The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, has said that Government is exploring phased payments of Federal Civil Servants benefits incurred through service wide staff claims, particularly those bothering on promotion areas, first 28 days, repatriation allowance and death benefits, among others, amounting to about N293 billion.

Speaking at a press conference held in her office in Abuja, as part of the activities marking the 2016Civil Service Week Celebration, Oyo-Ita said that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to explore ways of making the payments.

She said that Government has till this moment not been able to pay the claims largely because of the financial challenges facing the country.

The Head of Service stated that the affected workers will be paid their benefit claims after the conclusion of the phased payment formula that is being reconciled in collaboration with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. She assured that staff welfare would be addressed from many fronts, noting that the service was exploring the possibility of providing bulk payments of rent allowances for workers within this financial year.

Mrs. Oyo-Ita further stated that a committee has since been set up on national salary review and would sit with the relevant stakeholders to take a decision on pay rise. She assured that there was no plan to retrench workers, saying: “It is cruel to throw people into the labour market.”

•Photo shows Mrs. Oyo-Ita.