President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for a N35,000 wage award to be given to civil servants to alleviate the impact of fuel subsidy removal

This information was revealed in a memo issued by Ekpo U. O. Nta, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

The memo states that all Federal Civil Servants will be beneficiaries of this wage award, which will take effect from September 1, 2023.

Dated October 19, 2023, the memo was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ministers and Ministers of State, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Chairmen of Federal Commissions, Federal Permanent Secretaries, Clerk of the National Assembly, Secretary of the National Judicial Council, and Secretary of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

Other recipients of this memo include Directors-General and Chief Executives of Parastatals, Agencies, and Government-Owned Companies, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation.

The memo states, “I refer to the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday, 2 October 2023, as a result of the dispute arising from the withdrawal of subsidy on the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) and hereby convey the approval of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the grant of a wage award of N35,000:00 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only per month to all Federal Government workers with effect from 1 September 2023 pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.”

NewsNow recalls that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other organized labor unions embarked on an industrial action due to the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The strike was later suspended for one month after the administration led by Tinubu offered the sum of N5 billion for the provision of palliatives to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).