The Nigerian federal government has started paying civil servants the newly approved minimum wage, beginning on Thursday, September 26, 2024. This development brings into effect the updated salary structure promised by the government earlier this year.
In an interview with DAILY POST, the Spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, confirmed that civil servants will begin receiving notifications of their new wage payments starting Thursday.
Mokwa emphasized that the government is committed to implementing the new wage structure, although he did not clarify if payments would include arrears for the months prior to the announcement.
“Federal Government civil servants will start getting the new minimum wage from today (Thursday) this September 2024. What I can tell you is that the minimum wage salary payment is today, I am not sure of the arrears,” Mokwa told DAILY POST.
The wage increase follows the recent approval of the upward review of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS) by the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission. The review aligns with the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act of 2024, which legally mandates the wage increase.
Earlier in July 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved the new minimum wage, setting it at N70,000. This decision was made to help ease the financial pressures on workers, especially in the face of inflation and rising living costs in the country. Since then, workers have been eagerly awaiting the implementation of the new wage structure, and Thursday marks the official start of these payments.
