The Federal Workers Forum has written to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly, demanding an immediate review of federal civil servants’ salaries and an increase in the minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000.
The letter, dated September 2, 2026, and signed by the National Coordinator, FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele, was addressed to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives through the Clerk of the National Assembly. President Tinubu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation were also listed among the recipients.
The forum proposed a salary of N1.5m for Level 17 officers, arguing that the existing wage structure no longer reflects the economic realities confronting federal workers.
“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 workers said in the letter.
Incomplete Implementation of 2024 Wage Review
The FWF said the demand was driven by what it described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024, alleging that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.
“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,” the group stated.
According to the workers, the 2024 wage review raised the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 but translated into a flat N40,000 increase across all levels of the federal civil service. “Only N40,000 was added to the salaries of every federal worker across all levels,” the forum said.
The N70,000 minimum wage had replaced the previous N30,000 benchmark following negotiations between the Federal Government and organised labour, with the new wage framework subject to review after three years.
The FWF argued, however, that the statutory three-year review period should not stop the government from responding immediately to what it called an emergency deterioration in workers’ purchasing power.
“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 forum said.
“Suffering in Silence”
The workers complained that the rising cost of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity, cooking gas and other necessities had rendered the N70,000 minimum wage inadequate.
“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 further alleged that some federal workers had become heavily indebted to microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms in their bid to meet daily needs. “Federal workers are now heavily indebted to microfinances and, most times, federal workers resort to phone loan apps to get transportation to work,” the group said.
It also claimed some workers had resorted to using firewood, no longer able to afford cooking gas, warning that the worsening financial situation could hurt productivity and create conditions ripe for 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 tied its demand to the broader rise in government revenues and expenditure, arguing that federal workers — described as the “engine room of governance” — deserved to benefit from improved national earnings. “The federal workers are the goose that lays the golden egg, but we are alienated from our labour,” it said.
Proposed Salary Structure
The proposed salary structure attached to the letter starts at N300,000 for Level 1 Step 1 workers, rising progressively to N1.5m for Level 17 Step 1 officers.
Under the proposal, Level 2 workers would earn 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 further proposed 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; N1m for Level 15; N1.2m for Level 16; and N1.5m for Level 17 officers.
The workers said their N300,000 minimum wage proposal was based on estimated monthly expenditure covering feeding, transportation, accommodation, family support, electricity, 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.
Other Demands
Among its additional demands, the FWF called for the payment of all outstanding salaries, promotion arrears and other entitlements owed to federal workers. It also demanded the immediate implementation and payment of arrears on the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, full consequential adjustment of the 2024 minimum wage, and the introduction of a permanent Cost of Living Allowance.
The workers further sought a Family Support Allowance, an end to stagnation within the civil service, the declaration of vacancies for promotions, comprehensive health insurance for federal workers and pensioners, car and housing loan schemes, long-service awards and improved pension arrangements.
The forum also called for free education for the children of federal workers and pensioners in federal institutions, along with reduced taxation on workers’ allowances and broader tax relief measures.
Beyond wage-related issues, the FWF appealed to the government to introduce a comprehensive social security programme for unemployed and underemployed Nigerians, provide free medical care for children, pregnant women and elderly citizens, and establish federal intervention programmes for treating cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It also called for stronger measures to tackle insecurity, including the release of kidnapped Nigerians.
The forum additionally demanded an investigation into reports that part of workers’ contributory pension savings was being borrowed by the executive. “We like to bring to the notice of the National Assembly that we are hearing rumours 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 called for the return of petrol subsidy, price-control measures for essential goods and services, efforts to strengthen local production and industrialisation, and measures to address the declining purchasing power of Nigerians.
“We Cannot Wait Until 2027”
The FWF urged the National Assembly to take up its demands with the President, stressing that federal workers could not afford to wait until July 2027 for their salaries to be reviewed. “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 group said.
The forum concluded by appealing to lawmakers and other government officials to treat its letter as an emergency intervention, insisting that improved wages were necessary to protect workers’ welfare and strengthen their capacity to effectively implement government policies.
“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,” the group stated.
