Ekiti pays compensation, demolishes structures for project •Gives 400 workers laptops, special training

Ekiti State government has announced that it has paid compensation to citizens whose buildings and structures were demolished to give way for the construction of an overhead bridge in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

The state government made the announcement following the commencement of the demolition of buildings and structures on the way of the project.

The state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, who monitored the demolition and creation of setback for the project at Okesa area of the town, pointed out that since those affected had been given enough notice and compensation, there was no point delaying the project.

Fayose said: “First, we appreciate the people whose structures and buildings are affected by the construction work. We all have to make sacrifices for the development of our state. We must all ensure that our state competes favourably with others and on our part as a government we are determined to give the people our best despite the paucity of funds.

“Property affected duly assessed and the owners have been paid. The compensation ranges from N100,000 to N15 million. We are hopeful that the project will be delivered next year.

The landlords commended the governor for the prompt payment of their compensation.

Meanwhile, the state government has boosted the capacity of about 400 of its workers involved in personnel and payroll matters with specialised job-enhancement training.

The public servants were drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at both local and state levels.

Speaking at a meeting in Ado Ekiti with directors of finance, administration and supply as well as chief internal auditors in the MDAs, Governor Fayose said the step was part of efforts to re-invigorate the public service and boost the performance of workers in the sector.

Fayose said: “It is our determination to make the public service of the state stronger and more virile. We are going to constantly retrain our workforce and boost their morale too. The set of workers involved now are those handling personnel and pay roll issues. We don’t want a situation whereby there will be discrepancies in the number of people on the nominal roll and the pay roll.

“Workers in the local government will go for their training in Ilawe-Ekiti, while those in the service of the state are holding their programme at the College of Education in Ikere-Ekiti. I will personally monitor the exercise and I implore you all to take adequate advantage of the training.

“After the exercise, we will still meet to appraise it. We want an improved civil service and a stop to complaints that there are no laptops to work with. We have given laptops to those going for the training and they are not what you will give to your children or wards writing projects in their schools. To whom much is given, much is expected,” he said.

Governor Fayose said buses would be provided to convey the workers to the venues of their training.

He also said the training should not stop them from going to their offices.

“In the light of this, those on morning session of the training will return to their offices by noon, while those on afternoon session would be in their offices till 11:00a.m. before going for their training. We are also making stipends available to you as a motivation,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the Head of Service, Dr Gbenga Faseluka, said 400 workers would benefit from the exercise.

“The essence is to promote the use of technology in doing our work. About 400 workers are benefiting from this set and we really thank and appreciate the governor for this gesture. This is another first that the administration has scored in the history of the state,” he noted.

A beneficiary, Mrs Victoria Fashe, said it would improve the performance of the civil servants.

Another beneficiary, Mr Anifowoshe Busuyi Idowu, commended Governor Fayose for the step taken.

The training exercise will last for seven working days after which an appraisal of the programme would follow.