Seven months after negotiating a new minimum wage of N70,000, the Federal Government has started paying the new salaries to public workers. According to The PUNCH, public servants across all levels of the federal civil service will now receive the new wage, starting this September.
Over 1.2 million civil servants will be affected by this payment. The Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, signed off on this month’s payroll, which was sent to the Budget Office to begin the salary adjustments.
Documents from the National Income, Salaries, and Wages Commission revealed how much civil servants will earn under the new Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure. The new amounts are calculated annually and vary based on the worker's grade level.
Here’s a breakdown of the new yearly salaries:
- Level 1: N930,000
- Level 2: N934,160
- Level 3: N937,713
- Level 4: N950,243
- Level 5: N973,123
- Level 6: N1,041,786
- Level 7: N1,277,667
- Level 8: N1,479,276
- Level 9: N1,641,226
- Level 10: N1,806,041
- Level 12: N2,007,152
- Level 13: N2,182,637
- Level 15: N2,358,936
- Level 16: N3,611,689
- Level 17 (Permanent Secretaries): N6,918,560
In addition to the base salary, workers receive incremental increases each year they remain at a particular level before being promoted to the next one. For example, a level 1 officer on step 2 will earn N935,585, and by step 15, they will earn N1,008,209.
The Director of Press for the Accountant-General’s office, Bawa Mokwa, confirmed that the new payments began on Thursday. However, there is no information yet on whether back pay or arrears will be included.
An anonymous civil servant also confirmed the news, stating that some people have already started receiving their payments.
The new wage applies to 1,236,824 workers across various sectors, including Ministries, Departments, Agencies, the Armed Forces, Paramilitary organizations, Federal Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education.
The effective date for the new minimum wage was set for July 29, 2024, after President Bola Tinubu signed the bill into law. The President met with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to finalize the wage increase.
The National Salaries and Wages Commission stated that the implementation date was chosen because the President signed the bill in July.
In a letter dated September 24, 2024, the Accountant-General announced the payment plan, which covers MDAs (Ministries, Departments, and Agencies), retired heads of service, the Nigeria Police, Military, Para-Military groups, and higher education institutions. The government will also spend over N334 billion monthly to pay these salaries, resulting in an annual wage bill of N4.019 trillion.
The government had to increase its revenue to cover these new costs, which impacted the funds distributed to states. During the August FAAC meeting, N200 billion was transferred into a non-savings account, bringing the total to N595 billion.
In response to the new payments, organized labor groups, including the NLC and TUC, called on other organizations to follow the government's lead and begin paying the new minimum wage.
Benson Upah, the spokesperson for NLC, said, "This is a good move, and we encourage other employers to follow this example."
TUC's Deputy President, Tommy Etim, added, "There is no reason to delay paying the minimum wage, as the Federal Government has already provided a template for the adjustments."
However, some civil servants expressed dissatisfaction with the increase, calling it too small compared to the economic difficulties they’ve faced. A grade-level 12 officer commented, “This increase is not enough to make up for the hardships caused by government policies over the past year. I feel like we’ve been deceived. Is this what we waited months for?”
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