Federal civil servants across ministries, departments and agencies have expressed deep frustration over the Federal Government’s failure to pay outstanding arrears of the N35,000 wage award, describing their living conditions as the worst in years amid rising inflation and cost of living.
Some of the workers, who spoke to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, said the continued delay in settling the three months’ arrears, amounting to N105,000 per worker, had worsened hardship and eroded confidence in government assurances.
“The condition of government workers has never been this bad,” said Ibrahim Abbas, a civil servant in one of the federal ministries.
“There is no justification for keeping workers waiting for months over money that was already approved. The government must clear these arrears immediately.”
Another worker, Patrick Ugo, said the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000 remained inadequate in the face of rising food, transport and housing costs, stressing that the wage award was the only temporary relief workers had.
“The wage award gives workers some breathing space,” he said. “I urge the Federal Government, through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, to pay the outstanding three months — N105,000 — along with January salaries.”
Similarly, Sule Aliu called on the government to convert the N35,000 wage award into a permanent addition to workers’ monthly pay, arguing that this would significantly ease financial pressure on public servants struggling to meet basic household needs.
The wage award was introduced in 2023 as a temporary measure to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal while negotiations for a new national minimum wage were ongoing.
However, payments have been irregular, triggering repeated complaints from workers and labour unions.
In April 2025, the Federal Government announced plans to pay five months of outstanding arrears in instalments of N35,000. While the first tranche was paid in May 2025 and the second in August, no further payments have been made since then, leaving three months unpaid.
Reacting to the complaints, the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, said the government had not abandoned the payment of the arrears but blamed the delays on funding constraints.
“Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the Federal Government has not reneged on the wage award arrears,” Mokwa said.
“Payments will continue in instalments of N35,000 per month until the outstanding arrears are exhausted, subject to the availability of funds.”
But many workers insist that repeated promises without concrete action have only deepened their hardship, calling on the government to urgently fulfil its commitment and restore confidence in its wage policies.
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