The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has written to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly, demanding an immediate review of salaries for federal civil servants and an increase in the national minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000.
The demand was contained in a letter dated September 2, 2026, and signed by the National Coordinator of the FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and its General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele.
The letter was addressed to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives through the Clerk of the National Assembly, while President Tinubu, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation were listed among the recipients.
The workers also proposed a maximum salary of N1.5 million for Level 17 officers, arguing that the existing wage structure no longer reflects the economic realities facing federal employees.
“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 forum stated.
Workers Demand Full Implementation Of 2024 Wage
The FWF said its demand was partly driven by what it described as the incomplete implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024.
According to the forum, federal workers have yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances arising from the new wage structure.
“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.
The forum noted that the 2024 wage review raised the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 but alleged that federal workers across different levels effectively received a flat N40,000 addition to their salaries.
“Only N40,000 was added to the salaries of every federal worker across all levels,” the group stated.
The FWF argued that the statutory three-year review period for the minimum wage should not prevent the government from taking immediate action in response to the worsening cost-of-living crisis.
N70,000 Wage No Longer Adequate, Workers Say
The workers complained that rising prices of food, transportation, accommodation, electricity, cooking gas and other essential commodities had made the current minimum wage inadequate.
“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.
It further claimed that some federal workers had become heavily indebted to microfinance institutions and digital loan platforms to meet basic needs.
“Federal workers are now heavily indebted to microfinances and, most times, federal workers resort to phone loan apps to get transportation to work,” it alleged.
The group added that some workers were struggling to afford basic household necessities, describing the situation as increasingly unbearable.
“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.
Proposed Salary Structure
Under the salary structure proposed by the FWF, Level 1 Step 1 workers would earn N300,000, with salaries increasing progressively across the grades.
The proposed structure includes N330,000 for Level 2, N360,000 for Level 3, N390,000 for Level 4, N420,000 for Level 5, N450,000 for Level 6 and N480,000 for Level 7.
Level 8 workers would receive N510,000, while Level 9 would earn N550,000 and Level 10, N600,000.
The forum proposed N700,000 for Level 12, N750,000 for Level 13, N800,000 for Level 14, N1 million for Level 15, N1.2 million for Level 16 and N1.5 million for Level 17 officers.
The workers said the 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.
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“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
Beyond the proposed wage increase, the FWF demanded payment of outstanding salaries, promotion arrears and other entitlements owed federal workers.
It also called for the immediate implementation and payment of arrears of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, full consequential adjustment of the 2024 minimum wage and the introduction of a permanent Cost of Living Allowance.
Other demands include a Family Support Allowance, an end to stagnation in the civil service, declaration of vacancies for promotions, comprehensive health insurance for workers and pensioners, car and housing loan schemes, long-service awards and improved pension arrangements.
The forum further demanded free education for the children of federal workers and pensioners in federal institutions, reduced taxation on workers’ allowances and tax relief measures.
It also appealed to the government to introduce comprehensive social security programmes for unemployed and underemployed Nigerians, provide free medical care for children, pregnant women and elderly citizens, and establish intervention programmes for the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
FWF Calls For Action On Insecurity, Pension Funds
The workers also called for stronger measures to tackle insecurity, including efforts to secure the release of kidnapped Nigerians.
The forum further urged the National Assembly to investigate 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 FWF additionally called for the return of petrol subsidy, price-control measures for essential goods and services, stronger local production and industrialisation, and measures to address the declining purchasing power of Nigerians.
Urging the National Assembly to treat its demands as an emergency, the forum said federal workers could not afford to wait until July 2027 before their salaries were 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 urged lawmakers to engage President Tinubu on the demands, stressing that improved wages were necessary to safeguard workers’ welfare and enhance their capacity to effectively implement government policies.