Oyo State Governor and Presidential Candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), ‘Seyi Makinde, has urged civil and public servants in the state to make the right choice in the 2027 general elections to sustain the reforms, welfare initiatives and productivity-driven programmes introduced by his administration.
The governor gave the charge on Wednesday at the 2026 Public Service Week and 2025 Merit Award Celebration held at the Professor Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, where 57 outstanding officers and sports award winners were honoured.
Governor Makinde thanked workers for their support over the years, describing his seven-and-a-half-year partnership with the state workforce as a privilege. He noted that the Productivity Merit Award was introduced to promote excellence, dedication and healthy competition in the public service.
“Our administration started this award because we saw the need to encourage our civil and public servants to give their best. It has been a huge honour and privilege to work with you to implement our vision for Oyo State, from the Roadmap for Accelerated Development 2019-2023 till now,” he said.
The governor commended workers for their role in helping his administration navigate early challenges and deliver on its vision of leaving Oyo State better than it met it. He urged them to extend the same support to the next administration in the interest of the state’s continued development.
While congratulating the award recipients, Makinde charged them to remain committed to excellence and to mentor others, noting that the reward for hard work is more work.
He also encouraged workers who were not recognised this year to remain diligent, expressing hope that the incoming administration would sustain the culture of rewarding excellence in the public service.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the event, Prof. Oyesoji Aremu of the Department of Counselling and Human Developmental Studies, University of Ibadan, described Public Service Week as a period of reflection, renewal and recommitment.
He urged civil servants to build enduring legacies through impactful service, mentorship and institution-building.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde, and the Chairman of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Kamorudeen Aderibigbe, lauded Governor Makinde for institutionalising merit-based recruitment and appointments in the public service.
Earlier, the Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Adenike Fashina, mni, commended the governor for sustaining the Merit Award initiative and for his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare through regular salary payments, promotion exercises, the resuscitation of the N25,000 wage award, and various capacity-building programmes.
She also appealed for additional welfare interventions to ease transportation and accommodation challenges facing workers, while urging civil servants to reciprocate government support through dedication, integrity and professionalism.
A total of 57 officers from the junior, senior and management cadres received awards across various ministries, departments and agencies. The Office of the Surveyor-General emerged 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 of Oyo State, Barr. Bayo Lawal; former Deputy Governor, Engr. Hamid Gbadamosi; the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, represented by Hon. Sunkanmi Babalola; former Speaker, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu; the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima, represented by Justice R. B. Akintola; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Bashorun Akinwole Akinwale; the immediate past Head of Service, Mrs Olubunmi Oni, mni; the Deputy Chief of Staff, Hon. Kazeem Adeniyi; the Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal; commissioners, local government chairmen, permanent secretaries, labour leaders and other dignitaries.
