The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, has accused the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation of withholding payments owed to Federal government workers in Nigeria.
The council claimed that workers have not received their full payment of minimum wage, 35% and 25% salary increments, wage awards, and associated arrears
This was contained in a statement signed by Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, the National Secretary of JNPSNC, titled “Payment of six months arrears of N35,000 Wage Award.”
DAILY POST reports that what attracted the attention of UNPSNC to the matter was a press release issued by the Office of the AGF dated 7th March, 2025 which bothered on the mutilated payment of salaries of Federal Public Servants for the months of January and February 2025.
The National leadership of JNPSNC said it had taken critical step to look into what Accountant General Office paid in the months of 0ctober, November and December 2024, which it claimed comprised the following: the payment of the 25% of arrears of Consequential Adjustments arising from the Minimum Wage Act 2024, insisting there was no truth in the claim.
JNPSNG said its diligent and scientific findings and vide comparative study of workers pay slips for the months of October, November and December indicated that the Federal Government only used the instrumentality of media propaganda to ditch out unsubstantiated information.
It said: “The truth of the matter is that Federal Government is owing Federal workers the underlisted outstanding payments: The six (6) months outstanding Wage Award comprising February 2024 – July 2024 which will cease for payment as a result of agreement reached which inter alia stated that ‘payment of wage award will stop as soon as minimum wage payment commences’ and minimum wage payments was expected to commence in the month of August 2024 ; the wage award payment is in line with a circular issued by the National Salaries,Wages and income Commission vide SWC.04/T/33 dated 19th October, 2023.
“JNPSNC diligent study of monthly salaries pay slips issued to cross section of Federal workers in the months under reference indicated that there was nowhere it was stated that salary arrears arising from minimum wage was unambiguously inserted.
“The claim that arrears of 25% and 35% is very ambiguous and tantamount to the figment imagination of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation because there is an extant circular to the effect of this payment issued by the Office of the National Salaries, income and Wages Commission.
“In as much as, these circulars were duly issued and circulated to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs, it would have been honourable for the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to call the leadership of Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC)Trade Union Side for dialogue to iron out grey areas (if any at all).
“Arising from the above, it is very uncharitable for the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to chastise Federal Public Servants with the press release without adequate consultation with the leadership of Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, UNPSNC Trade Union Side which is statutory body responsible for the representation of workers in the Public Service.
“It is expedient to state that the payment of Peculiar Allowance which was supposed to be 40% of workers’ salaries was surreptitiously short-changed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation with abysmal payment which does not commensurate with the actual percentage stipulated in Federal Government circular issued during the former administration under former President Mohamadu Buhari.
“On the strength of the aforesaid, the office of the Accountant General of the Federation should, as a matter of urgency, do a thorough assessment of his claims and correct the anomalies and pay correct Salaries for Federal workers in the month of March 2025 alongside arrears of the mutilated salaries experienced by workers in the months of January and February 2025.
“Without mincing words, failure on the part of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to do the needful, by paying normal salaries in the month of March 2025 (and arrears of short payments that characterised the months of January and February 2025 salaries) workers will not hesitate to picket the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in order to correct the unwarranted and unjustifiable Salaries cut.”