Federal Workers Urge Tinubu to Pay Outstanding Three-Month Wage Award and Promotion Arrears

Federal workers across Nigeria have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to settle their outstanding three-month wage award and backlog of promotion arrears, describing the delay as unfair and demoralising.

The call was made by the Federal Workers Forum (FWF) in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze, and made available to journalists on Wednesday.

Emelieze said the government’s failure to fulfill its promise of clearing the remaining months of the ₦35,000 wage award — introduced to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal — reflects poorly on its treatment of workers.

“The refusal of the federal government to pay up the balance of the outstanding three months wage award, as promised by the Accountant General of the Federation, has shown clearly how our government has been treating her workers,” he said.

He explained that the wage award was introduced after intense pressure from labour unions, but the payments have remained inconsistent and irregular since inception.

The FWF coordinator also decried the long-standing backlog of promotion arrears owed to civil servants, some of which he said date back over a decade.

“The same also applies to so many arrears owed federal workers, especially promotion arrears — in some cases, over ten years backlog,” Emelieze added.

He further described the recently implemented ₦70,000 minimum wage as “a slave wage” and called for its immediate review. The group also urged the government to introduce a cost of living allowance pegged at 30 per cent of workers’ salaries, to help ease the economic hardship faced by public servants.

“We call on the federal government to pay the balance of the outstanding three-month wage award and clear the backlog of promotion arrears owed to workers. Government must also work out a cost of living allowance, preferably 30 per cent of our salaries,” the statement concluded.

The FWF maintained that without prompt action, workers’ morale and productivity in the public sector could further decline.