The Federal Government is set to begin the payment of the planned 40 per cent increase in civil servants’ pay by the end of April.
President Muhammadu Buhari is reportedly expected to give his final assent for the disbursement of the payment, and when he does, the pay rise will come about two months before the proposed June date of the petrol subsidy removal.
According to reports, the Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, said the government might begin the payment by the end of April.
The pay increase tagged: consequential allowance is believed to have been proposed to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal in June.
Recall that last year, President Buhari affirmed that the costly petrol subsidy would end in 2023. However, Oshundun said she is not sure if the president has approved the proposal for the pay rise yet.
Also, recall that in March, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, made it known that the Federal Government had approved a pay raise for civil servants.
The National Vice President of the Trade Union Congress, (TUC), Tommy Etim, in an interview, confirmed the move by the government.
Etim said the government plans to increase “allowances and not salaries”. He, therefore, urged the government to consider increment of other allowances such as rent and transportation.
