The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) has accused the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) of failing to fully pay federal government workers their entitled salaries, including wage awards and salary increments. The council has threatened to picket the OAGF headquarters on April 3, 2025, if the alleged discrepancies are not addressed.
In a statement signed by the National Secretary of JNPSNC, Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, the union alleged that federal workers had not received their full minimum wage adjustments, 35% and 25% salary increments, as well as wage awards and arrears. According to the council, the OAGF’s recent salary payments do not reflect the agreed adjustments, leaving many workers shortchanged.
The dispute escalated following a press release from the OAGF on March 7, 2025, in which it dismissed claims of salary reductions, asserting that all due payments had been made. The Accountant General’s office explained that between October and December 2024, various arrears were cleared, which resulted in temporarily higher salaries. It stated that from January 2025, after these arrears had been settled, salaries returned to their normal levels, dismissing concerns about reductions as misconceptions.
However, the JNPSNC has rejected this explanation, arguing that the government still owes federal workers outstanding payments, including six months of wage awards that were supposed to cover the period from February to July 2024. The council insists that the OAGF has failed to provide clarity on how the 25% and 35% salary increments were implemented, describing the office’s claims as misleading.
The union further criticized the OAGF for failing to engage with labor representatives before issuing its public statement. It emphasized that as the body responsible for negotiating on behalf of public service workers, the JNPSNC should have been consulted to resolve any discrepancies.
Additionally, the council accused the OAGF of shortchanging workers on their Peculiar Allowance, which was initially set at 40% of salaries. According to the JNPSNC, the payments made by the OAGF do not align with the stipulated percentage in the federal government’s circular.
With tensions rising, the JNPSNC has called on the OAGF to reassess its claims and ensure that federal workers receive accurate salaries in March 2025, along with arrears from the alleged short payments in January and February 2025. The council warned that failure to address these concerns would lead to mass protests and the picketing of the OAGF headquarters.
As the dispute unfolds, civil servants across the country await further clarification from the federal government on whether their outstanding entitlements will be paid in full.