Many civil servants in the federal ministries and agencies of government have expressed excitement as they receive payment for backlog wage awards owed by the federal government.
The civil servants who spoke to BusinessDay on Wednesday confirmed receipt of the wage award, stating that it will serve as an additional income to meet the needs of their households.
This was part of the agreements reached by organised labour and the Federal Government, to cushion the impact and hardship being faced by Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidy by the Tinubu-led administration.
President Bola Tinubu, shortly after announcing the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023, promised to give an N35,000 wage award to federal government workers, however, this was suspended last year.
The Organised labour made up of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) protested the government’s suspension of the payments, in a recent move threatened possible industrial action if the government failed to continue with the payment.
“I was glad when I received the payment because I was not expecting it. I’m excited about this payment because it will go a long way to settle some expenses.
“The cost of living is increasing daily, the amount I spend to get to the office has increased significantly and it is taking a toll on my finances. If this payment of N35,000 is sustained, it will make transportation a lot easier,” Joy Useni, a staff at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security told BusinessDay.
Also speaking with Businessday, a staff at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) confirmed the payments for November/ December 2023.
She said, “I received mine yesterday (Tuesday), and I was paid for 2 months November and December 2023. The payment was N35,000 for each month.
“I hope they continue with the payment, it will help us deal with this high cost of transportation and even feeding. Presently, every kobo is important, some may see it as small N35,000 but to me and many others, it is very appreciated at this time.”
A staff at the Ministry of Information, who pleaded anonymity expressed excitement, as he confirmed that he has received payments of the wage award for three months.
He commended the government’s effort in ensuring that the backlogs were cleared, “I just received the payment for the third month like an hour ago, this is so good to see.
“Some of my colleagues in other ministries have even received for the fourth month, but for information ministry, we have received for 3 months and we are hopeful that we will get the fourth month soon,” he said.
