The Federal Government plans to commence payment of the anticipated increase in civil servants’ pay at the end of April.
According to The Punch, final approval for disbursement is expected to be given by President Muhammadu Buhari very soon.
If the proposal is approved, the increase in pay will be implemented about two months before the removal of petrol subsidy, which is slated for June.
According to government officials who spoke exclusively to The PUNCH, the pay increase, known as the consequential allowance, will result in a 40% hike in government workers’ current salaries.
The Director of Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, disclosed that the Federal Government may start paying the 40% pay rise by April’s end this year, and the three months’ arrears for January, February, and March will be paid at a later date.
However, Oshundun could not confirm whether the President has finally approved the government committee’s proposal.
In his words, “Consequential allowance Salaries will be increased by 40 per cent for civil servants from level 1 to level 17.
“What we receive now is called consolidated public service salary structure, it is the combination of basic and all allowances. So, the increase will be 40 per cent of what a public servant is earning now.
“They will start paying from the end of this month (April) and the arrears of January, February and March will be paid later. The salary increase is effective from January 2023. That is the proposal submitted by the committee set up to look into salary adjustment for civil servants, but am not sure if the President has signed it yet.”
Meanwhile, in March, the Minister of Labor and Employment, Chris Ngige, revealed that the government of Nigeria had approved an increase in the salary of civil servants.
Ngige mentioned that this salary increment was already incorporated in the budget for the year 2023 and would be implemented from the start of the year.
The minister referred to this pay raise as a special allowance for civil servants, taking into account the present economic conditions. Its purpose is to support government workers to alleviate the impact of increasing inflation, higher living expenses, more expensive transportation, housing, and electricity tariffs.
