Federal workers across Nigeria spent Christmas Day without money because their December 2023 salaries were delayed.
Many of those who spoke to reporters said there was no merry-making or little cooking, and all travel hopes were dashed on Christmas Day and the Yuletide season.
The workers affected include civil servants in the federal ministries, some in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHoCSF), and others in the Office of the Secretary to the Government, federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and associated federal institutions all over the country.
Sources said only workers in revenue-generating agencies like NNPC, NPA, NIMASA, NCC, CBN, and FIRS have been paid.
In separate interviews with Daily Trust, the distraught workers lamented the inability of the government to pay their salaries, especially in the Christmas celebration season.
“Despite the general misgivings about previous administrations, I cannot remember any time our December salaries were delayed,” one of the workers said.
“With how things are ‘tough’ in the country, we don’t even have savings. We were excited when they announced a 50 per cent discount on transportation, but sadly, despite the support, many people could not travel ahead of Christmas.
“How can we travel and enjoy the so-called 50 per cent transport reduction when we don’t have monies?” another civil servant asked.
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“How can you be happy when you cannot make your family happy on this auspicious occasion?” she asked.
I cannot comprehend where the problem lies. The government should come out and explain the real problem. The minimum expectation of a civil servant is to have his salary paid even if it is nothing to write home about,” a university lecturer lamented.
“Some years back, apart from salary, some categories of workers got 13th-month bonuses; others got all kinds of interventions to support them at the end of the year and encourage them to do better next year. May we witness those moments again,” he added.
Another lecturer said failure to pay salaries by this administration is an indictment.
“There is no excuse whatsoever to say the truth. They removed the subsidy, they said they have been saving monies since June. This has been over six months, but we rarely get our salaries before the end of the month.
“I got my November salary in the second week of December. Now that it is the end of the year and the Christmas season, we thought they would pay us around the 20th or 22nd. Sadly, they did not…We only went to church, returned home and are waiting for the public holiday to end so that we can continue with our life,” he said.
“I managed and bought one chicken for the children, but we thank God for life. We have yet to get our December salary, and that is how we celebrated our Christmas. Our prayer is that they should pay us before the end of the month so that we can put a smile on our children’s faces ahead of New Year,” a teacher at the Federal Government Girls College, Bajoga, Gombe State revealed.
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