The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has mounted fresh pressure on President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government, demanding an immediate upward review of the national minimum wage to ₦300,000 while accusing the government of failing to fully implement the ₦70,000 minimum wage approved in July 2024.
The workers’ group said federal civil servants were facing worsening economic hardship as the cost of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity, cooking gas and other essential commodities continued to rise, while their earnings had failed to keep pace with the economic realities.
The FWF made the demands in a press release dated Wednesday, September 2, 2026, addressed to President Tinubu, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Federation and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The group also proposed a new salary structure that would place the maximum monthly salary for Grade Level 17 officers at ₦1.5 million, arguing that the proposal would better reflect the economic realities facing federal workers and help harmonise salaries across the public service.
According to the FWF, the Federal Government has yet to fully implement the new national minimum wage introduced in July 2024, despite repeated demands for the consequential adjustment of salaries and allowances.
“It will surprise you to hear that the federal government have not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024,” the group said.
The workers said they had been engaged in a prolonged struggle for the “full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage”, alleging that the process had remained incomplete.
The FWF claimed that only ₦40,000 was added to the salaries of federal workers across all levels following the 2024 wage review.
“ONLY ₦40,000 WAS ADDED TO THE SALARIES OF EVERY FEDERAL WORKER ACROSS ALL LEVELS,” the group alleged.
“The last review of the salary in July 2024 gave us ₦70,000 as the new national minimum wage, with only ₦40,000 added to the previous ₦30,000,” it added.
The workers also raised concerns over the alleged non-payment of the outstanding 40 per cent peculiar allowance and other entitlements.
“The new Minister of Finance equally promised the payment of the balance of the peculiar allowance lattest August 15th but not yet paid as at now,” the FWF alleged.
The group argued that the failure to adjust workers’ earnings in line with inflation had significantly weakened their purchasing power and subjected federal employees to what it described as unprecedented hardship.
“While the federal government is making more money now, the federal workers are underpaid and subjected to unprecedented sufferings and hardship,” it said.
The FWF also criticised the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy and the depreciation of the naira, saying both developments had sharply increased the cost of living and transportation for workers.
“Despite 500% increments in the price of petrol and the deliberate devaluation of the naira, only ₦40,000 was added to the salaries of each federal worker,” the group said.
According to the workers, increasing government revenue and budgetary allocations should translate into improved welfare for civil servants, whom they described as the “engine room of governance.”
The group warned that continued financial hardship among workers could undermine productivity and efficiency in the public service and create conditions that could encourage corruption.
“This current situation will not promote efficiency rather it will promote corruption and it is not the best for our collective interest,” the statement said.
The FWF said federal workers were struggling to feed their families, pay transportation fares and meet other basic household needs.
“Federal workers are dying in installments, we are suffering in silence, our salary is too poor, it is not taking us home,” it said.
The group claimed that some workers had become heavily indebted to microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms in order to meet basic expenses, including transportation to work.
“Federal workers are now heavily indebted to micro finances and in most times, federal workers result to phone loan apps inoder to get transportation to work,” the statement alleged.
It further claimed that some workers could no longer comfortably afford cooking gas and other essential household necessities.
The FWF rejected any proposal to wait until July 2027 for another statutory review of the national minimum wage, insisting that the current situation required immediate government intervention.
“We cannot wait till July 2027 for a new national minimum wage,” the group said.
The proposed ₦300,000 minimum wage, according to the workers, was calculated based on their assessment of the monthly expenses required to sustain an average federal worker and family.
The expenses considered included feeding, transportation, accommodation, family feeding, family support, electricity bills, cooking gas, phone and internet data, water and other utilities.
Under the proposed salary structure, Level 1 Step 1 workers would earn ₦300,000 monthly, while Level 2 workers would receive ₦330,000 and Level 3 workers ₦360,000.
The proposed salaries would rise progressively through the higher levels, reaching ₦1 million for Level 15 officers, ₦1.2 million for Level 16 and ₦1.5 million for Level 17 officers.
The workers said the proposed structure would help create a more equitable and realistic salary system across the federal public service.
The FWF also demanded immediate payment of outstanding salaries and promotion arrears, full implementation of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, full consequential adjustment of the minimum wage and payment of arrears dating back to July 2024.
Other demands included a permanent Cost of Living Allowance, Family Support Allowance, improved health insurance, car and housing loans, harmonisation of salaries and pensions and an end to what the group described as heavy taxation of workers’ allowances.
The group also called for free education for children of federal workers and pensioners in federal institutions, standardisation of pensions and social security payments for unemployed and underemployed Nigerians.
It further demanded the return of the petrol subsidy, citing the severe impact of fuel costs on workers’ disposable income and transportation expenses.
The FWF urged the National Assembly to urgently intervene in the situation, saying federal workers had “suffered enough.”
“As a matter of fact, it is suicidal for the federal workers to continue in this ugly situation,” the group said, describing its appeal to lawmakers as a “distress call and an emergency situation.”
The workers also called for an investigation into reports that part of workers’ contributory pension savings was being borrowed by the executive.
The FWF demanded an immediate halt to any such arrangement and the refund of the funds if the allegation was established to be true.
“We call for investigations and an immediate stoppage cum refund if it is true,” the group said.
The workers appealed to President Tinubu, the National Assembly and other relevant authorities to urgently respond to their demands, arguing that improved remuneration was necessary to restore workers’ purchasing power, morale and productivity.
The FWF maintained that federal workers remain central to the effective functioning of government and insisted that their welfare could no longer be ignored amid rising living costs.
The group concluded by calling for what it described as a “just and fair wage” for federal workers, warning that the current situation was unsustainable and required immediate action rather than waiting for another minimum wage review in 2027.