FG Disburse 40% Pay Rise For Civil Servants, Exclude Lecturers

The new 40% peculiar allowance introduced by the Federal Government will only benefit the 144,766 federal civil servants under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure. Other workers employed by the Federal Government under different salary structures, such as university workers under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure and medical doctors under the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale, will not benefit from the pay rise. Additionally, nurses, non-academic workers in tertiary institutions, the police, and members of the armed forces, among others, will also not benefit.

In a memo obtained by a correspondent, the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, headed by Ekpo Nta, noted that only the 144,766 staff members of the federal civil service under the CONPSS salary structure would be paid. The memo addressed to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, conveyed approval for the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to implement the peculiar allowance attached herewith for staff on the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure. The estimated sum of N79,373,340,959.00 per annum required to implement it for the 144,766 staff on CONPSS will be funded from the treasury. The commission will periodically monitor the implementation of this approval through salary inspections.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had disclosed that the Federal Government approved a pay raise for civil servants in the country, included in the 2023 budget, and would take effect from January 1, 2023. The pay rise was described as a peculiar allowance for civil servants in view of the current economic reality, meant to help government workers cushion the effects of rising inflation, rising cost of living, and hikes in transportation fare, housing and electricity tariffs.

ASUU protested the exclusion of its members from the payment of the peculiar allowance. The National President of the union, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, accused the government of trying to create problems in the system, adding that ASUU would study the situation on the ground and make its stand known soon.

The government will spend N79.37bn annually to fund the pay rise, and some workers have started enjoying the largesse. Federal civil servants have started receiving bank alerts of the arrears for the first three months of the year. The amount will be funded from the treasury.