By Dupson Collins, 31st March, 2024
The immediate past Head of Service in Ondo State, Pastor Kayode Olaniyi Ogundele has stated that he has no place for bitterness or animosity against anyone following his untimely retirement from the service of Ondo State.
Pastor Kayode Olaniyi Ogundele is the 15th Head of Service of Ondo State. It could be recalled that the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa announced the approval of the retirement of the State Head of Service, Mr. Kayode Ogundele at the age of 57.
He made this disclosure at a well attended reception organized by the Ikare Peace Think Tank at the Dejavu Hotel in Akure on Easter Sunday, 31st March, 2024.
Speaking with the PATH NEWS, Pastor Ogundele thanked the government of Ondo State for the privilege to serve the state as the 15th Head of Service.
The Ikare born bureaucrat said he has no reason to be bittered saying out of thousand civil servants in Ondo State, he was privileged to be among the 16th Head of Service the state has produced since 1976.
His words: ” Why should I be bittered? By the grace of God, today, I am the 15th Head of Service of Ondo State. The state was created in 1976, we have thousands of civil servants and out of these thousands that rose to the position of Permanent Secretary, 16 of us as of today were Head of Service which I am one of them, the 15th HoS”.
” No place for bitterness in my mind; what I have in my heart is gratitude to Almighty God and privilege to serve Ondo State as the 15th HoS”.
He added that the number of years in the Office of Head of Service doesn’t matter saying it was a great privilege to be considered for the position among equals.
“Being Head of Service is an icy on the position of Permanent Secretary. I count it as a great honour and privilege to be appointed as Head of Service. Even if I spend a month in the office, we have seen HoS who spent 6 months; my predecessor was in the saddle for seven months. Before I was asked to go, I have spent one and half years in office”.
Ogundele said what gladden his heart most is the solid and positive contributions he made to both the civil service of Ondo State and the society. “Why I am so happy today is because within the one and half years in office, I have been able to made solid and positive contributions both to the civil service of Ondo State and the society at large”.
” I know whatever the situation is, I might not have gotten to my normal age of retirement but it is certain that at this level, being an HoS of the state, I don’t think there’s any other level I would have served in the service of Ondo State”.
While thanking the Ikare Peace Think Tank for the great honour done on him with the warm reception, he promised to build human, capital development and enhancement of Ikare Community if he has the opportunity to serve in the future.
” Whatever opportunity I still have in the future to serve at whatever level, I will always build human, capital development and enhancement of community I come from a priority”.
Pastor Ogundele charged the gladiators in Ikare to always preach and maintain peace saying the community can only development when peace and harmony reign.
“The era of crisis had gone. Ikare Akoko is no longer in the news for the bad reasons again. The elites of Ikare must continue to champion and preach peace at all times because our community will only experience development when we live in peace as brothers and sisters”.
He thanked the representative of Olukare and Owa Ale for honouring him with their presence saying the coming together of the chiefs under the same roof to celebrate him is a begining of new thing in Ikare Akoko and its environs.
