Federal Government’s commitment to providing an additional N35,000 wage to its employees for six months might be facing challenges due to financial constraints.
This, according to Vanguard, is in spite of the initial announcement following the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023.
Sources say that the government lacks the necessary funds to fulfill its promise to all federal workers.
When President Bola Tinubu, in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), agreed to pay N35,000 to each federal government worker, along with a 40 percent special salary increase, it was met with enthusiasm by workers. However, recent findings have revealed that the government is unable to finance these payments for all categories of its employees.
The government has communicated its financial constraints to various government agencies and has requested that they seek internal funding to pay their workers rather than relying on funds from the federation account. While those under “treasury-funded staff” have received their payments, most departments and agencies that receive allocations from consolidated revenue funds will not be paid directly by the federal government.
These affected federal MDAs have been instructed to source funds internally to cover the N35,000 wage award and the 40 percent special salary increase. This directive has led to frustration within these agencies, as workers prepare for potential confrontations over non-payment, similar to their counterparts in ministries.
Evidence of the government’s inability to pay all of its workers emerged when the National Incomes and Wages Commission (NIWC) communicated to various government authorities, including ministers and agency heads, regarding which categories of workers should receive payments. The NIWC made it clear in a memo dated October 19, 2023, that MDAs relying on consolidated revenue should not expect government allocations to cover the wage awards.
Although many of these agencies are not revenue-generating, the Income and Wages Commission instructed them to use their internally generated revenue (IGR) or statutory allocations to fulfill these payments. Workers in these non-treasury funded federal government agencies are troubled by this directive, as they lack the resources to meet these financial obligations.
As a result, various workers’ unions have warned the heads of MDAs that they will disrupt operations if they are not paid promptly, similar to their counterparts in core federal ministries. This development has raised concerns about the feasibility of fulfilling the promised wage increases and the potential implications for the affected workers and government operations.