In a bid to cushion the harsh effects of the rising cost of goods and services on workers occasioned by the recent fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government, the Edo State Government has rolled out measures to ensure that the State-owned fleet management system is prioritized and sustained to function optimally and effectively.
Addressing participants during a one-day Fleet Management workshop at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy in Benin City, the State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa Esq., said the major objective of the workshop was to share the benefits of the fleet management programme and highlight the successes and challenges as well as the way forward in improving the initiative.
Other intended objectives, he said, include ensuring effective service delivery and getting feedbacks from the stakeholders on the operation of the fleet management programme, with a view to identifying areas for improvement.
“The new fleet management system is a child of necessity, and also a product of commitment of Mr. Governor, his passion and dedication to effect a change in the narrative concerning our fleet management,” Okungbowa said.
“Before last year, when the new fleet management was introduced, we had a plethora of issues in the way we managed our fleet, and one of them was the fact that we had a situation where the different Ministries, Departments and Agencies had a right to purchase their vehicles and manage them. Because of that, we had some Ministries, Department and Agencies that had more than enough, while some had none at all,” he said.
The Head of Service said there were cases where some ministries had drivers but no vehicle, and some had vehicles but had no drivers, which necessitated a change.
“One thing we found prior to the introduction of this new fleet management system was some kind of haphazard way that we managed our fleet, but now, given the identity of the vehicles we have, many politicians and public office holders came, had vehicles assigned to them, and when they exited, they took the vehicles and we had no records.
“There was an instance as Chairman of the State Committee on Auction, courtesy of the SSG, we went to some mechanic workshops across the State, and we found several vehicles belonging to the State Government in those workshops. Some of them had been abandoned for years, and in fact, in some cases, you could not even identify the vehicles other than by the plate numbers.’
“They had been vandalized, and what was more important was that even the mechanics, owners of those workshops couldn’t tell us who brought those vehicles there, and there was no database as to how the vehicles were brought there, which ministry owned them, and all of that contributed to Mr Governor’s decision to say, let’s depart from that path,” he explained.
The Head of Service informed the audience that these and all other reasons necessitated the current strategic way of managing the State’s fleet, and with the introduction of the e-system, in 2021, the State Government now has a strategic way of using the fleet management system to manage drivers and vehicular assets for optimal productivity.
The State Government, the HOS averred, has put measures in place to ensure that the system becomes effective and delivers on its mandate.
“When you begin a project, like the steps that a child takes, when he begins to walk, he wobbles a bit and then with consistency, the steps begin to get stable, and then he can walk and later, he will run.
“So for every new project, especially for projects that are unprecedented, you do not have a precedent to look up to. You are just charting a path like the steps of a child; you will find that things will wobble, but at some points your steps will become firmer, and then you can run,” he said.
Speaking on why fleet management was established, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Strategy, Policy, Projects and Performance Management, Mrs. Sarah Esangbedo Ajose Adeogun, told participants that system was launched in October last year, and that a lot has been achieved between then and now.
“Before this project commenced, we had a small project team that came together, and we have done an enumeration of vehicles owned by the State Government, and the result of that enumeration is that we have over 500 vehicles in Edo State Government,” the Special Adviser said.
“However, as the fleet manager came onboard, His Excellency insisted that we needed to bring our vehicles back so that we can actually see these vehicles and know where they were. We have some burning reasons why His Excellency said we should move from a decentralized logistic management to a centralized one, like what we have in EDSG today.
“We are championing the Edo State Transformation and Enhancement Project, and like you know, the fleet management system sits right in the middle of the transformation. The way we transform our logistics is a key driver in this transformation journey,” she said.
She highlighted some benefits of the scheme to include drivers’ productivity, security, adequate professionalism, verifiable database, among other things.
The Special Adviser said measures put in place to ensure that all these efforts are sustained include effectiveness of drivers, workers’ satisfaction, workplace time saving, increased productivity, reduced cost of vehicles maintenance, and prevention of vehicle theft.
Corroborating the Head of Service and the Special Adviser’s speeches, the Feet Management Consultant, Mr. Jaffar Inegbedion, lauded the Obaseki-led administration for its measures to ensure an efficient workplace mobility for its workers.
Jaffar said the workplace mobility put in place will meet three basic needs, namely: Passenger safety, Vehicle quality, and Availability.
Present at the one-day workshop were Honorable Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Extra Ministerial Departments and Agencies, Drivers, and Focal Persons for Edo Government fleets in the MDAs. There was also a feedback session for participants.
Highpoint of the event was the official unveiling of the shuttle buses named MEGA CONNECT by the Head of Service. The MEGA CONNECT buses will run from 8:00am to 4:20pm daily, shuttling from the Government House to the State Secretariat and to the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy in a triangular form, to help cushion the harsh effects of the rising costs on workers.
Speaking to journalists after the unveiling of the staff shuttle, the Head of Service said it was a major achievement of the Obaseki-led administration.
“You know Mr. Governor is always scoring first in all that he does. This is a new way of managing our fleet; we have been on it for about a year, and the whole essence of it is to do things differently, and it has helped in the optimal utilization of vehicular assets,“ he said.
