Delta State government has taken a decisive legislative step to shield the payment of the recently approved 13-month salary to civil servants from the discretion of any governor, present or future.
An executive bill formalising the policy as a permanent statutory entitlement, which has scaled through the State House of Assembly, is awaiting Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s assent as he resumes duty from leave.
Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, disclosed this in Asaba, describing the bill as one of the most consequential welfare reforms of the current administration.
‘Once the bill is passed into law, workers in the state will continue to enjoy the benefit beyond the tenure of the present administration,’ he said.
The commissioner was emphatic that the payment would not be a watered-down or symbolic gesture.
‘Now, civil servants will be paid a 13-month salary, and let me emphasise that this 13-month salary is not just on the basic. It is the same thing that you earn in December, that is what you earn as the 13-month; workers will effectively receive a second full December-equivalent paycheck,’ Aniagwu added.
‘We want to use this opportunity to appreciate our brothers and sisters in the House of Assembly, who gave it expeditious action and considered that bill immediately without wasting time. Today, the bill has been passed and is awaiting the governor’s assent,’ he said.
On sustainability of the payment, Aniagwu cited a rise in the state’s Internally Generated Revenue from ?75 billion annually in 2023 to ?204 billion today, a trajectory he said would only strengthen as more investment, including new entrants at the Koko Free Trade Zone, begins to contribute towards the tax revenue of the state.