Ekiti state government has said it will spend N1 billion on the
completion of the abandoned building and rehabilitation of dilapidated
structures at the state secretariat in Ado Ekiti.
Governor Kayode Fayemi made this known in Ado Ekiti during an
inspection of facilities at the secretariat.
He said his government would complete the abandoned office complex
within the secretariat, having made a provision for the project in the
2019 budget.
Fayemi also decried the poor working environment, especially the
dilapidated structures that house some of the ministries and ordered
the immediate evacuation of workers from the affected buildings to
pave the way for the rehabilitation work.
He said workers’ productivity could only be enhanced when they receive
their wages regularly and when they work in a conducive environment.
Fayemi assured that his administration would continue to prioritize
the welfare of workers beyond the regular and prompt payment of
salaries which his government had faithfully committed itself to, as
well as the creation of conducive work environment for workers.
“It is the beginning of the year and I decided that I should get a
feel of how the workers are doing in the state,” he said.
“Workers are the engine room of every policy that we make. We can talk
the talk; the only way we can walk the talk is if those who are
saddled with the implementation are able to do their work in a
conducive environment.
“Conducive environment is not just paying their salaries regularly,
that has resumed fully, but, coming to an environment that is work
conducive is very key to government policy.”
On the dilapidated structures, Mr Fayemi expressed displeasure at the
lack of proper maintenance of public buildings, saying that an
attractive work environment would make work appealing to workers.
“It is not very pleasing. I am afraid to say some of the structures
are collapsing. We all know that maintenance is a challenge for us in
our country but here in Ekiti, we can make a difference; that’s how we
want to restore our values,” he further said.
“We want to make sure that Ekiti is different from the rest. We may
not have the millions to spend but the little we have, let’s put it to
better use and ensure that the work environment is appealing to
workers.
“If you check the details of the presentation I made to the House of
Assembly on the 2019 budget, you will see that we put a sizable amount
there, I think about a billion naira, to complete uncompleted
structures in the secretariat and also rehabilitate some of these old
structures.
“All I can plead for, and you can help me talk to your assembly
members, so that the budget is passed expeditiously, so we can begin
to implement those parts of the budget that are germane.”
