‘Our condition has never been this bad’ – Nigerian Federal Workers
*Lament unpaid N35,000 wage award arrears
By KEMI KASUMU
It was to act as a cost-of-living adjustment, but payments faced delays, causing frustration and leading to ongoing demands from labour unions for full implementation and clearance of arrears.
Federal workers in Nigeria, a section of labour believed to have been enjoying better condition of service over decades, have described their working condition in the last over two years as unprecedentedly bad.
Many of them who protested in the nation’s capital and spoke in separate interviews with journalists on Sunday January 18 2026 in Abuja, decried the continuous delay in payment of arrears of the N35,000 wage award promises by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu amidst the hardship inflicted by his fuel subsidy removal of May 29, 2023, saying it is unacceptable, a media report, citing News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said.
One of them, Ibrahim Abbas, reportedly said the long delay in clearing the three months’ arrears of the wage award was unjustified.
“The condition of government workers has never been this bad. The federal government needs to take all necessary steps to clear the outstanding three months’ arrears of the wage award, ” he said.
Another civil servant, Patrick Ugo, also urged the federal government to pay up the arrears without further delay.
“The government should realise that the present minimum wage of N70,000 is unrealistic. The wage award will give the workers some relief.
“I will urge the federal government, through the accountant-general of the federation, to pay the outstanding three months, totalling N105,000 with the January salaries, ” he said.
Sule Aliu urged the federal government to make the N35,000 wage award a permanent addition to the monthly salaries of civil servants.
According to Mr Aliu, this will go a long way to alleviate the financial pressure of the workers.
The wage award was a temporary payment to workers approved in 2023 to ease the burden of fuel subsidy removal, supplementing salaries while a new national minimum wage was negotiated.
It was to act as a cost-of-living adjustment, but payments faced delays, causing frustration and leading to ongoing demands from labour unions for full implementation and clearance of arrears.
In April 2025, the federal government announced that it would pay the outstanding five months of the N35,000 wage award arrears to workers.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), said the federal government had earlier paid five months of the wage award in instalments.
He said the outstanding arrears would be paid in instalments of N35,000 per month for five months.
The OAGF said that the federal government was determined to fully implement all policies and agreements regarding staff remuneration and welfare to enhance productivity and efficiency.
But after the first instalment was paid in May, 2025, the second instalment was not paid until August 2025, and nothing has been paid since then. This leaves an outstanding payment of three months, amounting to N105,000
Meanwhile, the federal government said it was committed to clearing the remaining three months of arrears of N35,000 wage award without further delay.
Bawa Mokwa, the spokesperson, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), however, said the payment was subject to the availability of funds.
Mr Mokwa said that with the payment of the second tranche in August, there were three remaining tranches to exhaust the wage award arrears.
“Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the Federal Government has not reneged on payment of the wage award arrears.
“The federal government will continue to pay the wage award in instalments of N35,000 per month until the outstanding arrears are exhausted,” he said.
