Wakadaily gathered that the Federal Government has spent N177.4 billion naira to balance payment of salary grant to civic servants in four months.
The payment of salary grants to Nigerian employee was one of the deals agreed on by the organised labour and the Federal Government as one of the ways to reduce the effects the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, generally known as petrol.
Govspend, a civic tech platform which analysis the FG spending noted that the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, made a monthly payment of M44.34 billion naira to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System transaction account, a platform that keeps payment history of all federal employees in the organisation..
That means the government has paid N177.4 billion naira to 1,266,906 federal civil servants in four months and N77.4billion naira more than the commandeer grants in the 2023 additional financial plan.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023, promised to give a N35,000 payment salary to federal Government employees for six months. Although it was, suspended after two months.
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress object the Government’s adjournment of the payment and earlier threatened an industrial strike, if the government fail to resolve the payment, which was included in the 2023 additional financial plan.
In a project, it was stressed that the four months payment grant would cost the Federal Government around N210 billion naira.
Although, the document approved showed that it would now cost the Federal Government about N110 billion naira.
According to the Minister of state for Labour, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the government would resume the payment of the wage awards.
“I am here specifically to reassure you that we have not forgotten about the agreements between the government and trade unions. Thank God that you have confirmed that the Federal Government has started paying the N35,000 wage award and I can assure you that the payment is on course, and the outstanding will be paid within a short period,” she said.
In separate interviews with the civil servants on Tuesday, wakadaily learnt that the Federal Government has made payments for the November and December 2023 payment assign.
