By Precious Owolabi

A ranking member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Bamisile, has praised Governor Biodun Oyebanji, for placing high premium on the welfare of workers and retirees, thereby rejuvenating the state’s civil service as engine room of delivery of government’s policies and programmes.

Of particular reference, the federal lawmaker, showered encomium on the governor, for approving another staggering sum of N200 million to offset backlog of gratuities to retirees, describing this as another loud testimony to Governor Oyebanji’s populist approach to governance.

Bamisile said this in a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja, and made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti.

The former Speaker stated that he was enthralled by Governor Oyebanji’s firm commitment to the welfare of Ekiti workers, knowing the monolithic Ekiti’s economic structure that rests solely on how flourishing the civil service is.

The Chairman, House Committee on Delegated Legislation,said the governor had at a time paid a sum of N3.5 billion in one swell swoop to defray part of the past gratuities, while monthly payment of pension has continued unimpeded.

The lawmaker affirmed that Governor Oyebanji has demonstrated his love for the civil servants, by the despatch, with which he implemented the N70,000 Minimum Wage to workers and consequent adjustments to retirees, as well as exhibiting strong commitment to defray backlog of gratuities.

He expressed elation that the governor had succeeded in changing the narratives for retirees, by paying a little above N11 billion as gratuity to state and local government retirees within a spate of two and half years since he assumed office.

Bamisile described the feat as outstanding and novel in the history of the state, which he believed has enhanced the governor’s electrifying popularity and acceptability among the populace.

He said: “Politics is a game of number and a popularity contest. Governor Oyebanji has made his re-election easier by himself, with his policies that are pro-people. He has been the best and greatest marketer of his government. This is really shoring up his acceptability and promoting the APC as a party.

“When the governor started investing in the Ekiti State International Cargo Airport, some critics were pessimistic about the success of the project. But today, we are all beginning to feel the positive impact of the aviation exploit that has made the state more accessible to the outside world.

“Under Governor Oyebanji, gone were the days when retirees were dying in droves, because their welfare was not prioritized. Going by the accounts of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NUP, Ekiti State Chapter, this sordid and traumatizing scenario has been halted and reversed”.

Bamisile urged the workers to reciprocate the gestures, by being loyal to government and vote massively for the governor at the 2026 governorship poll.