Aiyedatiwa’s administration recruits over 6,000 workers in 18 months, Ondo govt says as Omojuwa hails feat
By Julius Alabi, Akure
The Ondo State Government has described the employment drive of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa as one of the defining legacies of his administration, saying the recruitment of more than 6,000 workers in the last 18 months is addressing unemployment and critical manpower shortages across the state.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Prince Segun Omojuwa, stated this in a statement on the administration’s employment policy, noting that the initiative remained a major pillar of the Governor’s OUR EASE Agenda.
Omojuwa said the intervention was particularly significant against the backdrop of the twin challenges of unemployment among the productive population and inadequate manpower in essential public services, which, according to him, had confronted the state for nearly two decades.
He disclosed that more than 6,000 people had been recruited into critical sectors of the state economy and public service within the last 18 months.
According to him, the beneficiaries were employed across education, healthcare, justice, security, revenue generation and agriculture, among other critical areas.
Omojuwa argued that the significance of the employment policy went beyond the number of jobs created, stressing that employment remained a powerful instrument for restoring dignity, strengthening families and stimulating economic activities at the grassroots.
“Employment provides income, restores dignity, promotes economic independence and rekindles hope,” he said.
He explained that workers with regular incomes were better positioned to pay rent, provide for their families, educate their children and meet their daily needs, while also contributing actively to the state’s economy.
The Chief of Staff further noted that the economic impact of job creation extended beyond the direct beneficiaries, as the income earned by workers circulated through various segments of society.
He said landlords, transport operators, food vendors, tailors, retailers, artisans and other small business operators all benefited when workers had disposable incomes to spend.
“When more people earn, more people spend; when more people spend, more businesses thrive; and when businesses thrive, the economy grows,” Omojuwa said.
He maintained that one of the most commendable aspects of the Governor’s employment policy was its focus on sectors where additional manpower could directly improve public welfare.
According to him, the recruitment exercise should not be viewed as “employment for employment’s sake,” nor reduced to political patronage, but as a deliberate investment in human capital and effective public service delivery.
Omojuwa said the deployment of teachers to classrooms, nurses and other health workers to hospitals, agricultural workers to farms and security personnel to communities had a direct impact on the quality of life of residents.
