The Federal Workers Forum has written to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly, demanding that federal civil servants’ salaries be reviewed immediately and the minimum wage be increased from N70,000 to N300,000.
The letter, dated September 2, 2026, and signed by FWF’s National Coordinator, Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele, was addressed to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives via the Clerk of the National Assembly, with Tinubu, Nigeria’s Chief Justice, and the Head of the Federation’s Civil Service also listed as recipients.
The forum also advocated a compensation of N1.5 million for Level 17 officials, claiming that the current wage structure no longer reflects the economic reality that federal personnel face.
Backing its demand, the workers said in the letter, “We call for justice and immediate wage review now; adjust the federal minimum wage to N300,000 and a maximum wage of N1.5m for the Level 17 officers.”
The FWF stated that the demand was necessitated by what it described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.
The group stated, “It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage.”
According to the FWF, the 2024 wage review increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 but resulted in what they described as a flat N40,000 increase across all levels of the federal civil service.
The forum said, “Only N40,000 was added to the salaries of every federal worker across all levels.”
The latest demand comes amid ongoing debates on the implementation of the 2024 minimum wage and accompanying allowances.
Following talks between the federal government and organized labor, the N70,000 minimum salary replaced the old N30,000 standard, with the new wage system set to be reviewed after three years.
The FWF contended that the statutory three-year review term should not preclude the government from responding quickly to what it regarded as an emergency decline in workers’ purchasing power.
The forum said, “As a matter of fact, it is suicidal for the federal workers to continue in this ugly situation. Hence, based on the current cost-of-living crisis, it can only be a matter of justice that the federal wages be immediately reviewed to meet up with the current economic realities in Nigeria.”
The workers claimed that the increased cost of food, transportation, housing, energy, cooking gas, and other essentials had rendered the N70,000 minimum salary insufficient.
“Federal workers have been enduring the situation, and everything has been frustrating and nauseating. We cannot cope again. Federal workers are dying in instalments; we are suffering in silence; our salary is too poor; it is not taking us home,” the letter stated.
The FWF also claimed that some federal employees had become deeply indebted to microfinance companies and digital loan platforms in an attempt to meet their basic demands.
“Federal workers are now heavily indebted to microfinances, and most times, federal workers resort to phone loan apps to get transportation to work,” the team added.
The forum also claimed that some workers had turned to firewood since they could no longer afford cooking gas.
It stated that the deteriorating economic situation could reduce worker productivity and create conditions susceptible to corruption.
“While the federal government is making more money now, the federal workers are underpaid and subjected to unprecedented sufferings and hardship,” the workers said.
The forum also tied its proposal to an overall increase in government revenues and expenditures, stating that federal employees, whom it referred to as the “engine room of governance,” should benefit from higher national wages.
It said, “The federal workers are the goose that lays the golden egg, but we are alienated from our labor.”
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The proposed salary structure attached to the letter starts at N300,000 for Level 1 Step 1 workers and rises to N1.5 million for Level 17 Step 1 executives.
According to the proposal, Level 2 personnel would get N330,000, Level 3 N360,000, Level 4 N390,000, Level 5 N420,000, Level 6 N450,000, and Level 7 N480,000.
The forum recommended N510,000 for Level 8, N550,000 for Level 9, N600,000 for Level 10, N700,000 for Level 12, N750,000 for Level 13, N800,000 for Level 14, N1 million for Level 15, N1.2 million for Level 16, and N1.5 million for Level 17 officers.
The workers stated that their N300,000 minimum wage request was based on an estimate of monthly expenses for meals, transportation, housing, family assistance, power, cooking gas, phone and data, water, and other utilities.
“Our projections here are fair, and we believe it can still be accommodated in the present budget based on the daily increased earnings and the excess crude oil sales earnings,” the forum said.
Among its other requests, the FWF requested payment of all overdue salary, promotion arrears, and other benefits owed to federal employees.
It also urged the prompt implementation and payment of the 40% unique allowance arrears, a complete consequential adjustment to the 2024 minimum salary, and the establishment of a permanent Cost of Living Allowance.
The workers also requested a Family Support Allowance, an end to public service stagnation, the disclosure of openings for promotions, comprehensive health insurance for federal employees and pensioners, car and home loan schemes, long-service awards, and enhanced pension arrangements.
The forum also advocated for free education in federal institutions for the children of federal employees and pensioners, decreased taxation on workers’ allowances, and tax relief measures.
Aside from workers’ wages, the FWF urged the government to implement a comprehensive social security program for unemployed and underemployed Nigerians, provide free medical care to children, pregnant women, and the elderly, and establish federal intervention programs for the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
It also advocated for greater steps to combat insecurity, such as the release of kidnaped Nigerians.
The forum ordered an examination into accusations that the executive was borrowing some of the workers’ contributing pension money.
“We like to bring to the notice of the National Assembly that we are hearing rumors that part of our contributory pension savings is being borrowed by the executive. We are calling for investigations and an immediate stoppage cum refund if it is true,” it stated.
The workers also demanded the reinstatement of petrol subsidies, price controls on critical commodities and services, initiatives to increase local production and industrialization, and actions to alleviate Nigerians’ diminishing purchasing power.
The FWF asked the National Assembly to pursue its requests with the President, emphasizing that federal employees could not afford to wait until July 2027 for a salary review.
It said, “Federal workers have suffered enough. It has been three years of torture, torment, and agony for the federal workers since the removal of fuel subsidy.”
The conference closed by urging lawmakers and other government officials to take their letter as an emergency intervention, stating that increased pay was required to protect workers’ well-being and improve their ability to efficiently implement government objectives.
The group stated, “It is our prayers that the National Assembly, being the representative of the people, take up our plea with the utmost responsibility and act accordingly to ensure a just society.”
