- Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele gave the assurance during a meeting with organised labour leaders in Abuja on Wednesday
- The Director of Cash Management confirmed that reconciliation of the outstanding wage award has been completed and a release is being finalised
- Labour had warned of a brewing industrial crisis if the government failed to meet ahead of an August 11 deadline
The federal government has promised federal civil servants that payment of the remaining N35,000 monthly wage award arrears will begin before the middle of August, with officials saying the process of releasing the funds is nearly complete.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, gave the commitment on Wednesday during a meeting with the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Trade Side, whose leadership is headed by National President Kabiru Ado Minjibir. The meeting took place in Abuja.
Source: Twitter
A statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance, issued by its Head of Information and Public Relations, Efe Ovuakporie, confirmed the outcome of the meeting.
Government’s assurance on wage and promotion arrears
Oyedele said the administration had already started addressing some of the workers’ concerns even before receiving a formal communication from the council, adding that President Bola Tinubu‘s government intended to follow through on every commitment made to workers.
“When government makes commitments, it delivers. We are not in the habit of making promises that cannot be fulfilled. Where there are outstanding issues, we will give realistic timelines and ensure they are implemented,” he said.
The Director of Cash Management, Christiana Osho, added that reconciliation of the outstanding wage award had been completed and that eligible workers would receive the funds as soon as the release was finalised.
On promotion arrears, Permanent Secretary for Special Duties Mohammed Sanusi Danjuma disclosed that Batch 7 arrears, which were omitted during an earlier payment round, are now being processed together with Batch 9, Punch reported.
He said affected workers would receive their entitlements once processing wraps up.
Permanent Secretary Raymond Omachi of the Federal Ministry of Finance pledged tighter collaboration with organised labour to avoid further delays in processing workers’ entitlements.
Labour’s warning before the meeting
The assurances come after the Negotiating Council wrote to the minister demanding an urgent meeting on or before August 11, warning that two months of outstanding wage award payments and the unimplemented 40 per cent peculiar allowance for federal workers risked sparking industrial unrest.
Source: Facebook
The council’s National Secretary, Gbenga Olowoyo, signed the letter on behalf of National Chairman Benjamin Yanto. The union said two earlier letters on the same issues had gone unanswered, and described the situation as a “brewing industrial crisis.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, Minjibir called on the federal government to move faster on all outstanding welfare commitments, including salary relativity adjustments for health workers, Vanguard reported.
President Tinubu approved the N35,000 monthly provisional wage award in October 2023 as a short-term cushion following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Payments began later that year but became irregular, leaving several months unpaid. In April 2025, the Accountant-General’s office said the outstanding five months would be paid in instalments, with the first tranche paid in May 2025 and a second in August 2025.
Nigerian governor clears N3.6bn salary backlog
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu-Lagos state government, has paid N3.67 billion in salary arrears to workers in tertiary institutions.
Governor Sanwo-Olu approved the payment for 6,293 academic and non-academic staff of state-owned tertiary institutions.
Source: Legit.ng