Federal Civil Servants confirmed on Thursday night that they received their October 2023 wage awards months after a temporary suspension of payment. The N35,000 wage award was initially agreed upon between the Federal Government and Organized Labour to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal on petrol.
During his Independence Day speech, President Bola Tinubu declared a N25,000 wage for “low-grade workers,” which was later increased to N35,000 after discussions with labor unions. The government, through a memo by Ekpo Nta, Chairman of the National Salaries Wages and Income Commission, announced that the wage award would be effective from September 1, 2023.
However, investigations revealed that the government only paid the wage award for September, causing dissatisfaction among Civil servants in Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. They reported receiving only the wage awards for September 2023.
This disappointment coincided with reports that the government reduced the wage award allocation by N100bn in the 2023 supplementary budget. The Nigeria Labour Congress criticized the government’s move as dishonorable, while the Trade Union Congress warned of potential industrial action unless the wage awards were paid.
Despite these challenges, a senior civil servant revealed that some had started receiving the wage award for October 2023 but emphasized that only arrears for October were paid, leaving the wage awards for November and December outstanding.
The spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General, Bawa Mokwa, reassured that all civil servants would receive their wage awards as soon as possible.
