The Federal Government says it is fully committed to clearing the remaining three months arrears of N35,000 wage award to civil servants without further delay.
Mr Bawa Mokwa, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), however, said that the payment was subject to the availability of funds.
Mokwa said that with the payment of the second tranche in August, it was remaining three tranches to exhaust the wage award arrears.
“Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the Federal Government has not reneged on payment of the wage award arrears.
“The Federal Government will continue to pay the wage award in installments of N35,000 per month until the outstanding arrears is exhausted,” he said.
Meanwhile, some civil servants on Sunday expressed growing frustration over the persistent delay in the payment of arrears arising from the N35,000 wage award, describing the situation as no longer tolerable.
Speaking in Abuja, the workers said the Federal Government must urgently address the unpaid arrears, particularly given the prevailing economic challenges.
One of the workers, Ibrahim Abbas, said there was no justification for the delay in settling the outstanding three months of the wage award, stressing that workers urgently need the funds to cope with rising living costs.
According to him, the hardship faced by government employees has worsened significantly.
“The condition of government workers has never been this bad. The Federal Government needs to take all necessary steps to clear the outstanding three months arrears of the wage award,” he said.
Another civil servant, Mr Patrick Ugo, also appealed to the Federal Government to ensure the immediate payment of the arrears, noting that the current minimum wage does not reflect economic realities.
“The government should realise that the present minimum wage of N70 ,000 is unrealistic. The wage award will give the workers some relief.
“I will urge the Federal Government, through the Accountant-General of the Federation, to pay the outstanding three months, totaling N105,000 with the January salaries,” he said.
In a similar appeal, Mr Sule Aliu called on the government to consider making the N35,000 wage award a permanent component of civil servants’ monthly earnings.
According to Aliu, such a move would significantly ease the financial burden on workers.
Recall that the wage award was introduced in 2023 as a temporary measure to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal, serving as a stopgap while negotiations for a new national minimum wage were ongoing.
The payment was designed as a cost-of-living adjustment, but repeated delays have sparked dissatisfaction among workers and intensified pressure from labour unions for the settlement of all outstanding arrears.
In April 2025, the Federal Government announced plans to clear five months of unpaid N35,000 wage award arrears.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) disclosed that five months of the wage award had earlier been paid in instalments, adding that the remaining arrears would also be settled in monthly tranches of N35,000 over five months.
The OAGF further stated that the Federal Government remained committed to implementing policies and agreements related to workers’ remuneration and welfare to improve productivity and efficiency.
However, after the first instalment was paid in May 2025, the second instalment was delayed until August 2025, with no further payments made since then.
As a result, three months of arrears, amounting to N105,000, remain unpaid.
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