•Two-month arrears for payment

Treasury-funded federal workers are to be paid the N35, 000 wage award separately from their regular salaries, it was learnt last night.

The funding for the paymen for federal workers and other palliative packages have been captured in the N2.1 trillion 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill now awaiting lawmakers’ approval.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday sent the extra budget bill to the National Assembly to boost critical infrastructure and provide palliative cushion for Nigerians.

A director in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) confirmed to The Nation last night that they (workers on federal payroll) have started receiving their October salaries.

The director, who craved anonymity, said: “The committee working on the N35, 000 palliative wage is putting finishing touches to the modalities”.

He was referring to the awaiting approval of the supplementary budget by the National Assembly.

As it stands now the federal government now owes treasury-funded civil servants two months arrears of the palliative wage.

Treasury-funded workers are those captured in the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS) after verification.

The Federal Government threatened to delist from its payroll any worker who was not verified by October 27.

According to a circular from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved “a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on October 2, as a result of the dispute arising from withdrawal of subsidy on the price of premium motor spirit (PMS)”.

The President’s approval was “for the grant of a wage award of N35,000:00 (thirty-five thousand naira) only per month to all Federal Government workers with effect from 1st September, 2023, pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.

“Accordingly, the implementation of the N35,000.00 per month wage award for all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies that are treasury-funded will be funded from the treasury. Non-treasury funded Federal Government agencies are to implement same from their internally generated revenue (IGR) or statutory allocations.

The appropriation bill, which was read for the first time yesterday, scaled second reading.

The President also submitted the 2024-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MEET/FSP) to the National Assembly in preparation for the 2024 Budget presentation.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the two letters from the President at plenary on the floor of the Senate chamber. House of Representatives Speaker Abbas Tajudeen did the same in the Green chamber of the National Assembly.

The 2023 supplementary budget was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting on Monday.

The Senate Committees on Appropriation and Finance as well as their counterparts in the House are expected to consider the president’s letters.

The MTEF document usually sets the template for the budget presentation as it contains parameters on which the annual estimates are prepared. (The Nation)

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