By Wilson Adekumola
Federal civil servants have urged the Federal Government to promptly settle the outstanding three months of the N35,000 wage award, stressing that the rising cost of living has made the pending arrears crucial to their survival.
The wage award, agreed upon with labour unions in 2023, was introduced as a temporary relief measure to cushion the impact of ongoing economic reforms.
At the time, labour organisations had warned of nationwide strikes if the government failed to implement improved compensation and cost-of-living adjustments.
Although five months of the wage award were approved, only two have been paid, leaving workers increasingly frustrated over the prolonged delay in releasing the remaining instalments.
Both the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have repeatedly urged the government to honour its promise in full.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday, a civil servant, Dr. Uche Anune, criticised what he described as the government’s pattern of waiting for agitation before taking action.
“I am seeing a pattern that whenever there is anything at stake, the government tends to be relaxed about it until some people start agitating or engaging in some form of protest. That should not be the case,” he said.
Another worker, Mr. Joseph Edeh, called for immediate clearance of the arrears, noting that the delay has raised concerns about the government’s sincerity.
“They told us that we had an outstanding of five months; after paying two months, they stopped. Why are they treating us like this? Nobody is happy about this. What they should do is clear the remaining three months at once and forget about it,” he said.
Similarly, Miss Franca Ofili lamented the hardship caused by the unpaid award.
“The government should clear the arrears because that N35,000 can go a long way in solving our financial problems. We need the money; they should pay the outstanding three months at once,” she said.
Responding to the concerns, the Federal Government, through the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Bawa Mokwa, restated its commitment to completing the payments. He explained that the remaining instalments would be released gradually, based on available funds.
“Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the Federal Government has not reneged on payment of the wage award arrears. With the payment of the second tranche in August, three tranches remain to exhaust the arrears. The government will continue to pay N35,000 per month until the outstanding arrears are fully cleared,” he said.
Civil servants insist that clearing the backlog is vital not only to ease their financial strain but also to preserve trust and morale within the public service.
They urged the government to act swiftly to prevent possible unrest and to demonstrate its commitment to workers’ welfare.
