The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has written to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly, demanding an immediate review of the salaries of federal civil servants and an increase in the minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000. The forum said the current wage structure no longer reflected the economic realities facing workers, particularly amid rising costs of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity and other essential needs.
The demand was contained in a letter dated September 2, 2026, and signed by the National Coordinator of the FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and its General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele. The letter was addressed to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives through the Clerk of the National Assembly, with President Tinubu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation also listed among the recipients.
The workers also proposed a new salary structure that would place the minimum wage at N300,000 and the maximum salary for Level 17 officers at N1.5 million. They argued that the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024 had not been fully implemented, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and related allowances arising from the wage review.
The FWF said the rising cost of living had severely affected the purchasing power of federal workers, with some employees allegedly resorting to borrowing from microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms to meet basic needs. The forum further argued that workers should not be made to wait until July 2027, when the statutory three-year review period falls due, before their wages are reconsidered, describing the current situation as an emergency requiring immediate government intervention.
Beyond the proposed wage increase, the forum called for the payment of outstanding salaries, promotion arrears and other entitlements owed to federal workers, as well as the implementation of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance and a permanent cost-of-living allowance. It urged the National Assembly to take up its demands with the President, stressing that improved wages and better welfare conditions were necessary to protect workers’ livelihoods and enable them to effectively perform their responsibilities.
