Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has declared Friday, August 14, a work-free day for public servants in the state ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The governor said the decision was intended to give workers adequate time to travel where necessary and prepare to exercise their voting rights.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, citing a circular from the Head of Service, Ayanleye Aina.
“Governor Ademola Adeleke has declared Friday 14th of August as work-free, to allow public service workers to participate in the Saturday governorship election,” the statement read.
“In a circular issued by the Head of Service, Elder Ayanleye Aina, the decision is to enable workers to embark on travelling where required and to prepare to exercise their voting rights on Saturday.”
The state government said the declaration applied to all categories of public servants except those providing emergency and essential services.
The governorship election is scheduled for Saturday, August 15.
In a separate pre-election message, Adeleke urged public servants to mobilise their relatives, friends, artisans and other informal-sector workers to participate in the election.
He also praised organised labour and public servants for what he described as their support for his administration.
“The time for action has come. As formal workers at state establishments, I task you to mobilise informal workers, artisans and professional bodies,” the governor said.
“We must remain strong in defence of our constitutional rights to vote and be voted for.”
Adeleke also urged workers to protect what he described as the gains recorded by his administration over the past three and a half years.
“We must defend the gains of the last three and a half years plus,” he said.
“Ours is a workers-friendly government which has delivered across board to labour and Osun people. We cannot and must not allow a return to dark days.”