A ranking member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Femi Bamisile has assured workers that Governor Biodun Oyebanji won’t disappoint them in the implementation of the N70,000 threshold set as the new Minimum Wage by the Federal Government.
The Chairman, House Committee on Delegated Legislation, averred that Oyebanji’s track records of being workers and pensioners- friendly, were suffice to give the civil servants the unwavering assurance that the government will soon accede to their requests and implement the new wage bill.
The representative of Ekiti South Federal Constituency II, gave the assurance, in a statement he made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday.
Tracing the trajectory of civil service since 1999, Bamisile gave Governor Oyebanji a thump up in terms of implementation of policies that have direct positive impacts in the lives of workers and retirees.
He said the workers have no reason to shiver, or express misgiving over the governor’s ability to give them a living wage that can add value to their lives in view of his impressive and superlative performance in the promotion of Human Capital Development in the last two years.
“The governor had always been saying that he doesn’t believe in joining the crowd. He has his own mind, which has always been centred around making the citizens happy all the time. Since assumption of office,Governor Biodun Oyebanji, had prioritise payments of salaries, deductions, pensions and gratuities. These have made him a darling of the civil servants.
“In the last two years, the current government in Ekiti State has paid several billions of Naira as gratuity to retirees. Monies are going into various cooperatives in the civil service, Teaching Service Commission and the Local Government system.
“Most astounding was the fact that Governor Oyebanji gleefully approved a vehicle and housing loans to primary school teachers, which was a novelty in the history of Ekiti State.
“The governor also paid all the four months salary arrears owed the civil servants and secondary school teachers, with over seven months owed the local government staff and primary school teachers already defrayed to give our people succour.
“The cumulative effect of all these showed that Governor Oyebanji is a leader we can trust. He believes the civil servants are critical stakeholders. They should have the hope that whatever the outcome of the bipartite committee of government and labour arrives at will be fully implemented”.
Bamisile saluted the government for conveying members of the State Executive Council on a tour of all the projects being executed across the state, which he said further attested to his strong belief in inclusive and participatory governance.
He said the foregoing further demonstrated that Governor Oyebanji has dismantled one-man show governance in Ekiti State.
“I am particularly dazzled just like every other Ekiti man on the streets that Governor Oyebanji was inclusive. He doesn’t believe in one-man show and he taken governance above this level. Besides his cabinet members, every Ekiti man is made to understand and even have input in policies and projects the government was doing and that is the whole essence of democracy”.
