Federal Government Begins Payment of N70,000 Minimum Wage to Civil Servants

The Federal Government has commenced payment of the new N70,000 minimum wage to over 1.2 million civil servants across all levels of the federal civil service. This development comes seven months after negotiations began, with the new salary structure effective from September 2024. According to documents obtained from the National Income, Salaries and Wages Commission, level one officers will earn N930,000 per annum, while grade level 17 officers (permanent secretaries) will earn N6,918,560.

Confirming the payment, Director of Press, OAGF, Bawa Mokwa, said, “The new minimum wage payment will begin from today (Thursday) for this month. You can ask civil servants when they start getting alerts. There is nothing on arrears payment yet.” A civil servant also confirmed receiving the new payment.

The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, has called on other organizations to follow suit and start paying the new minimum wage. Benson Upah, spokesperson of the NLC, said, “Yes, I think so. We ask other entities to emulate this example.” Tommy Etim, deputy president of the TUC, added, “FG’s committee on consequential adjustments already released a template, so no one has any moral ground to delay the payment of the minimum wage.”

However, not everyone is pleased with the new minimum wage. A grade-level 12 officer expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “This salary increase I am seeing is too small compared to what we have faced in the last one year and the current economic hardship in the country. I think we have been deceived.”

The Federal Government is expected to spend N4.019 trillion annually as its new wage bill, with over 1.2 million workers benefiting from the new minimum wage. The government had commenced additional revenue for the payment of the new minimum wage, which affected revenue distribution to states.

Reacting to the commencement of the new payment, President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, Dele Oye, expressed concerns over the threat of imprisonment for defaulters, saying, “We urge the government to engage with stakeholders, including labour unions, in a collaborative manner to address their complaints regarding the alleged breach of contract on the increase in the price of fuel and the economic challenges facing businesses and workers.”