration. The charge was delivered on Monday, September 21, 2026, at the opening of a three-day executive training programme for permanent secretaries in Yenagoa, the state capital, organised by the Bayelsa State Government in collaboration with the Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered).
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Peter Akpe, used the occasion to deliver a lecture on the fundamentals of public administration, drawing on the managerial principles of the German political economist Max Weber to make his case. “Until you have a strong bureaucracy, you can’t run a good government,” Diri said. “We should ensure that we are intentional and conscious of that particular role. You are a bridge.” He emphasised that bureaucracy is expected to promote order, efficiency, fairness, accountability, proper record-keeping and institutional continuity in government. The permanent secretaries, he said, must provide sound professional advice to political leaders while working closely with directors and other professionals within their ministries.
The governor’s remarks carried a pointed warning about the dangers of intellectual stagnation. “There are people who are permanent secretaries today. They joined service maybe about 30 years ago, and they are still working with the old knowledge; you can’t fit in now. So, you really have to update through learning,” he said. He cautioned against the tendency for decisions in some ministries to be confined to a narrow circle of the commissioner, the permanent secretary and sometimes the Director of Finance and Administration, urging them to carry their directors and other officers along. “You don’t assume you know it all,” he said.
The training programme, themed “Strategic Leadership and Public-Sector Governance for Effective Service Delivery,” is the latest in a series of capacity-building initiatives undertaken by the Diri administration since it approved the appointment of eighteen new permanent secretaries in February 2026 to strengthen the civil service and enhance service delivery across ministries, departments and agencies. In April 2026, the state government launched a digitalisation training programme for civil servants, with the Head of Service, Dr Ebiye Sawyer, stating that the initiative was designed to replace cumbersome paper-based processes with efficient electronic systems and that the production of newly digitalised identification cards had commenced, starting with permanent secretaries and newly recruited staff.
In his welcome address, Sawyer said the training came at a time when citizens expected government institutions to be more responsive, transparent and efficient. He described permanent secretaries as occupying a strategic position in the machinery of government, with responsibilities ranging from policy implementation and institutional strengthening to promoting professionalism within the public service. “Citizens expect government institutions to be responsive, transparent, efficient and capable of delivering quality services that positively affect their lives,” Sawyer said. He added that strategic leadership requires more than the ability to manage routine administrative responsibilities, demanding vision, sound judgement, innovation, effective communication, accountability and the capacity to inspire officers towards achieving clearly defined institutional goals. He urged participants to embrace digital transformation and improve administrative processes, data management and access to government services.
The Chairman of the Bayelsa State Civil Service Commission, Perekiye Buruboyefe, urged the participants to open their minds and hearts to the knowledge to be offered during the programme. The Chairman of the Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered), Dr Sani Abubakar, expressed the institute’s commitment to ensuring that the training achieved its objectives, assuring the state government and participants of the institute’s support. The Bayelsa State Director of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr Jonathan Asigo, said the training would enhance the permanent secretaries’ understanding of the principles guiding the conduct of public officers and help them discharge their responsibilities more effectively.
The Diri administration has positioned civil service reform as a central pillar of its governance agenda. In July 2026, the deputy governor announced that the governor had approved the extension of the retirement age for health workers from sixty to sixty-five years and years of service from thirty-five to forty years, alongside a medical residency training fund. The governor also directed that 108 housing units be allocated to civil servants in the state. In April 2026, he approved the re-engagement of 704 sacked staff of three state-owned tertiary institutions, including the payment of their salary arrears and other entitlements. In September 2026, the Head of Service announced a salary increase for civil servants and the payment of arrears. These measures reflect a deliberate strategy to address welfare concerns while simultaneously investing in the professional development of the state’s workforce.
The governor’s emphasis on continuous learning and collaboration with directors and other officers also addresses a long-standing criticism of bureaucratic culture in Nigeria, where decision-making is sometimes concentrated at the top and lower-level professionals are excluded from policy formulation and implementation. By urging permanent secretaries to work closely with directors and other professionals, Diri is signalling that effective service delivery depends on a broader distribution of responsibility and knowledge within ministries, rather than on the exclusive authority of a small cadre of senior officials. The reference to Max Weber, who argued that bureaucratic organisation is the most rational and efficient form of administration, was a deliberate choice. It underscored the governor’s argument that a professional, rule-based civil service is not an obstacle to political leadership but the essential instrument through which political decisions are translated into tangible outcomes for citizens.
For the permanent secretaries who participated in the three-day programme, the governor’s message was both a recognition of their strategic role and a challenge to raise their performance. The Diri administration has invested heavily in the state’s human capital, but the ultimate test of those investments will be whether citizens experience improved services in their daily lives, in the form of better healthcare, more responsive education, more efficient land administration and more transparent governance. The governor has made clear that he expects the permanent secretaries to lead that transformation. Whether they rise to the occasion will determine whether Bayelsa’s civil service becomes a model for other states or another example of unrealised potential.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments