ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Nigerian Civil Servants Union (NCSU) has announced plans to honour Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji with the Governor of the Year Award.
In a letter addressed to the governor, NCSU General Secretary, Gbenga Olowoyo, said the recognition was “in recognition of his outstanding commitment to workers’ welfare, people-oriented policies and exemplary leadership.”
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Yinka Oyebode, who confirmed the development in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, quoted Olowoyo as saying that “the award will be presented in Abuja during the union’s National Executive Council meeting.”
The NCSU said the honour was based on Oyebanji’s achievements across key sectors, as well as what it described as transformative policies and programmes in Ekiti State over the past three and a half years.
The union also highlighted his developmental strides in infrastructure, economic reforms, youth empowerment, education, healthcare, and other critical sectors as reasons for the award.
Oyebanji, widely recognised for his people-focused governance style, has continued to receive both local and national commendations for his efforts in human capital development and infrastructure delivery.
Recall that workers in Ekiti State under the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), alongside secondary school teachers under the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), earlier on Tuesday adopted Oyebanji as their preferred candidate for the June 20 governorship election.
READ ALSO: Oyebanji’s Policies Drive Progress In Ekiti- Commissioner
The workers’ group and ASUSS said their endorsement was based on improved welfare and better conditions of service under his administration over nearly four years.
During separate engagements with the governor in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, both groups pledged to mobilise support for the All Progressives Congress candidate ahead of the election.
Chairman of the state NLC, Kolapo Olatunde, said all 35 affiliate unions had resolved to back Oyebanji for re-election, citing improvements in workers welfare and confidence that his second term would consolidate existing gains.
Olatunde said, “Oyebanji has employed more workers into the state workforce and made available several benefits, including appointment of workers into prestigious positions, regular payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities, payment of arrears, approval of leave bonuses, donation of buses to unions, free bus service for workers, among other benefits.”
ASUSS National President, Olusola Adigun, said during a meeting with the governor that Oyebanji had fulfilled all promises made to the union, adding that members were committed to rewarding him with massive votes in the election.
Adigun said, “Governor Oyebanji needs a vote tally that is above 500,000, which explains why the union has raised a group known as BAO Grassroots Coordinators to galvanise support for him in the grassroots.”
He added that secondary school teachers in the state consider Oyebanji the most teacher-friendly leader in the state’s history.
Similarly, the state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Lawrence Egbeyemi, said teachers in Ekiti were satisfied with the governor’s performance and optimistic about greater achievements in a second term.
Egbeyemi said, “You have performed well in office and recorded unprecedented achievements in the education sector. Your love for teachers and passion for education are innate and genuine.”