Workers in Osun State on Tuesday resumed work after observing Monday as the New Year holiday.

Commercial banks and other establishments in Osogbo, the state capital, which closed for the New Year holiday, were equally opened for business activities.

At the state secretariat in Abere, Osogbo, workers were at their duty posts, with some of them seen cleaning their offices to start working.

Some offices at the secretariat were, however, still sparsely occupied, with some workers spotted just resuming work.

Oladele Emmanuel, a worker at the state secretariat, told journalists that workers were expected to resume work on January 2, to start a new year’s work, except when such date(s) fall on the weekend.

“All civil servants know that a new calendar starts after the January 1 public holiday, so no one has any excuse for not resuming today. Those that have not resumed yet are probably on their way from where they travelled to for the celebration, but in all, every worker of the secretariat are expected to resume today to avoid query or sanctions,” he said

In Federal Government establishments in Osogbo, most workers were at their duty posts, with similar scenarios at the Osun State House of Assembly and Federal High Court, Osogbo.

A worker at a federal agency, Wale Obafemi, said it would amount to a lack of dedication for any worker to abstain from work on the first working day of the year.

Mr Obafemi explained that starting the first-day job of the new year is a hallmark of commitment and dedication to duty, saying that “one’s work is his or her pride” and nobody should toy with his or her job.

“We all pray for a better life and good things in every new year but how we start the year sometimes determines the kind of year we will have. 2023 was a tough and rough year for many people, and as we all pray for a better year this year, we have to put in our own best efforts to achieve it as we work diligently for God to reward us,” he said.

He said he believed that Nigeria would be better and great again and that God would restore her glory.

He urged Nigerians to always pray for the country and stop speaking ill of her.

(NAN)