FG Settles Workers With N70,000 Transport Allowance To Avert Nationwide Strike

The federal government has agreed to pay civil servants N70,000 monthly to cushion the effect of the current economic hardship in the country, particularly the high cost of transportation in the country.

This formed part of the agreement reached on Tuesday by the Tinubu administration and the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC in Abuja, the nation’s capital amid the ongoing new minimum wage negotiation between the government and the leadership of the nation’s labour unions.

The announcement was contained in communique issued by the parties, the N70,000 transport allowance is to commence in November, and will last for six months, according to the details contained in the agreement.

“It was agreed that the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee would be constituted and commence meeting immediately. It should, however, be noted that there is a disagreement on the effective date of implementation,’’ part of the communique read.

The communique further stated that the transport award will be paid to categories of workers in the employment of the federal government.

“That transport intervention of Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000) commencing from November 2026 would be paid across all levels for a period of six months,” it said.

Those that signed the Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, include Tanimu Yakubu, Director General of the Budget Office; NLC President, Joe Ajaero,; Garba Abdul, Permanent Secretary of the Service Welfare Office, in the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; and Muhammad Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment.

Also, as part of the agreement with Labour a Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee is to be constituted and commenced meetings immediately, even though the parties have yet to agree on when the government should start paying the new minimum wage.

The two parties reached the agreement less than two-week after the NLC issued an ultimatum to the government to accept workers demands, following a breakdown in negotiation on October 13. The Union had given the federal government a 14-day ultimatum which expired on October 27.

The workers had threatened a nationwide strike if their demand were not met before the expiration of the ultimatum.