THE Ebonyi governor, Francis Nwifuru, has announced a Christmas bonus of ₦150,000 to every civil servant in the state for the 2025 festive season.
News Point Nigeria reports that Nwifuru made the pronouncement on Sunday during a church service at the Government House Chapel in Abakaliki.
According to him, the gesture aligns with his administration’s commitment to improve the welfare of civil servants despite dwindling revenue accruing to the state in the past year.
The governor also dispelled rumours of lethargy in Vincent Agwu Nwankwo Flyover, popularly known as VANCO, a monumental infrastructural marvel of his administration.
“You cannot find any state in Nigeria that is doing such a flyover currently,” the governor said at the event.
Explaining the construction rigours inherent in the massive project that will automatically alter the ugly scenes and give the state a facelift when completed, Nwifuru decried social media contractors’ cloudy view of the project.
He maintained that his administration is taking steps to ensure the state is seen in the comity of nations with advanced and modern infrastructures.
“We are doing it not because we have money. We are doing it because we want to sign our signature in the annals of history,” the governor said.
Nwifuru said Ebonyi State desires to be referenced in the global map of good governance characterized by modern infrastructure.
In August, the governor increased the minimum wage by ₦20,000, pushing the new pay for public servants to ₦90,000.
The increment, according to the Ebonyi State Government, was with immediate effect.
It said the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage was directly tied to Nwifuru’s ‘People’s Charter of Needs Agenda’.
President Bola Tinubu, in July 2024, signed the minimum wage bill into law, days after the National Assembly passed the Minimum Wage Act of 2019.
It pushed the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 and ended months of deliberations among labour unions, the private sector, and government authorities.
However, some states are yet to commence the implementation of the new wage structure.