Fuel subsidy: FG accelerating action on review of minimum wage and release of palliatives

• The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that the committee established to review the minimum wage and provide a buffer to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidies will soon complete its work
• The government has also assured employees on its payroll that their salaries for July 2023 will not be delayed
• The government is working on a stop-gap measure to help workers cope with the impact of removing fuel subsidies

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians, particularly public servants, that the committee established to review the minimum wage and provide a buffer to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidies will soon complete its work.

This assurance comes as the government also assures employees on its payroll that their salaries for July 2023 will not be delayed, as they were in May and June, causing concern in the civil service.

On Tuesday in Abuja, Oluwatoyin Madein, the Federation’s Head of Civil Service and Accountant General, assured Tuesday while responding to media questions during a parley to commemorate the 2023 Civil Service Week.

Regarding salary payments, Madein stated that the May and June 2023 salaries were delayed due to bottlenecks beyond the control of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation. She did, however, ensure that procedures have been implemented to ensure that salaries are paid on time.

She said;

For May and June, we encountered some difficulties beyond our control, but I can assure you that everything has been put in place to ensure that July 2023 salaries are not delayed and will be paid any moment from now.

Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Federation’s Head of Civil Service, stated that workers would soon receive some relief. She stated that the committee formed to look into palliatives to mitigate the impact of the removal of fuel subsidies on civil servants has been working hard and will soon submit a report.

According to Yemi-Esan, the government is aware that negotiations on the minimum wage may take some time so that a stop-gap measure will be implemented.

She also stated that the committee works on transportation arrangements and other allowances to help workers.

Yemi-Esan also stated that the government successfully verified 69,854 officers across the core Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the FCT and the country’s six (6) geo-political zones using the Integrated Personal Payroll and Information System (IPPIS).

She went on to say that the government had discovered 1,618 workers with fake or illegal employment letters, and that some of them had been turned over to security agencies for prosecution.

In terms of digitalizing public-sector work processes, Yemi-Esan stated that the government aims to achieve full digitisation and open government across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies by 2025.

This year’s Civil Service Week Celebration theme is “Digitalisation of Work Processes in the Public Service: A Gateway to Efficient Resource Utilization and National Development.”

Other goals outlined by Yemi-Esan include achieving a minimum of 50% functional official email addresses created in the Service by 2025, a minimum of 40% automation of Ministries’ work processes, a minimum of 60% access to government services online, and the provision of clean, reliable, affordable, and sustainable power supply to ensure the optimization of the digitalisation policy.