The National Industrial Court in Akure has directed the Osun State Government to reassess the promotion of Mr. Olabisi Abidemi to the rank of Director on Grade Level 17. The court determined that the decision to exclude him from consideration was unjust and violated the principles of fairness in public service administration.
Justice Kiyersohot Damulak, who delivered the ruling, instructed the Osun State Governor, the Attorney General, the Head of Service, and the State Civil Service Commission to review Abidemi’s candidacy in accordance with the Osun State Public Service Rules. The judgment further specified that any promotion granted as a result of this review must take effect from the date it would have originally applied, and awarded N500,000 in costs to the claimant.
According to court documents, Abidemi began his career in the Osun State Civil Service in May 2004 and advanced to Deputy Director on Grade Level 16 by July 2021. During the proceedings, he asserted that while he was on approved leave, his name was included on the list of officers qualified for a promotion interview to Grade Level 17 in August 2025, and he participated in that interview.
After the interview, Abidemi claimed he received no update about his promotion status, leading him to file complaints and appeal letters to the Head of Service. In response, the defendants argued that his denial was not due to his leave but because he failed to meet requirements under the Public Service Rules, specifically regarding continuous supervision by a reporting officer and four years of annual performance evaluations.
They also contended that Abidemi had worked only about eight months in the previous eight years and that employees on leave are not subject to supervision. However, the claimant’s counsel, I. A. Mikaheel, countered that neither the Public Service Rules nor the leave approval allowed the leave to be used as grounds for denying promotion.
In his judgment, Justice Damulak emphasized that while promotion is not an automatic right, the discretion exercised by public authorities in statutory employment matters must be fair, transparent, consistent, and based on established rules. The court noted that the defendants failed to present any written policy requiring four years of supervision for promotion consideration, nor did they provide the promotion committee’s report or any explanation for Abidemi’s exclusion.
Justice Damulak stated, “I therefore find that the defendants acted inconsistently and unfairly in refusing to consider the claimant for promotion after listing him as eligible for promotion.” The court also pointed out that Abidemi had previously been promoted to Grade Level 16 while on leave, and his shortlisting for the 2025 interview created a legitimate expectation that his leave would not automatically disqualify him.