FG Approves N70,000 Transport Allowance for Civil Servants, Fails to Agree Minimum Wage Date with Labour
The Federal Government has approved a N70,000 monthly transport allowance for public servants for six months starting in November, as part of measures to ease the impact of rising living costs.
The approval was reached at a conciliation meeting between the government and the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja on Tuesday, convened amid renewed pressure from organised labour over workers’ welfare, the cost of living and outstanding agreements.
The government also approved payment of outstanding peculiar allowance arrears effective from May 1, 2026, to be paid in three equal monthly instalments beginning in November. However, the two sides could not agree on an effective date for implementing the national minimum wage, though they agreed to immediately set up a Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee.
The resolutions were contained in a memorandum of understanding signed by the Director-General of Budget, Timi Yakubu; NLC President Joe Ajaero; the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, 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 covered transport support, outstanding allowances, minimum wage negotiations, health workers’ remuneration, tax relief and hazard allowances for agricultural officers.
NLC Assistant Secretary-General Chris Onyeka described the talks as productive but short of labour’s expectations.
“It was productive, but not as we had expected,” he said, adding that negotiations often require compromise. He clarified that the proposed minimum wage committee would be tripartite, comprising government, workers and employers, and confirmed the transport allowance would run for six months from November.
The meeting followed an earlier conciliation session on October 22, 2026, convened by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to address disagreements between the government and organised labour.
