30th June, 2023
By Olajide Idowu
There was low turnout of workers in Osogbo, the capital of Osun, on Friday after workers and Nigerians observed Wednesday and Thursday to celebrate the Eid-el-kabir Muslim holiday.
It was observed that a lot of workers at the Olorunda Local Government Secretariat, Osogbo, were yet to return to their duty posts.
The same scenario equally played out at the State Secretariat in Abere, Osogbo, as many offices were yet to be opened, while some civil servants were seen just resuming late to office.
There was absence of business operations in some of the Federal Government establishments in Osogbo while banks, closed for the holiday, re-opened but with few customers spotted going into their premises.
A correspondent also observed that some private offices and business stores in Osogbo were still to open for normal activities.
Mr Karim Surajudeen, a federal civil servant who spoke to NAN, explained that many of his colleagues had travelled out of the state for the holidays.
Surajudeen said when public holidays came close to the weekend, many workers would rather extend the break to the weekend and resume work on Monday.
“A lot of people do not find it easy travelling back on the second day of the holiday, especially when the holiday is very close to the weekend.
“Most workers that travelled for the celebration would probably be coming back tomorrow or Sunday, from their villages or states where they went to celebrate the Sallah with their family and loved ones,” he said.
He said majority of those that would be at work on Friday would be those that did not travel or those whose home towns is within Osun.
“Those that went to their villages in Osun would probably be coming straight to the office to resume work; so, I believe before 10:00 a.m, these workers will be back to work.” he said
Commenting on the essence of the Eid-el-Kabir, he admonished Nigerians, especially Muslims, to always learn to keep to promises, trust Allah totally, be tolerant and forgiving.