According to the statement, “The state government has ensured that workers are paid as and when due. We are pursuing all-inclusive reforms in the state civil service to ensure that workers deliver optimum service to the people. The payment of their salaries is one of the first steps to achieving this and we have been faithful to that mandate.
“We have met these obligations right from the previous administration up till now. In Edo State, we prioritise the welfare of workers, both those in active service and even pensioners.”
Noting that the state has not only met salary obligations but also kept faith with pensioners’ entitlements, the state government said, “We have not only paid salaries, we have also met obligations to pensioners. In fact, we have paid N6.2 billion to both state and local government pensioners from January to September.”
“So, we are surprised by the publication listing us as one of the states owing pensioners and workers. We believe it does disservice to the good work that the Godwin Obaseki-led administration is doing in Edo State.
“We adopt prudent strategies to manage resources, allocate scare resource and prioritise the needs of our workers. It will be out of tune to owe workers when we are pushing reforms to improve their workplaces and processes,” the state said. |