By Chinelo Obogo
Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, has been recognised as a transformational leader in public service by the Lagos State Government.
At the maiden edition of the Lagos State Public Service ‘Ideas Day’ at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja on April 19, Seriki-Ayeni was recognised as a transformational leader in the state’s public service by the Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (OTCI) created under the governor’s office.
While presenting Seriki-Ayeni with the transformational leader award for “Outstanding Performance and Dedication to Service,” Head of Service, Lagos State, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, expressed delight that a woman in the public service had been so recognised.
He said the administrative tradition in the state has, over time, given increased opportunities to competent, professional women to achieve as much as, if not more than, their male peers in the service and that it is a thing of pride for the state and a trait it continues to blaze for others.
He said Seriki-Ayeni, however, is not just a poster girl for women in the state’s public service but someone who has shown her mettle in public and private sectors across the globe.
Speaking on behalf of other awardees, Olufemi Omololu of Lagos Island Maternity and Madewa Adebanjo of Randle General Hospital, Seriki-Ayeni appreciated the recognition accorded them but insisted there were other innovators in the state.
“It is said: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you transform public service? One officer at a time. We, three, are a small part of a group of many transformational leaders in the public service and reaffirms my belief in the emergence of a dynamic and innovative public service in Lagos State.”
Seriki-Ayeni was educated in Columbia and Harvard Universities and garnered professional work experience in diverse places like the New York City Department of Education and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
She was later given the task of heading the OEQA after the inception of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2019.