By Ridwan Adekunle
On Monday, 24 February, 2025, hundreds of former ad-hoc staffers across the 33 Local Government Areas of Oyo State converged to plead with the governor of the state, Engr. Seyi Makinde, to increase the number of ad-hoc staffers to be considered for full recruitment into the Local Government Service.
Weeks earlier, Governor Makinde had approved the conversion of 1,591 ad-hoc staffers to full staff. This development led to joy and jubilation at various local government areas of the state as that type of effort was a one-of-a-kind development in the state.
As part of his administration’s passionate commitment to reducing unemployment and improving public and civil service in the state, Governor Makinde recently embarked on the recruitment of thousands of people into the teaching service, Oyo State Civil Service, Amotekun Corps and the Oyo State Road Management Authority (OYRTMA).
However, the third tier of government has lagged behind in terms of staffers, with hundreds of those retiring over the last 10 years not replaced. Though the untoward situation did not begin with the Makinde administration, as successive administrations in the state failed to recruit employees into the Local Governments, Governor Makinde heeded the demand of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), by giving a directive on October 2, 2024 that ad-hoc staff across the 33 Local Government Areas should be converted to full staff.
It was during the official commissioning of the Local Government House and Local Government Staff Training School. The NULGE pleaded and the governor acted much to the admiration of those in attendance at the event and the joy of thousands of ad-hoc and volunteering staff across the councils.
Three months later, specifically in January 2025, thousands of these ad-hoc staffers undertook tests and interviews, with successful applicants shortlisted in February and issued letters of appointment.
Though close to 5,000 of these erstwhile ad-hoc staffers are pleading with Governor Makinde to reconsider the number to be converted to full staff, it must be stated that the governor deserves commendations for looking in the direction his predecessors neglected for years.
I join the ad-hoc staffers to appeal to the people-centred and forward-looking administration of Governor Makinde to kindly increase the number of ad-hoc staff to be converted to full staff across the 33 LGAs, as thousands of those not absorbed might face dire challenges if the governor does not reconsider his stance.
However, it must be pointed out that for more than 10 years, no recruitment was done at the local government level. In fact, the immediate past governor even sacked many local government staffers after being reelected in 2015.
These ad-hoc staffers, earning around N15,000 to N17,000 per month and volunteers, who work for peanuts, had been on the grind for many years, with some of them spending more than five years in the role. Most of them had become hopeless, resigning to fate and languishing in the throes of underemployment amid news of recruitments into different sectors at the state level.
It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise when Governor Makinde approved the conversion of ad-hoc staffers to full staff. The move, more than anything else, gave hope to thousands of people and is capable of resetting the local government system. It should also be noted that the approval and recruitment of staff into the local government system by Governor Makinde was a pace-setting step in the federation, with many of the states laid back on local government employment.
Without a doubt, Governor Makinde has been a blessing to Oyo State, laying solid foundations for the continued prosperity of the state and reclaiming lost grounds for the state that was once respected for its pacesetting status.
.Adekunle writes from Akinyele LGA, Ibadan
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