N70,000 allowance showdown: Civil servants fire back at TUC

*Insist FG-Labour agreement stands *JNPSNC reveals details of agreement, including 6-month transport allowance, others

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Civil servants, under the aegis of Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, have defended the N70,000 transportation allowance agreement reached between the federal government and organised labour, insisting that the rejection of the deal by the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, would not affect its implementation.

Read Also: TUC rejects FG’s proposed N70,000 monthly transport allowance for workers

The council said the agreement, signed on October 27, 2026, followed more than six hours of intensive negotiations and constructive engagements involving the federal government, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, JNPSNC and the Joint Health Sector Unions JOHESU.

The position of the council was contained in a circular signed by the National Secretary, Mr Gbenga Olowoyo, and addressed to the national presidents and general secretaries of affiliated unions, as well as state chairmen and secretaries of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Councils across the federation.

The unions

JNPSNC is made up of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN; Nigeria Civil Service Union, NCSU; Nigeria Union of Public Service, Reportorial, Secretarial, Data Processors and Allied Workers, NUPSTRAW; Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN; and National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, NANNM.

Others are Nigeria Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees, NUAAE; Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations; Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE; and National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers, NUPPPPROW.

On the government side are the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment; Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Federal Ministry of Justice; Federal Civil Service Commission; National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission; Federal Ministry of Finance; Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation; and Budget Office of the Federation.

In the circular, Olowoyo explained that the N70,000 transportation allowance would be paid monthly to public servants for six months, beginning from November 2026, to cushion the impact of rising transportation costs on workers and their dependents.

He also urged state and local governments to embrace the agreement and complement the federal government’s intervention, particularly in view of the substantial revenue accruing to the sub-national governments.

The circular read, among others: “The meeting was not only tough but also took more than six hours before both the Federal Government and labour sides could enter into terms.

“On the issue of payment of N70,000 transportation allowance, which will be paid for the next six months to public servants, starting from the month of November 2026, it was meant to subsidise the unbearable transportation cost being experienced by Nigerian workers.

“It is expected that state and local governments will be patriotic enough (and with humongous money accruable to both state and local governments) to concur with the agreement in order to complement the federal government’s effort to facilitate its implementation at both states and local government levels purposely to ameliorate the hardship of Nigerian workers and their dependents.

“Also, the agreement cemented the implementation of the long overdue 40% peculiar allowance that will reflect the N70,000 minimum wage. The implementation of the peculiar allowance ought to have started since July 2024 when the implementation of 2024 New National Minimum Wage commenced.

“This will equally be domesticated at the sub-national levels (i.e. state and local governments) with effect from November 2026, while the arrears from May 1, 2026, will be paid in three tranches to all public servants in Nigeria.

“It is very expedient to state loudly that federal government agreed to set up the Tripartite Negotiation Committee (which will comprise government, labour and NECA representatives) with immediate effect, which formed part of focal requests from the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, under the national leadership of Benjamin Anto Uyanto, that necessitated the three days warning strike called ab initio by the national leadership of JNPSNC on October 2, 2026.”

The council further disclosed that the negotiations addressed several longstanding demands in the health sector, including the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS, which health workers have reportedly been demanding for the past 13 years.

13-week timeframe

According to the circular, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, NSIWC, was given three weeks to complete its work and forward the outcome to the Presidential Committee on Salaries, headed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, for final approval and implementation.

It also stated that the meeting approved the payment of 19 months’ arrears of health workers’ allowances in three installments, beginning from December 2026.

The circular read: “In the same vein, the meeting was able to resolve the issue affecting the issuance of circular that will facilitate the payment of hazard allowance to agricultural professionals officers in the public service in Nigeria.

“The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission is to issue a circular on the template table that will culminate into its implementation within the next three weeks.

“On the tax relief to public servants and private sector operators, the landmark resolution on tax relief was that the matter will be presented to the National Economic Council, NEC, to deliberate on it because it will involve both federal and state governments as well as other critical stakeholders in the Nigeria economic management.

‘’Council also disclosed that the parties agreed to reconvene within one month to assess the level of implementation of the resolutions and ensure that no party reneged on its commitments.’’

It expressed concern over the persistent trust deficit surrounding labour agreements in the country, noting that several previous agreements with trade unions had suffered implementation challenges.

On the controversy surrounding TUC’s rejection of the N70,000 transportation allowance, JNPSNC maintained that the congress was not part of the negotiations that produced the agreement.

The council, however, acknowledged the TUC’s right to express its position, while challenging it to negotiate a higher amount if it believed workers deserved more than the N70,000 already agreed upon.

It further argued that the agreement was reached through consultations involving major labour stakeholders representing public servants, adding that opposition from another labour centre should not derail its implementation.

NLC membership

The council said: “It is equally expedient to disabuse the notion that the NLC, is a union of junior workers, whereas, all the unions affiliated to Nigeria Labour Congress have members across all the ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, in the public service up to directorate level. “Even some top-notch public servants are due-paying members of trade unions of their respective choices.

“The above clarification became necessary because of the position taken on the matter by the TUC that it rejected the approved N70,000 transportation allowance, of which TUC was never part of the discussion (although has explicit right to express its opinion on any matter the TUC is directly involved in, but not on what it was not part of at any stage of the engagement or negotiation with the Federal Government).

“However, it will be highly commended that the Trade Union Congress can get a higher amount above N70,000 already agreed to by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC, and Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, which will be an added benefit to Public Servants.”

The JNPSNC, established in 1948, serves as a negotiating platform between government and public service trade unions on issues relating to wages, minimum wage implementation, workers’ welfare and industrial disputes.

Vanguard News

The post N70,000 allowance showdown: Civil servants fire back at TUC appeared first on Vanguard News.