The Ogun State Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), has tasked selected staffers from various agencies of government to regard themselves as ambassadors and agents of change in their respective agencies as part of efforts to ensure service delivery.

The State Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya, who declared the annual retreat open at the Simeon Adebo Library Conference Hall, Abeokuta, said the theme "Effective Implementation and Coordination of Reforms Initiatives" marked a significant step in transforming the civil service.

Onasanya encouraged participants to regard themselves as ambassadors and agents of change in their respective agencies, participate in enlightenment programmes, reflect on goals of the present administration and strive for better governance, pointing out that a " civil service without reform is a dead service ".

The Head of Service charged them not to work in isolation but deploy more knowledge in discharge of their profession so as to make impact, assuring that without reform, there could not be transformation. He added that the State Government has provided enough avenue for them to learn, relearn and retain their quota.

In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr. Jola Oyeneye, appreciated the State Government for embracing reform which could be educational, health, economic reform among others.

Mr. Oyeneye in his presentation on the appraisal of last year's workplace as well as roadmap of activities for the present year said the Bureau worked in line with the scheme of service while its vision was to promote excellence in public service delivery with core values of integrity, technical competence, efficiency and professionalism.

The Permanent Secretary said the characteristics of change agents included passion, resilience, creativity, collaboration, empathy as well as a growth mindset, urging them to build stronger cases for change, identity reasons for reform and build relationships in their workplace.

In their separate goodwill messages, Permanent Secretaries in the Bureau of Establishment and Training, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Service Matters, State Pensions as well as Women Affairs and Social Development implore participants to reflect on the knowledge acquired from the retreat to further equip themselves, work in line with the vision of their respective agencies and ensure positive changes began with them.

Delivering his lecture on New Trends in the Public Service Reforms, the Director, Strategic Communications, BPSR, Abuja, Mallam Aliyu Umar explained that reforms were deliberate and planned changes to the structures, processes as well as cultures of an organisation aimed at improving effectiveness, accountability and responsiveness in service delivery while its global trends included digitalisation with citizens engagement.

Mallam Umar said poor planning, insufficient stakeholders buy-in, inadequate resources, insufficient monitoring with weak implementation capacity could lead to a failure in reform while the way out included high impact prioritisation, clear governance mechanism, data driven among others.

Contributing, the Executive Secretary, Ogun State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mr. Yemi Oduyemi in his presentation titled Building Cordial and Stronger Relationship, charged participants on relevance of cordial interaction in workplace which he said was a determinant to productivity. He encouraged them to adapt with their working environment and deploy conflict resolution in resolving issues.

The Director of Service Matters, Mrs. Oyinlola Oyenuga reviewed the impact of the activities of BPSR in the year 2024, adding that, there would be need for more engagement with private organisations as the Bureau could not do it alone in achieving its mandate.

Responding on behalf of the change agents, the Director of Treasury, State Treasury Office, Mr. Taiwo Olalekan, appreciated the organisers, saying that the retreat had broadened their knowledge on global trends in public service reform.