Date: 2017-09-27

Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed on Tuesday swore in the newly appointed Head of Service (HOS), Mrs. Susan Modupe Oluwole with a charge to bring to bear her wealth of experience and administrative acumen to the leadership of the State Civil Service.

Governor Ahmed who spoke at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Ilorin, said the appointment was in line with his administration's drive towards building a virile civil service under an appropriate leadership.

He said that it was not only remarkable that he sworn-in the second head of service in his administration but also the first time a female head of service will succeed another. Mrs Susan Modupe Oluwole replaces Hajia Zahra Omar who retired in September, 2017.

Governor Ahmed noted further that though both women were recommended for the position by experience and competence, their emergence also underlines his administration’s determination to promote merit while simultaneously providing more opportunities for women to serve at the highest levels of government.

He urged Oluwole to continually engender high performance in the service so as to ensure that civil servants respond positively to the demands of modern governance and innovations that would not only move the service forward but also create the conditions for high performance.

He also charged her to innovate new approaches to ensure efficiency and enhance government's capacity to meet the aspirations of the people, especially in the area of internally generated revenue and optimal resource utilization. Alhaji Ahmed reiterated his administration's continued commitment to provide the tools and environment necessary for the efficiency of the civil service within the limits of available resources.

He added that his administration is currently constructing an ultra-modern secretariat complex to provide comfortable offices for civil servants.

The governor also acknowledged the contributions of Hajia Zahra Mua'zu Omar, the immediate past Head of Service to the progress of the State Civil Service during her tenure.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs Susan Oluwole solicited for the support of the workers and promised to consolidate on the achievements of her predecessors as well as strengthen the civil service for greater service delivery. She also promised to uphold the confidence placed in her.

She is the twentieth Head of Service and the second female Head of Service since the creation of Kwara State and had served as the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service.

A native of Jebba in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, she joined the State Civil Service in 1989.