There are hints that the Federal Government’s pledge to give its employees an extra N35,000 a month for six months may have encountered financial difficulties.
The Federal Government does not have enough money, as Vanguard’s findings show, to pay all of its employees as it first stated when it eliminated the premium motor spirit (petrol) subsidy in May 2023.
President Bola Tinubu agreed to pay N35,000 to each federal government worker as well as a 40% special salary increase when he signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on October 2 of this year. This was done in an effort to lessen the impact of the removal of subsidies.
Despite the NLC’s worries regarding the rewards offered by the Presidency, the news was positively greeted by the workforce. But despite the expectation that all federal employees would receive increased funding from the federal treasury as a result of the pledge, Vanguard discovered that the federal government lacks the necessary funds to compensate all classes of workers under it.
The government has made it clear to the relevant government agencies that it does not have the money to pay the workers. It has also requested that these agencies find other sources of revenue and pay their employees instead of relying on the federation account for payment.
Workers in the majority of departments and agencies that receive their allocations from the consolidated revenue funds will not receive payment from the federal government, despite the fact that the government has since paid employees under what it referred to as “treasury-funded staff.”
The affected federal MDAs have been ordered to find internal funding sources in order to pay their employees the N35,000 wage award and the 40% special salary increase, instead of receiving direct government funding. This directive has left most MDAs frustrated, as employees brace for a confrontation over non-payment, similar to what has happened to their ministry counterparts.
The National Incomes and Wages Commission wrote to the Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, ministers, and heads of government parastatals and agencies, outlining which workers should receive compensation and which should fend for themselves. This letter served as evidence that the Federal Government was unable to pay all of the workers it employed.
The National Incomes and Wages Commission, or NIWC, instructed all MDAs on consolidated revenue not to expect government allocation in paying the award to their workers in a document dated October 19, 2023, with reference: SWC.04/T/33.
NAN employees demand improved working environments. In a memo signed by Mr. Ekpo Nta, the chairman and CEO, the Income and Wages Commission instructed them to either use their “internally-generated revenue to pay their workers or rely on statutory allocation to pay same,” despite the fact that the majority of them are not revenue-generating organisations.
I refer to the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the Nigerian government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday, October 2, 2023, as a result of the withdrawal of the premium motor spirit price subsidy. I hereby convey the approval of the President and Commander Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The memo was exclusively seen by Vanguard.
As a result, the treasury would provide funding for all federal government ministries, divisions, and agencies to implement the N35,000.00 monthly wage award.
“Federal Government agencies that are not supported by the Treasury shall do the same from their statutory allocations, internally generated income, or IGR. The National Incomes and Wages Commission should be contacted with any questions regarding this circular.
However, because they lack the funds to pay, the majority of MDAs that the government is asking to look within for funds in order to pay the wage award and the 40% salary rise are perplexed and concerned about the government’s stance.
Some employees, who spoke in private with our correspondent yesterday, expressed disbelief at the NIWC’s ability to reverse the President’s directive to pay all employees from its till equally, regardless of whether they were employed by treasury-funded or non-treasury-funded organisations. One of the federal parastatals’ chief executive officers stated yesterday, “We strongly suspect that Mr. President has not been properly briefed by the NIWC on the implementation of his wage award and salary increment with the NLC and that it is impossible for most of the MDAs excluded from Service Wide Vote payment to secure cash to pay their agitated workers.”
Vanguard learned that numerous labour unions have already threatened to stop MDA heads from operating if they are not paid as quickly as their counterparts in central government ministries.