Makinde Urges Workers To Vote Leaders Who Will Sustain Development

Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde has urged civil and public servants in the state to support leaders who will sustain the achievements, reforms and workers’ welfare programmes of his administration in the 2027 general elections.

Makinde gave the charge on Wednesday during the 2026 Public Service Week and 2025 Merit Award Celebration held at the Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, University College Hospital, Ibadan.

The governor, who described his seven-and-a-half-year relationship with the state workforce as a privilege, said his administration introduced the Productivity Merit Award to encourage dedication, excellence and healthy competition among public servants.

He commended workers for their contributions to the implementation of his administration’s development agenda, urging them to extend similar support to the next administration to ensure continuity and sustained development in the state.

He congratulated the 57 officers honoured at the ceremony, charging them to maintain high standards of professionalism and mentor other workers, while expressing hope that the incoming administration would sustain the culture of rewarding excellence.

Earlier, the Head of Service, Dr Adenike Fashina, commended the governor for prioritising workers’ welfare through regular salary payments, promotion exercises, the resuscitation of the 25-thousand-naira wage award and capacity-building programmes.

Fashina, however, appealed for additional welfare interventions to address transportation and accommodation challenges facing workers, urging them to reciprocate government’s support with dedication, integrity and professionalism.

In their separate remarks, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde, and Chairman of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Kamorudeen Aderibigbe, praised the Makinde administration for institutionalising merit-based recruitment and appointments.

A total of 57 officers across the junior, senior and management cadres received awards, with the Office of the Surveyor-General emerging as the Most Outstanding Agency, while Emmanuel Alayande University of Education was named the Most Outstanding Institution of the Year 2025.

The event was attended by the Deputy Governor, Barrister Bayo Lawal; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, represented by Hon. Sunkanmi Babalola; and other government officials, labour leaders and dignitaries.