The Federal Government has directed that the outstanding two-month wage award owed federal civil servants be paid on or before August 15, 2026, following a high-level meeting between the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, and the leadership of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council.
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The agreement, reached during a meeting in Abuja, has led to the suspension of the August 11 ultimatum earlier issued by the JNPSNC over unresolved workers’ welfare issues.
The meeting was chaired by Oyedele and attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, including the Permanent Secretary in charge of Accounts, the Permanent Secretary in charge of Special Duties, the Chief of Staff to the Minister, directors, special advisers and other senior ministry officials.
The labour delegation was led by Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria and National Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, who represented the National Chairman of the JNPSNC.
Also in attendance were the National Secretary of the JNPSNC and General Secretary of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga; the National Assistant Secretary of the JNPSNC and General Secretary of MHWUN, Comrade Kiyawa; and other labour leaders.
After extensive deliberations, both parties agreed that the outstanding two-month wage award would be paid on or before August 15.
The Minister also assured labour leaders that the Federal Government would facilitate the payment of the long-awaited 40 per cent peculiar allowance through a supplementary budget, with the Ministry of Finance expected to work with the Budget Office to secure the necessary funding.
The meeting also considered the issue of outstanding promotion arrears, with government officials confirming that the payment processes for batches seven and nine had either been resolved or were being processed in line with approved procedures.
Oyedele said the government had already begun addressing several of the labour concerns before receiving the council’s formal communication, reaffirming the Tinubu administration’s commitment to fulfilling promises made to Nigerian workers through constructive engagement and dialogue.
“The objective is to build confidence by ensuring the government honours every commitment made,” the minister said.
He added that the release for payment of the outstanding wage award was at its final stage and expressed confidence that eligible workers would begin receiving payments before mid-August.
Oyedele also directed relevant officials to review the council’s submissions and fast-track action on all outstanding matters, while acknowledging concerns over implementation delays and pledging greater transparency, consultation and prompt response.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Raymond Omachi, also pledged closer collaboration with organised labour, assuring that approved entitlements would be processed without avoidable delays.
His counterpart in charge of Special Duties, Mohammed Danjuma, said progress had been made on workers’ entitlements, adding that batch seven promotion arrears, which were previously omitted, were being processed alongside batch nine.
Danjuma said the government was also working with relevant agencies to address peculiar allowances and other labour-related issues.
The Director of Cash Management, Christiana Osho, said reconciliation for the outstanding wage award had been completed and that payment release was at its final stage.
Speaking at the meeting, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir reassured the minister of the council’s commitment to protecting workers’ interests, saying the JNPSNC remained ready to ensure that workers’ welfare was not undermined.
The National Secretary of the JNPSNC, Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, said the intervention of the union leadership was aimed at preventing an industrial crisis and avoiding embarrassment to the Federal Government.
“The action of the national leadership of JNPSNC was to prevent national embarrassment to the Federal Government because workers were ready to occupy the office of the minister spontaneously,” he said.
After the meeting, Olowoyo announced that the August 11 ultimatum had been suspended following the agreements reached with the government.
“With the successful meeting with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, the ultimatum of August 11 issued ab initio has been suspended,” he said.
He, however, warned that organised labour would closely monitor the implementation of all resolutions reached at the meeting.
The labour leaders listed outstanding wage awards, promotion arrears, salary relativity for health workers and peculiar allowance among the unresolved issues requiring urgent attention, stressing that timely implementation would strengthen industrial harmony and restore workers’ confidence in government.
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