Civil servants in Edo State have expressed appreciation to Governor Monday Okpebholo following the payment of the 13th-month salary, describing the gesture as timely and morale-boosting.
Journalists who visited the Edo State Secretariat and several ministries including the Ministry of Information and Strategy; Ministry of Lands and Housing; Ministry of Environment and Sustainability; and the Ministry of Education, Iyaro, gathered reactions from workers who confirmed receipt of the payment and commended the state government.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mrs. Rose Imonikhe, Director of Orientation, said the alert came as a pleasant surprise.
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,”
Mrs. Imonikhe noted that the payment would ease financial pressure on workers during the festive season and beyond.
“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. 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,”
She said, “The governor has played his part; it is left for civil servants to do theirs by being more committed. He is in a haste to deliver the dividends of democracy, and the civil service is the channel through which this can be achieved,”
Similar sentiments were expressed by other civil servants at the Ministry of Lands and Housing, including Beatrice Ihulde, Precious Abu, Bridget Igbinovia and Onyinyechi Florence, who described the payment as a clear demonstration of concern for workers’ welfare.
At the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability, the Director of Administration, Mrs. Egbe Jocy, also commended the government, saying the initiative would strengthen morale and productivity across the service.
Many civil servants agree that the gesture has brought relief and renewed confidence in the government’s people-centred approach to governance.
It would be recalled that Governor Okpebholo shortly after he assumed office in November 2024, implemented the 13th month salaries payment for civil service in the state.
