Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde says his administration had prioritised the welfare of workers in the state in the last 44 months and would continue to do so.
Governor Makinde said he had ensured that no worker was unjustly dismissed from work so far in his tenure.
The governor, who stated this during the 2023 Inter-faith Service, held at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, said he had remained faithful to his promise to uphold workers’ welfare, that his administration was built on fairness, equity and justice.
Employments
Makinde, who ordered the immediate payment of two months salary deductions to workers out of the five months outstanding, noted that his administration had employed 500 health workers as well as 5,000 teachers and brought back those who were wrongfully dismissed without collecting anything.
He says, “Though there are still few people that are yet to be brought back into the system, it was not this administration that dismissed those individuals but we have to look at the documents on the ground. If they had accused someone of theft, would I bring the person back into the system? No. So, those we brought back were those we were satisfied with their documentation.”
Makinde, who promised to always speak the truth to the people of Oyo State, asserted that workers started getting 13th month salaries in 2019, when his administration came on board.
The Governor assured that they would get it again in 2023 when he would be reelected as the governor.
He said his administration had pledged to look after the welfare of workers and Oyo State citizens as a whole.
Salary Structure
The governor, while speaking on the salary structure of Oyo State House of Assembly workers, said that his administration would find means of paying the Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure, CONLESS within the resources available to the state.
In their separate messages, Islamic cleric, Alhaji Bello Rufai and Bishop Ademola Moradeyo, appreciated the governor for fulfilling his electoral promises to workers, adding that the governor had been embarking on policies that would bring succour to the civil servants and people of the state in general.
Earlier, the Oyo State Head of Service, HoS Alhaja Ololade Agboola, commended the entire workers of Oyo State for their cooperation with the present administration since inception and called for dedication from the workers, pledging the continued support of the civil servants to the government.
She said: “In the last three and half years of this administration, the government of Oyo State, under the leadership of our compassionate governor, has made the improvement of the living conditions of the retirees a priority of his administration. Similarly, it is imperative to celebrate the peaceful and cordial industrial relations in the state in the year 2022 and since the inception of this administration.”
The HoS mentioned some key milestones of Governor Makinde’s tenure such as capacity building, approval of the renovation of the Simeon Adebo Staff Development Centre, structured training on ICT usage in the Service, leadership enhancement and development programme organised for Accounting Officers and TESCOM training programme where over 20,000 teachers were trained, among others.
She also mentioned the Merit Award Day Celebration aimed at motivating and rewarding Civil/Public Servants, which had been held for three consecutive years, as one of Makinde’s achievements.
He said no fewer than 218 officers had been rewarded with a total cash gift of twenty one million, eight hundred thousand Naira (N21.8million), which had been disbursed since the award was inaugurated.
Confidence Okwuchi