By KADIRI ABDULRAHMAN

Many federal civil servants have decried the continuous delay in the payment of arrears of the N35,000 wage award, saying that it is unacceptable.

The civil servants spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

One of them, Ibrahim Abbas, said that there could be no reason that can be acceptable for the long delay in clearing the three months arrears of the wage award.

According to him, the money is needed now to cushion the effect of economic hardship.

“The condition of government workers has never been this bad. The Federal Government needs to take all necessary steps to clear the outstanding three months arrears of the wage award,” he said.

Another civil servant, Mr. Patrick Ugo, also urged the Federal Government to pay up the arrears without further delay.

“The government should realise that the present minimum wage of N70 ,000 is unrealistic. The wage award will give the workers some relief.

“I will urge the Federal Government, through the Accountant-General of the Federation, to pay the outstanding three months, totalling N105,000 with the January salaries,” he said.

Mr. Sule Aliu urged the Federal Government to make the N35,000 wage award a permanent addition to the monthly salaries of civil servants.

According to Aliu, this will go a long way to alleviate the financial pressure of the workers.

NAN reports that the wage award was a temporary payment to workers, approved in 2023 to ease the burden of fuel subsidy removal, supplementing salaries while a new national minimum wage was negotiated.

It was to act as a cost-of-living adjustment, but payments faced delays, causing frustration and leading to ongoing demands from labour unions for full implementation and clearance of arrears.

In April 2025, the Federal Government announced that it would pay the outstanding five months of the N35,000 wage award arrears to workers.

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), said that the Federal Government had earlier paid five months of the wage award in instalments.

He said that the outstanding arrears would be paid in instalments of N35,000 per month for five months.

The OAGF said that the Federal Government was determined to fully implement all policies and agreements regarding staff remuneration and welfare to enhance productivity and efficiency.

But after the first instalment was paid in May, 2025, the second instalment was not paid until August, 2025, and nothing has been paid since then.

This leaves an outstanding payment of three months, amounting to N105,000

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said that it was committed to clearing the remaining three months arrears of N35,000 wage award without further delay.

Mr. Bawa Mokwa, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), however, said that the payment was subject to the availability of funds.

Mokwa said that with the payment of the second tranche in .August, it was remaining three tranches to exhaust the wage award arrears.

“Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the Federal Government has not reneged on payment of the wage award arrears.

“The Federal Government will continue to pay the wage award in instalments of N35,000 per month until the outstanding arrears are exhausted,” he said. (NAN)

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