The Edo State Government has paid civil servants in the state their 13th-month salary.
Naijaonpoint reports that the development was confirmed on Tuesday, December 30, by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Mr Patrick Ebojele.
Ebojele, who spoke to PUNCH, said the payment was in line with the governor’s workers-friendly policy and was aimed at easing the burden on civil servants, particularly during the festive season.
According to him, Governor Okpebholo introduced the 13th-month salary policy a few weeks after assuming office last year and has sustained it this year to boost workers’ morale and productivity.
He explained that the administration remained committed to prioritising the welfare of workers as a key component of good governance.
Meanwhile, civil servants across ministries and agencies have expressed appreciation to the governor, describing the payment as timely and morale-boosting.
Speaking to journalists, the Director of Orientation at the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mrs Rose Imonikhe, said she received the alert early in the day and was pleasantly surprised.
She said, “I woke up this morning, it was the alert that woke me up — the 13th-month salary. I’m grateful to the governor for what he has done. You can see me smiling, and that is how other officers in the Edo State civil service are smiling.”
Imonikhe noted that the payment would ease financial pressure on workers, especially after the expenses associated with the Christmas celebrations.
“This Christmas period, most people must have spent their December salaries, so this will help them enter the new year with something in their pockets,” she said.
She added that the additional income would help workers meet pressing obligations such as school fees and rent renewals.
“Those with children’s school fees to pay can do so without stress, and others who are renewing rents will also benefit. This 13th-month salary will go very far,” Imonikhe stated.
Commending the governor further, she urged civil servants to reciprocate the gesture with improved dedication to duty.
“The governor has played his part; it is left for civil servants to do theirs by being more committed. He is in a hurry to deliver the dividends of democracy, and the civil service is the channel through which this can be achieved,” she added.
At the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability, the Director of Administration, Egbe Jocy, also praised the initiative, noting that it would strengthen morale and productivity across the civil service.
Many civil servants who spoke with the media agreed that the gesture had brought relief and renewed confidence in the state government’s people-centred approach to governance.
Naijaonpoint reports that Governor Okpebholo, shortly after assuming office in November 2024, implemented the payment of 13th-month salaries for civil servants in Edo State, a policy he has continued in his administration.