The Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has asked President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to raise the minimum wage for federal civil servants from N70,000 to N300,000, citing worsening cost of living pressures across the country.
The demand was contained in a letter dated September 2, 2026, addressed to the President and National Assembly leadership and signed by FWF National Coordinator Andrew Emelieze and General Secretary Ogundele Ayodele.
The workers also proposed a new salary structure that would raise the pay of Level 17 officers to N1.5 million, arguing that the existing wage structure no longer reflects prevailing economic realities.
“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 said.
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The FWF claimed that the Federal Government had not fully implemented the consequential adjustment arising from the N70,000 minimum wage approved in 2024.
According to the forum, although the minimum wage increased from N30,000 to N70,000, federal workers effectively received what it described as a flat N40,000 increase across the civil service.
“Only N40,000 was added to the salaries of every federal worker across all levels,” it said.
The workers argued that the statutory three year review period should not prevent government from responding to what they described as an emergency erosion of purchasing power.
“It is suicidal for the federal workers to continue in this ugly situation,” the forum said, adding that food, transport, accommodation, electricity and cooking gas costs had made the current wage inadequate.
The group claimed that some federal workers had become heavily indebted to microfinance institutions and digital lending platforms in an attempt to meet daily expenses.
“Federal workers are now heavily indebted to microfinances and, most times, federal workers resort to phone loan apps to get transportation to work,” it said.
The forum further claimed that some workers had resorted to using firewood because they could no longer afford cooking gas.
It warned that worsening financial pressure could undermine workers’ productivity and create conditions that could encourage corruption.
The proposed salary structure starts at N300,000 for Level 1 Step 1 and rises progressively through the grades to N1.5 million for Level 17 Step 1.
Under the proposal, Level 2 workers would earn N330,000; Level 3, N360,000; Level 4, N390,000; Level 5, N420,000; Level 6, N450,000; and Level 7, N480,000.
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The forum proposed N510,000 for Level 8; N550,000 for Level 9; N600,000 for Level 10; 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 FWF said its proposal was based on projected monthly expenses covering food, transport, accommodation, family support, electricity, cooking gas, communications, water and other necessities.
It also demanded payment of outstanding salaries, promotion arrears and other entitlements, as well as the payment of arrears of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance.
The forum further called for full consequential adjustment of the 2024 minimum wage and the introduction of a permanent Cost of Living Allowance for federal workers.
