It was a day of tributes for the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, as Permanent Secretaries from Lagos State commenced a Strategic Leadership and Management Course (SLMC) at the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona School of Governance Studies (NIPSS-OSKASOGS), Ago-Iwoye.
The programme, tagged SLMC 2, follows the widely acclaimed maiden edition earlier in the year, which trained senior government officials from Ogun State.
The opening ceremony drew prominent figures from academia and the public service, including the Director-General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo; Director of NIPSS-OSKASOGS, Prof. Sola Adeyanju, mni; Head of Service of Lagos State, Mr. Bode Agoro; and his Ogun State counterpart, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya, who led some participants from the first batch to the event.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, represented by Mr. Agoro, commended Governor Abiodun for facilitating the takeover of the Ago-Iwoye institute by NIPSS. He also paid glowing tribute to the late Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, for donating the facility as a centre of excellence for leadership training in Africa.
In his remarks, Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Onasanya, described Governor Abiodun as “an apostle of capacity building and efficient service delivery.” He noted that the one-week intensive training held in April for Ogun’s top civil servants had already boosted productivity across the state’s workforce.
Onasanya also stressed that Ogun remains “the investment destination of choice” owing to deliberate planning, while urging the civil service, as the engine room of government, to brace up for the evolving challenges of governance.
The Director-General of NIPSS, Prof. Omotayo, said the Lagos programme was borne out of a growing inter-state collaboration for administrative excellence, inspired by the success of the earlier training for Ogun officials.
Similarly, Prof. Adeyanju, Director of NIPSS-OSKASOGS, described the institute’s presence in Ogun as “a blessing to the South-West,” lauding Governor Abiodun’s foresight. He explained that the course would sharpen the policy formulation and implementation skills of Lagos Permanent Secretaries, providing them with advanced tools in public sector management to drive efficiency and innovation in Nigeria’s commercial hub.
All the speakers at the event also commended the vision of the late Awujale, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, for establishing the institute, describing it as a monumental contribution to leadership development and good governance in Nigeria.
They noted that Oba Adetona’s foresight and generosity in founding the institute remain a lasting legacy, one that will continue to inspire capacity building and strengthen governance across the country.