By Wole Olujobi
Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of Ekiti State has dismissed insinuations that he will change from his current positive disposition to workers in his second term in office, vowing to do more to enhance their living conditions, including creating conditions for career progression in the local government, teaching and civil services.
Oyebanji spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at an interactive session with local government workers ahead of the June 20, 2026 governorship election, where he pledged to deliver better services to Ekiti people in his second term in office.
The event held at the NULGE Hall had in attendance the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Abibat Adubiaro; Head of Service, Dr Folake Olomojobi; Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Adewumi Abejide; commissioners in the Local Government Service Commission (Segun Onaade, Prince Suyi Aladesanmi, Wole Olujobi, Hon Cecilia Dada and Olawole Adedipe), including the Chief of Staff, Niyi Adebayo; and Folorunso Olabode, among other top government officials.
The President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Oluwaseyi Olatunde, praised the governor for his worker-friendly disposition, particularly in the local government, noting that the governor’s conduct had endeared him to workers.
Stressing that local government workers were enjoying the best of welfare package under Oyebanji, Olatunde listed expansion of the service; creation of local council developments areas and more departments; appointment of three permanent secretaries; more Executive Secretaries and heads of local government administration, directors and multiplicity of top level positions, which, he said, had enhanced career progression for workers.
“You will recall that NULGE drew up a charter of demands in 2022, which the governor pledged to honour. Today, the governor has surpassed his pledge in the implementation of workers’ welfare services,” Olatunde said, urging workers to support Oyebanji as “a tested and trusted leader”.
He added: “Other reasons for our support include recapitalisation of the Local Government Staff Loans Board with the sum of N300,000,000.00 revolving fund; appointments of heads of local government administration (HLAs) in all local governments and local council development areas, thereby opening spaces for career progression for workers; procurement of 46 official vehicles for all Heads of Local Government Administration, including procurement of official vehicles for the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission; and official vehicles for Permanent Secretary and HLA in the Local Government Staff Loans Board.
“Others include granting of promotion arrears to eligible officers and increase in the running grant in the Commission to enable it meet its day-to-day expenditures and also fulfill its mandates; restoration of the commission’s training fund to improve its training and human capital development to enhance productivity and performances of officers; and implementation of CONMESS/CONHESS for medical and health workers, including payments of bonuses and seven months salary arrears.”
According to him, other benefits include restoration of Local Government Studies programme at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, for senior and junior staff for Masters, post-graduate diploma and certificate studies with 125 workers currently benefiting from the programme that was cancelled in 1992, and completion of Local Government Service Commission’s Secretariat Complex with state-of-the-art furniture and fittings and perimeter fencing.
He added that workers would vote for Oyebanji for total defrayment of all arrears of salaries and deductions owed workers, regular payment of salaries, defrayment of arrears of leave bonus, appointment of local govt staff to head PHC, provision of 16-seater bus for NULGE, and appointment of former State Chairman of NLC, Ayo Aluko, as permanent secretary, among other benefits.
Olatunde said for these reasons, local govt workers had made up their minds to vote for the governor, “believing that the continuity of your government will reinforce the achievements you have made, including introducing other life-lifting initiatives that would make life worthwhile for the workers and Ekiti people in general”.
The State Chairman of NLC, Olatunde Kolapo, said NULGE’s submission represented NLC’s scorecard for the governor. He praised Oyebanji for appointing former NLC State Chairman, Ayo Aluko, as permanent secretary in the local government service, pledging that workers and their families would vote for Oyebanji on election day.
Abejide thanked the workers for their support so far, stressing that the governor’s humility, generosity and people-oriented conducts were responsible for the workers’ support at all times. He noted that Oyebanji’s generosity of the heart would continue to speak for him in his relationship with Ekiti people.
Oyebanji recalled that three years and seven months ago, he attended similar parley at the same venue where he made promises to workers as enumerated by NULGE President, which, he said, had been fulfilled.
His words: “We have achieved those promises as enumerated by baba Abejide and NULGE President.
“I hold NULGE and NLC in high esteem, which is why I always attend to issues in their files that are brought to me by the Head of Service. I don’t hesitate to approve them and I promise to treat other unions in the same manner to ensure sound welfare for workers.”
Urging workers to mobilise heavily to win the governorship election in an unprecedented manner, Oyebanji explained:
“Because of several development interventions by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assist Ekiti State, I have made a committment to him that Ekiti State will post 500,000 votes.
“Even though APC membership strength is 100,000, members would work assiduously to post 500,000 by mobilising voters to vote for our party.
“I told Mr President that Aramoko-Itawure road is the main issue that the opposition has been using to malign our administration, asking him to come to our aid and he approved the construction of the road valued at N158b, far more than the 2023 state budget of 148b.”
Oyebanji pleaded with workers to reciprocate Tinubu by voting for him in 2027.
The governor also praised Tinubu for reducing the burdens on states since assumption of office, noting that for this, Ekiti State had not borrowed one kobo to finance the projects scattered across the state.
He said even though some people had been insinuating that he would change in second term, he said, however, that he would remain constant and consistent in his public conduct and do more to put the state on a firmer development footing.
He also promised to build on the achievements of his predecessors to bring more development to Ekiti State, vowing to build on the solid foundation that Tinubu had built for the continuity agenda of his administration.
While assuring the workers that their next salary will be paid with their leave bonus, Oyebanji urged those who have not collected their voter’s cards to visit collection centres to pick them to enable them vote on election day.
- Olujobi, Commissioner (Information and Civil Orientation, Training and Manpower Development) in Local Govt Service Commission, is Deputy Director 1 (Media and Communications Directorate) of the Ekiti State 2026 Governorship Campaign Council
