Ekiti SSG Adubiaro Celebrates 60th Birthday with Children with Disabilities

Ekiti SSG Adubiaro Celebrates 60th Birthday with Children with Disabilities

The Secretary to the Ekiti State Government, Prof. (Mrs.) Habibat Adubiaro, marked her 60th birthday not with glamour or banquets, but with quiet compassion, spending the day with children at the Therapy Centre for Children with Disabilities, Oke-Oriomi, Ado-Ekiti.

Accompanied by her husband, family and staff of the Office of the SSG, Prof. Adubiaro donated essential items including toiletries, instructional materials, stationery, and assorted foodstuffs, a gesture that drew smiles and excitement from the children and staff of the centre.

“This day is deeply personal to me,” she said. “Rather than throw an elaborate party, I decided to share the joy of turning 60 with children who remind us what resilience and grace truly mean. Giving them something useful is far more rewarding than any celebration.”

Ekiti SSG Adubiaro Celebrates 60th Birthday with Children with Disabilities

Prof. Adubiaro, who has for years supported special schools in Ekiti, particularly the School for the Blind in Ikere-Ekiti, said her decision to celebrate at the Therapy Centre this year stemmed from a desire to spread her outreach more widely across the state.

Ekiti SSG Adubiaro Celebrates 60th Birthday with Children with Disabilities

She credited Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji for inspiring her action, describing him as a leader who embodies compassion through inclusive governance. According to her, the governor’s consistent habit of spending his birthdays with persons with disabilities reflects the values of empathy and service his administration upholds.

“I am encouraged by the governor’s humanity,” she said. “His creation of the Department of Special Education and Social Inclusion has changed how Ekiti State supports children with special needs. We are all beneficiaries of that vision.”

The SSG urged celebrants and public figures to mark milestones by visiting special schools and orphanages instead of spending excessively on social events, noting that “true fulfilment comes from touching lives, not impressing crowds.”

The visit drew heartfelt gratitude from the centre’s Director, Mrs Amogbonjaiye Bola Felicia, who described the gesture as “a rare display of compassion and humility.” She prayed for continued strength and blessings for Prof. Adubiaro and her family.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Department, Mrs Kayode Ojo, praised the SSG for her thoughtfulness and for modelling the governor’s inclusive ideals, urging other officials to emulate her example.

Prof. Adubiaro’s quiet act of service transformed what could have been a private celebration into a public reminder, that leadership, at its best, is not about titles or ceremonies, but about the lives touched in silence.