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The Federal Workers Forum has demanded an immediate increase in the federal minimum wage from ₦70,000 to ₦300,000, saying the current salary structure can no longer sustain civil servants amid Nigeria’s rising cost of living.
The forum made the demand in a letter dated September 2, 2026, addressed to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly, with the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation listed among the recipients.
The workers also proposed a new salary structure that would place the highest-paid Level 17 officer on ₦1.5 million monthly, while Level 1 Step 1 workers would earn ₦300,000.
“We call for justice and immediate wage review now, adjust the federal minimum wage to ₦300,000 and a maximum wage of ₦1.5m for the Level 17 officers,” the forum said.
The FWF argued that the Federal Government had not fully implemented the 2024 minimum wage agreement, claiming 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,” it said.
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According to the forum, the 2024 wage review raised the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 but resulted in what it described as a uniform ₦40,000 increase across federal civil service salary levels.
The proposed structure would set salaries at ₦330,000 for Level 2, ₦360,000 for Level 3, ₦390,000 for Level 4, ₦420,000 for Level 5, ₦450,000 for Level 6 and ₦480,000 for Level 7. It proposed ₦510,000 for Level 8, ₦550,000 for Level 9, ₦600,000 for Level 10, ₦700,000 for Level 12, ₦750,000 for Level 13, ₦800,000 for Level 14, ₦1 million for Level 15 and ₦1.2 million for Level 16.
The workers said food, transport, accommodation, electricity, cooking gas, data and other household expenses had made the existing minimum wage inadequate. They also alleged that some federal workers had resorted to borrowing from microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms to meet basic expenses.
The forum further demanded payment of outstanding salaries, promotion arrears and other entitlements, alongside the immediate implementation and payment of arrears of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance and a permanent Cost of Living Allowance.
It also called for family support allowances, an end to stagnation in the civil service, comprehensive health insurance for workers and pensioners, car and housing loan schemes, improved pension arrangements and free education for workers’ and pensioners’ children in federal institutions.
The FWF urged the National Assembly to press the President to act before July 2027, when the statutory three-year review of the minimum wage would ordinarily fall due, arguing that workers could not wait that long under current economic conditions.
