By Olawale Abdul-Fatah
Barely 48 hours after resuming as Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has barred staff of the ministry from embarking on any annual leaves.
Fashola stressed that approving leaves for staff would cripple the government plans for housing and works across the country.
The Minister, who gave the directives while addressing the senior management staff of the Ministry at the Conference Room in Mabushi, warned that that there was still work to be done to consolidate on the achievements recorded so far.
Fashola urged all the agencies and departments of the Ministry to work closely with the Permanent Secretary to achieve the feat adding that the budget remained the article of faith between the government and the governed.
He declared: “One of the first things we have to do is to quickly work out the budget for the Ministry of Works and Housing and we have to do that in the next two weeks”, adding that because the budget was the article of faith in governance, all agencies and departments of the Ministry must work together to produce a budget worthy of note by the Ministry.
Pointing out that the leadership of the National Assembly has expressed commitment to conduct all the budget defenses in the month of October, Fashola said in order to ensure that this was achieved and all documents were made ready for the defense, all leaves, travels and other less compelling engagements must be put aside for now.
He stressed the need for the nation’s professionals to be more committed and dedicated to the service of the country pointing out that the fortunes of every nation was determined by how their professionals engage in national service. He said the central purpose of public service was to create prosperity and deliver better life to the people.
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