The Federal Government has approved a ₦70,000 monthly transport intervention for public service workers at all levels. The support will run for six months from November 2026 and is meant to ease the pressure of rising living costs.
The approval was among the resolutions reached on Tuesday at a conciliation meeting between the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja. The meeting followed renewed pressure from organised labour over the cost of living, workers’ welfare and unfulfilled agreements.
The government also approved payment of peculiar allowance arrears, effective from May 1, 2026. The arrears will be paid in three equal monthly instalments, starting in November.
The parties, however, could not agree on the effective date for implementing the national minimum wage. They did agree that the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee would be constituted and begin meeting immediately.
The resolutions were captured in a memorandum of understanding signed at the end of the meeting. The signatories were the Director-General of Budget, Timi Yakubu, and the NLC President, Joe Ajaero. The others were the Permanent Secretary of the Service Welfare Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Garba Abdul S.U., and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi.
The document is titled ‘Resolutions Reached at a Conciliation Meeting Held at Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment Between the Federal Government and the Leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress on Tuesday, 27th October, 2026′. It covers minimum wage negotiations, transport support, outstanding allowances, health workers’ remuneration, tax relief and hazard allowances for agricultural officers.
Tuesday’s meeting followed an earlier conciliation session held on October 22, 2026. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment convened that session to address disagreements between the government and organised labour.
On the transport intervention, the document stated, “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.”
The document did not state the payment date within each month. It also gave no details of the administrative arrangements for disbursement.
The agreement comes amid continuing concern over transportation costs and the prices of other essential goods. These pressures have persisted since the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023, which pushed up living costs across the country.
Organised labour has repeatedly called for measures to ease the economic burden on workers. Its demands include lower petrol prices, improved wages and the implementation of outstanding welfare agreements.
The memorandum also recorded the NLC leadership’s concerns about how the government has handled its demands.
On that disagreement, the document stated that the NLC leadership “expressed concern over the Federal Government’s attitude towards the above issues.”
It added that the Federal Government, in response, “stated that it fully respect the right of the Congress to advocate for improved working conditions for Nigerian workers, and is genuinely trying to address every aspect of it through a structured intervention.”
On the national minimum wage, the memorandum noted: “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.”
The disagreement leaves a key issue unresolved, even though both sides committed to starting negotiations without delay.
The national minimum wage became a major issue in 2024, when the Federal Government and organised labour negotiated an increase in the statutory monthly minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000. The new rate was later enacted into law through the National Minimum Wage Act.
The latest agreement refers to further discussions and the implementation date of the national minimum wage. It does not give details of the specific proposal under consideration, or say when the parties expect to conclude the negotiations.
The agreement indicates that the government has approved some financial interventions, but other workers’ demands remain subject to further negotiation, administrative verification or decisions by relevant government bodies.
