The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has advised civil servants to attach great importance to their health and strike a balance between work and rest to avert untimely death.
Governor Oyebanji gave the advice on Monday, while flagging off the construction of the Ekiti State Civil Service Senior Staff Club and Recreation Centre in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
The foundation-laying ceremony which was withnessed by the deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, Speaker of the state Assembly, Rt Hon Bunmi Adelugba, labour leaders and top government officials was done immediately after the workers day taly at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion Ado Ekiti.
The governor, who described the project as historic, urged top government functionaries to always strike a balance between their statutory state duties and issues that have direct link with their health status.
Governor Oyebanji added that the project will help in creating a social and mental balancing for workers of all categories when completed, particularly serving as a rendezvous, where workers can meet and exchange ideas under a relaxed atmosphere.
He said; “This is a very good project and it is coming at the most auspucious time. I want you to cultivate the habit of working without necessarily stressing yourselves up.
“I want you to be resting. You have to strike a balance between your works and your health. Please, this is important because it is only those that are healthy that can perform their duties”.
Dousing the fear raised by the workers that financing the project would be herculean, Governor Oyebanji, said; “Don’t be afraid at all. Any project that has a figure or estimate will surely be completed one day .
“You are the one administering the state at the civil service level. If you can administer the State, you can easily make a success of this project. As a believer in this project, , I will rally round you by reaching out to my friends to make donations .
“If you can set your priority right and set the right target, in the next one year, this project must have been completed”.
Speaking at the occasion, the Head of Service, Barrister Bamidele Agbede, said the senior staff play critical roles in the implementation of government’s policies and deserved to have a recreation centre of its own.
Describing the project as a veritable opportunity to promote the social and mental wellbeing of the civil servants, Agbede stated that the project was a loud testimony to the commitment of the workers to support the government’s developmental strides .
He added: “The establishment of a recreation centre for senior civil servants was long overdue. But my fear had always been how to finance this kind of a project, taking cognisance of the state’s lean resources.”
The Head of Service appealed to private bodies, organisations and individuals to donate generously towards completing the project. Which he said would help in transforming the civil servants and increase their productivity.