The Federal Government has approved a monthly transport intervention of N70,000 for public service workers across all levels for six months, beginning in November 2026, to ease the burden of rising living costs.
The approval was one of the resolutions reached at a conciliation meeting between the government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja on Tuesday, October 27, following renewed labour concerns over workers’ welfare and outstanding agreements.
The government also approved the payment of peculiar allowance arrears effective from May 1, 2026, in three equal monthly instalments beginning in November.
However, the two parties failed to agree on the effective date for implementing the national minimum wage, although they resolved to constitute the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee and commence meetings immediately.
The resolutions were contained in a memorandum of understanding signed by the Director-General of Budget, Timi Yakubu; NLC President, Joe Ajaero; Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Garba Abdul S.U.; and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi.
The agreement followed an earlier conciliation meeting held on October 22 by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to resolve disagreements between the government and organised labour.
On the transport intervention, the memorandum stated that “transport intervention of Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000) commencing from November 2026 would be paid across all levels for a period of six months.”
However, the document did not specify the monthly payment date or outline the administrative arrangements for disbursing the funds.
The intervention comes amid persistent concerns over rising transportation costs and the prices of essential goods following the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023.
Organised labour has repeatedly called for measures to ease the economic pressure on workers, including improved wages, lower petrol prices and the fulfilment of outstanding welfare agreements.
The memorandum also acknowledged the NLC leadership’s concerns about the government’s handling of its demands.
It stated that the labour leadership “expressed concern over the Federal Government’s attitude towards the above issues.”
In response, the government said it respected the Congress’s right to advocate better working conditions and was making efforts to address its demands through structured interventions.
On the national minimum wage, both parties agreed that the negotiation committee would be constituted and begin work immediately. However, the effective date for implementation remained unresolved.
The memorandum stated that the committee would commence meetings without delay but noted that “there is a disagreement on the effective date of implementation.”
The national minimum wage was increased from N30,000 to N70,000 monthly in 2024 following negotiations between the Federal Government and organised labour. The new rate was subsequently enacted into law.
The latest memorandum did not specify the particular proposal under consideration in the current negotiations or indicate when an agreement on the implementation date would be reached.
Other issues outlined in the document included health workers’ remuneration, tax relief and hazard allowances for agricultural officers, indicating that discussions on several aspects of workers’ welfare remain ongoing.
While the transport intervention and allowance arrears represent agreed measures, the implementation timeline for the minimum wage and other outstanding demands will require further negotiations or administrative action.
Tighten the report for newspaper styleRemove repeated minimum-wage passages
