Osun govt to approve six months maternity leave

Mothers who work for the government in Osun State will soon be able to take off six months to care for their newborns.

This was announced on Tuesday in Osogbo during a one-day symposium celebrating an enabling breastfeeding environment for working moms by Dr. Akindele Adekunle, Special Adviser to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Public Health.

Dr. Akindele insisted that the government’s policies were in line with those recommended by the WHO.

A six-month paid maternity leave for nursing moms has been advocated for by the Wives of Nigerian Governors Forum, and he says that this is in coordination with their efforts.

To this purpose, Governor Adeleke plans to introduce a bill in the House of Assembly and pass laws that make this possible.

Since the World Health Organization recommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of their babies’ lives, I’m pleased to share the news that Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, in his capacity as a “listening and people-loving Governor,” has committed to sending a bill to the House of Assembly to enact enabling laws to make maternity leave six months for nursing mothers.

I shall, however, urge this assembly and the general people at large to speak up in favor of the bill in any future public hearings held by the House of Assembly.

In addition, he gave his word that the governor of Osun State was eager to upgrade the state’s basic and secondary care hospitals.

Titilola Adeleke, the governor’s wife, weighed in on the topic and said she was ready to speak for and engage with the appropriate parties to bring the agenda to fruition.

“I use this platform to tell this gathering that I am committed and will work tirelessly with other critical stakeholders to ensure the approval of six months paid maternity leave and other favorable maternal policies for working mothers in the State,” the Governor’s wife said.