The Oyo State Government has declared a half-day for state employees on Friday, ahead of March 18’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.
According to a Thursday statement from his Chief Press Secretary Taiwo Adisa, Governor Seyi Makinde approved the decision.
Oyo State Governor announces half-day
“Oyo State Governor, His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde, in his commitment to ensuring participation of Public and Civil Servants in the state in the upcoming Governorship and House of Assembly election, has graciously approved the declaration of half day at work on Friday, 17th March 2023,” Adisa quoted a circular from the governor as saying.
“This approval of a half day at work will enable public and civil servants, who may wish to travel to perform their civic responsibilities, the opportunity to do so.
“Flowing from the above, government offices are to close by 12 noon, on Friday, 17th March 2023, while staff covering essential services are expected to remain at their duty posts.
“Public and civil servants in the state are enjoined to go out on Saturday, 18th March 2023, to perform their civic responsibilities.”
March 18 elections
The governorship and house of assembly elections were initially scheduled for March 11, 2023 however, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled it for March 18, 2023.
Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education said, “This decision has not been taken lightly but it is necessary to ensure that there is adequate time to back up the data stored on the over 176,000 BVAS machines from the presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25th February 2023 and then to reconfigure them for the Governorship and State Assembly elections.
“This has been the practice for all elections, including the period when the Commission was using Smart Card Readers.
“However, we wish to reiterate that the Commission is not against litigants inspecting election materials. Consequently, it will continue to grant all litigants access to the materials they require to pursue their cases in court,” he added.
