… Clears salary arrears at Edo Poly, implements wage reform

BENIN CITY – The Edo State Government has announced a mandatory verification and re-certification exercise for property owners across six designated government layouts in Edo South. 

The exercise, which will run from 1st to 30th May 2025, is part of efforts to streamline land administration and ensure proper documentation.

The government-listed the layouts to include Etete Government Layout, Iyekogba Housing Estate, Evbuoriaria Layout, Ikpoba River Dam Acquisition, Oka-Oseni/Egba/Okanaruovia, and Evbuodia Acquisition. 

Property owners in these areas are urged to comply fully within the stipulated timeframe.

A statement issued on behalf of the state government by Dr. Tony Ikpasaja, Managing Director of the Edo State Geographic Information Service (EDOGIS), directed all affected property owners to report for the exercise at the (EDOGIS) office located at Plot 102, Sapele Road, Benin City.

Meanwhile, in a move that has brought significant relief to academic and non-academic staff at Edo State Polytechnic, Usen, Governor Monday Okpebholo has approved the immediate payment of five months’ outstanding salary arrears along with the April 2025 salary, all in line with the new ₦70,000 minimum wage.

The payments, which were made ahead of the Easter holiday, mark a decisive intervention aimed at stabilising the institution after a prolonged period of neglect and financial hardship.

Fred Itua, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, announced that the move forms part of broader structural reforms introduced by the Okpebholo administration. Chief among these is the centralisation of the polytechnic’s salary payments under the state government payroll system.

According to Itua, this centralised approach is designed to eliminate administrative bottlenecks, ensure regular salary disbursement, and enforce financial discipline and accountability within the institution.

The development comes in response to months of agitation from the Polytechnic’s staff, who in October 2024 raised the alarm over the non-payment of salaries since May of that year, which had only been belatedly paid in September.

Employees also voiced frustration at being excluded from the special academic salary scale and not benefitting from the minimum wage implemented for the core civil service under the previous Obaseki administration.

Governor Okpebholo’s intervention, therefore, has not only alleviated the immediate financial stress but has also reintegrated the Polytechnic fully into the state’s wage framework, a move widely applauded as both restorative and forward-looking.