By Amaechi Agbo

Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has approved a ₦150,000 Christmas bonus for every civil servant in the state.

The governor explained that the gesture aligns with his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of civil servants, despite dwindling revenue to the state over the past year.

“Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has announced a hundred and fifty thousand naira Christmas bonus to every civil servant in the state,” the statement read.

Uzor quoted Nwifuru saying the bonus reflects his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of civil servants despite dwindling state revenue over the past year.

Some state government and private organisations in Nigeria pay their workers some extra salary in December to ameliorate economic hardship and enable them enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays.

In August, the governor increased the state’s minimum wage by ₦20,000, raising the new pay for civil servants to ₦90,000.

The increase, according to the state government, took effect immediately and is part of Nwifuru’s ‘People’s Charter of Needs Agenda.’

At the federal level, President Bola Tinubu signed the national minimum wage bill into law in July 2024, following the National Assembly’s passage of the Minimum Wage Act of 2019.

The law raised the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, concluding months of negotiations among labour unions, the private sector, and government authorities.

However, some states have yet to implement the new wage structure.