Workers write FG, seek N300,000 minimum wage

The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently review the salaries of federal civil servants and increase the minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000.

The forum made the demand in a letter dated September 2, 2026, signed by its National Coordinator, Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele.

The letter was addressed to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives through the Clerk of the National Assembly.

President Tinubu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation were also listed among the recipients.

The workers’ group also proposed a monthly salary of N1.5 million for officers on Grade Level 17.

According to the forum, the current salary structure no longer matches the economic challenges facing federal workers and the rising cost of living in the country.

The FWF therefore urged the government and lawmakers to take urgent steps to review the pay structure and improve the earnings of federal civil servants.

Backing its demand, the workers said in the letter, “We call for justice and immediate wage review now, adjust the federal minimum wage to N300,000 and a maximum wage of N1.5m for the Level 17 officers.”

The FWF said the demand was necessitated by what it described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.

The group stated, “It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage.”

According to the workers, the 2024 wage review increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 but resulted in what they described as a flat N40,000 increase across all levels of the federal civil service.

The forum said, “Only N40,000 was added to the salaries of every federal worker across all levels.”

The latest demand comes amid continuing disagreements over the implementation of the 2024 minimum wage and related allowances.

The N70,000 minimum wage replaced the previous N30,000 benchmark after negotiations between the Federal Government and organised labour, with the new wage framework subject to review after three years.

The FWF argued that the statutory three-year review period should not prevent the government from responding immediately to what it described as an emergency deterioration in workers’ purchasing power.

The forum said, “As a matter of fact, it is suicidal for the federal workers to continue in this ugly situation. Hence, based on the current cost-of-living crisis, it can only be a matter of justice that the federal wages be immediately reviewed to meet up with the current economic realities in Nigeria.”

The workers complained that the rising cost of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity, cooking gas and other necessities had made the N70,000 minimum wage inadequate.

“Federal workers have been enduring the situation, and everything has been frustrating and nauseating. We cannot cope again. Federal workers are dying in instalments; we are suffering in silence; our salary is too poor; it is not taking us home,” the letter stated.

The FWF further alleged that some federal workers had become heavily indebted to microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms in an attempt to meet their daily needs.

“Federal workers are now heavily indebted to microfinances and, most times, federal workers resort to phone loan apps to get transportation to work,” the group said.

The forum also claimed that some workers had resorted to using firewood because they could no longer afford cooking gas.

It argued that the worsening financial situation could affect workers’ productivity and create conditions conducive to corruption.

“While the Federal Government is making more money now, the federal workers are underpaid and subjected to unprecedented sufferings and hardship,” the workers said.

The forum also linked its demand to the wider increase in government revenues and expenditure, arguing that federal workers, whom it described as the “engine room of governance,” should benefit from improved national earnings.

It said, “The federal workers are the goose that lays the golden egg, but we are alienated from our labour.”

The proposed salary structure attached to the letter provides for N300,000 for Level 1 Step 1 workers, rising progressively to N1.5m for Level 17 Step 1 officers.

Under the proposal, Level 2 workers would earn N330,000; Level 3, N360,000; Level 4, N390,000; Level 5, N420,000; Level 6, N450,000; and Level 7, N480,000.

The forum proposed N510,000 for Level 8; N550,000 for Level 9; N600,000 for Level 10; N700,000 for Level 12; N750,000 for Level 13; N800,000 for Level 14; N1m for Level 15; N1.2m for Level 16 and N1.5m for Level 17 officers.

The workers said their N300,000 minimum wage proposal was based on an estimated monthly expenditure covering feeding, transportation, accommodation, family support, electricity, cooking gas, phone and data, water and other utilities.

“Our projections here are fair, and we believe it can still be accommodated in the present budget based on the daily increased earnings and the excess crude oil sales earnings,” the forum said.

Among its other demands, the FWF called for payment of all outstanding salaries, promotion arrears and other entitlements owed federal workers.

It also demanded the immediate implementation and payment of arrears of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, full consequential adjustment of the 2024 minimum wage, and the introduction of a permanent Cost of Living Allowance.

The workers further sought a Family Support Allowance, an end to stagnation in the civil service, declaration of vacancies for promotions, comprehensive health insurance for federal workers and pensioners, car and housing loan schemes, long-service awards and improved pension arrangements.

The forum also called for free education for the children of federal workers and pensioners in federal institutions, reduced taxation of workers’ allowances and tax relief measures.

Beyond workers’ wages, the FWF appealed to the government to introduce a comprehensive social security programme for unemployed and underemployed Nigerians, provide free medical care for children, pregnant women and elderly citizens, and establish federal intervention programmes for the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

It also called for stronger measures to tackle insecurity, including the release of kidnapped Nigerians.

The forum demanded an investigation into reports that part of workers’ contributory pension savings was being borrowed by the executive.

“We like to bring to the notice of the National Assembly that we are hearing rumours that part of our contributory pension savings is being borrowed by the executive. We are calling for investigations and an immediate stoppage cum refund if it is true,” it stated.

The workers also called for the return of petrol subsidy, price-control measures for essential goods and services, efforts to strengthen local production and industrialisation, and measures to address the declining purchasing power of Nigerians.

The FWF urged the National Assembly to take up its demands with the President, stressing that federal workers could not afford to wait until July 2027 before their salaries were reviewed.

It said, “Federal workers have suffered enough. It has been three years of torture, torment and agony for the federal workers since the removal of fuel subsidy.”

The forum concluded by appealing to the lawmakers and other government officials to treat its letter as an emergency intervention, saying improved wages were necessary to protect workers’ welfare and enhance their ability to effectively implement government policies.

The group stated, “It is our prayers that the National Assembly, being the representative of the people, take up our plea with the utmost responsibility and act accordingly to ensure a just society.”

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