You’ve Shown Dedication, Commitment To Our State, Makinde Lauds Workforce At 2025 Public/Civil Service Awards
•By OYENIYI KAZEEM
IBADAN – OYO State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has hailed the Public/Civil Servants in the state for their support, dedication and commitment to the growth of the state.
The governor stated this on Friday, at the 2025 Public Service Week and 2024 Merit Award Ceremony for Public/Civil Servants in the state, held at the House of Chiefs, House of Assembly Complex, Secretariat, Ibadan.
The governor, who said that his administration has been lucky to serve with individuals who have demonstrated great dedication to ensuring the progress and development of the state, explained that both elected officials and career officers must work together for the interest of the state and that is what has happened in the state.
The governor congratulated recipients of various awards at the event, lauding them for serving the state meritoriously, while also charging them to continue to strive for excellence.
He equally applauded the Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni, mni for encouraging gender balance in the workforce through the introduction of the female football team in the sporting activities.
While thanking the public/civil servants for their efforts and support, Governor Makinde also charged them to train their children for better opportunities in the future.
He said, “Soji Eniade served under APC. But when I learnt that he would chair this event, I said, well, in Oyo State, for governance, we don’t know PDP, we don’t know APC. Wherever we get the best to serve our state, we will take them. So, thank you, my brother for accepting to chair this occasion.
“Let me say this because a lot of you may not know. Soji Eniade’s dad and my dad were in Teachers’ Training College together. Where I am going is, we are both children of primary school teachers. So, you don’t have to be something for your children to become something. Both our parents came from humble backgrounds, but they gave us education. That is the difference. They gave us education, and they supported our careers.
“I listened attentively to my brother’s lecture. One thing that I picked from his lecture is the fact that public and civil servants, you have two legs. You have the career civil servants and you have us.
“Career civil servants don’t want to let in our elective officials. But in my six plus years here, I think we have been extremely lucky, because we have worked with a set of civil servants that have shown dedication and commitment to the state.
“That is why when they talk and say, okay, what exactly are we trying to achieve by 13th month salary, by paying salaries on the 25th of every month? It is not like we didn’t face economic headwind these past six plus years. It is because we enjoyed your support. So, what I want to say is these two legs must continue to work together in the interest of Oyo State. And for me, and this administration, we will continue to prioritise your welfare and your well-being.
“So, for those that have won awards, I’ll say congratulations to you and more power to your elbows. Don’t relent. And for those that missed winning an award, please strive better. Your own time will also come.”
The governor also stated that as a result of the cooperation and support from the workforce, his administration has been rebuilding the infrastructure and other key areas of the state, which had deteriorated over the years.
“My message today is very simple and straightforward. Each time I am coming into the secretariat and I see a few of the upgrades that are being done, I think to myself, some people built all of these. It was just for some people to maintain them but we left them over the years and they began to deteriorate.
“Of course, when we came in 2019, we started patching the roads. But in 2020 when the rain started, it destroyed some of them. All the patchwork and repairs gave way and the potholes reappeared. So, we called for data and said, okay, some of these roads, when were they constructed? How many years were they supposed to last for? And most of these roads were constructed over 40, 45, 50 years ago. So, they were at the end of their life.
“We decided we had to reconstruct such that the subsequent administrations will not need to touch those roads. So, we extended the lives of those roads by say 25, 30 years. Inside the Secretariat also, we looked at the constructions.
“They were done, of course, a very long time ago. So, if you see that we are reconstructing the roads inside the Secretariat, it is to ensure that after the expiration of this administration, for the next four, five successive administrations, they won’t need to touch those roads.
“Also, I understand that dinner is being planned for this evening. Since we came in, government events have had to be held at either the International Conference Centre at UI or Professor Ogunlesi Hall in front of UCH. There’s no banquet hall for state functions. That is not pace-setting; it is not in our DNA. So, now, the Government House Banquet Hall is almost ready. We will use it for the first time on the 3rd of February next year, celebrating Oyo State at 50.
“There is one other issue that I would like to bring to your attention. One is the security situation in our dear state. You may want to say, well, it is for our service commanders and the security agencies. Please, the answer is no. We are all from communities. We are all from various zones of the state. We should get involved. We should pass the message on to our people, our community leaders.
“The security agencies cannot be everywhere but if we have information from our communities, you can rest assured that we will definitely do something about it. We will continue to do our best. We will continue to strengthen the security architecture of the state.
“And we had in this hall, I think two days ago, the expanded security council meeting, where we decided to formally incorporate the non-state actors, our security people within our neighbourhoods into the state security architecture. So I am soliciting your support.”
The governor was later honoured by the Civil/Public Service of the state in recognition of his worker-friendly policies since he became the governor of the state in 2019.
This was as the Head of Service commended the governor, describing him as a labour-friendly governor, “who recognises Public Service as the engine of development.”
In his remarks, the chairman of the event, who is also a former Oyo State Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade, said there must be synergy, cooperation and mutual understanding between elected public servants and career officers, stressing that the Public/Civil Service stands on the two pillars for the smooth administration of any government.
He appreciated the governor for providing quality leadership and good working environment for the state’s workforce, while also lauding the Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni (mni) for raising the bar of administration.
Giving his goodwill message, the Chairman, Oyo State Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Kamorudeen Aderibigbe, said the workforce in the state has enjoyed notable and unprecedented benefits in the last six years of Governor Makinde’s administration.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Head of Service, Mrs Oni commended Governor Makinde for his unwavering commitment to the welfare and development of the workforce, and for sustaining and elevating the Public Service Week into an institutional platform for growth and excellence.
She also appreciated the governor for his numerous policy achievements such as the appointment of Permanent Secretaries, General Managers and Executive Secretaries across key agencies; implementation of N80,000 minimum wage, which exceeded the Federal Government benchmark; regular payment of salaries; recruitment of over 20,000 workers and conversion of officers to desired cadres in service.
She added that training and retraining of officers both locally and internationally, creation of conducive work environment that enhances efficiency and productivity and the construction of a resource centre, among others, are also part of the achievements recorded by the governor.
The event had in attendance the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barr. Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal, Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima represented by Justice M.O Ishola; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Deputy Chief of Staff, Hon Kazeem Adeniyi, Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal and Labour Union leaders, among other dignitaries.