By Peter Adelowo
Federal civil servants have expressed strong dissatisfaction over the continued delay in the payment of arrears of the N35,000 wage award, describing the situation as unacceptable.
The workers, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, said the delay has worsened their economic hardship and urged the Federal Government to immediately clear the outstanding payments.
One of the civil servants, Ibrahim Abbas, said there was no justification for withholding the three months’ arrears, stressing that the money was urgently needed to cushion the rising cost of living.
He said government workers are facing unprecedented financial pressure and appealed to the authorities to take urgent steps to settle the outstanding payments.
Another worker, Patrick Ugo, also called on the Federal Government to pay the arrears without further delay.
He described the current minimum wage of seventy thousand naira as unrealistic in the face of prevailing economic realities and urged that the outstanding N105,000 be paid alongside January salaries.
In his contribution, Sule Aliu appealed to the Federal Government to make the N35,000 wage award a permanent addition to workers’ monthly salaries, noting that it would significantly ease their financial burden.
It will be recalled that the wage award was introduced in 2023 as a temporary cost-of-living allowance following the removal of fuel subsidy, pending the negotiation of a new national minimum wage.
In April 2025, the Federal Government announced plans to pay the outstanding five months’ arrears in instalments.
While the first instalment was paid in May and the second in August, no further payments have been made, leaving three months’ arrears amounting to N105,000 outstanding.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation says the government remains committed to clearing the remaining arrears, subject to the availability of funds.
The Director of Press and Public Relations in the office, Bawa Mokwa, said the Federal Government has not reneged on the agreement and will continue to pay the wage award in monthly instalments until all arrears are exhausted.
