By NANA MUSA

The Federal Government has assured public servants that payment of outstanding wage awards will be made before the middle of August.

This is contained in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja issued by Efe Ovuakporie, Head of Information and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Finance.

According to the statement, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, gave the assurance during a meeting with labour leaders led by the National President of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), Trade Side, Comrade Kabiru Minjibir.

Oyedele said the government had already begun addressing several labour concerns before receiving the council’s formal communication.

He reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to fulfilling promises to Nigerian workers through constructive engagement and dialogue.

“The objective is to build confidence by ensuring the government honours every commitment made,” he said.

The minister said the release for payment of the outstanding wage award was at its final stage and expressed confidence that eligible workers would begin receiving payments before mid-August.

He directed relevant officials to review the council’s submissions and fast-track action on all outstanding matters.

He also acknowledged concerns over implementation delays and pledged greater transparency, consultation and prompt action.

The government further assured workers that outstanding promotion arrears were being processed in line with approved procedures.

The Permanent Secretary, Finance, Mr Raymond Omachi, pledged closer collaboration with organised labour and said approved entitlements would be processed without avoidable delays.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Mr Mohammed Danjuma, said progress had been made on workers’ entitlements.

He added that batch seven promotion arrears, previously omitted, were being processed alongside batch nine.

Danjuma said the government was also working with relevant agencies to address peculiar allowances and other labour-related issues.

The Director of Cash Management, Mrs Christiana Osho, said reconciliation for the outstanding wage award had been completed and that payment release was at its final stage.

Earlier, Minjibir urged the government to resolve pending labour issues without further delay.

He listed outstanding wage awards, promotion arrears, salary relativity for health workers and peculiar allowance among the unresolved issues.

He said timely implementation would strengthen industrial harmony and boost workers’ confidence in government. (NAN)

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