FG to pay federal workers N35,000 wage award apart from salaries

FG to pay federal workers N35,000 wage award separately a director in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) said on Tuesday.

The funding for the payment is included in the N2.1 trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, sent to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday. The bill is still awaiting approval by lawmakers.

Tinubu approved the wage award in October following a dispute with labour unions over the withdrawal of fuel subsidies. The payment is expected to take effect from September 1, 2023.

The OAGF director, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that workers on the federal payroll have started receiving their October salaries. However, he said that the committee working on the N35,000 wage award is still putting the finishing touches to the modalities for payment.

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The Federal Government owes treasury-funded civil servants two months’ arrears of the palliative wage. Treasury-funded workers are those captured in the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS) after verification.

The Federal Government has threatened to delist from its payroll any worker who was not verified by October 27.

The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission has said that the N35,000 wage award will be implemented for all treasury-funded Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). Non-treasury funded MDAs are to implement the wage award from their internally generated revenue (IGR) or statutory allocations.