Tinubu approves N35,000 wage for civil servants

President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for the implementation of a N35,000 wage award for civil servants to alleviate the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

The announcement was made in a memo by Ekpo U. O. Nta, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

The memo stated that all Federal Civil Servants will benefit from the wage award, which will be effective from September 1, 2023.

Dated October 19, 2023, the memo was directed to several high-ranking officials and government entities.

Others copied in the memo are Directors-General and Chief Executives of Parastatals, Agencies and Government-Owned Companies, Auditor-General of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation and the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation.

The memo reads; “I refer to the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday, 2 October 2023 as a result of the dispute arising from withdrawal of subsidy on the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) and hereby convey the approval of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the grant of a wage award of N35,000:00 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only per month to all Federal Government workers with effect from 1 September 2023 pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.”

Recall that the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC, and other organized labour unions embarked on an industrial action over hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The strike was later suspended for one month after the Tinubu-led administration offered the sum of N5 billion for the provision of palliatives to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.