The Federal Government has assured Nigerians, especially workers in the public service, that the committee set up to review the minimum wage and provide a buffer to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal will soon complete its work.
This assurance comes as the government also guarantees workers under its payroll that payment of July 2023 salaries will not be delayed, as it happened in May and June, which caused apprehension in the civil service.
Both the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja while responding to questions from the media during a parley to commemorate the 2023 Civil Service Week.
Regarding the payment of salaries, Madein noted that the delay in May and June 2023 salaries was due to some bottlenecks beyond the control of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation. However, she assured that modalities have been put in place to ensure that salaries are paid on time.
She said, “For May and June, we encountered some difficulties beyond our control, but I can assure you that everything has been put in place to ensure that July 2023 salaries are not delayed and will be paid any moment from now.”
On her part, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said that workers would soon receive some relief. She mentioned that the committee set up to look at the palliatives to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on civil servants has been working diligently and will soon submit a report.
Yemi-Esan stated that the government is aware that negotiations on the minimum wage could take some time, and therefore there will be a stop-gap measure.
She added that the committee is working on transportation arrangements and other allowances to ameliorate the plight of workers.
Yemi-Esan also reported that through the Integrated Personal Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), the government has successfully conducted verification of 69,854 officers across the core Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in the FCT and the six (6) geo-political zones of the country.
She further disclosed that the government has uncovered 1,618 workers with fake or illegal employment letters, and some have been handed over to security agencies for prosecution.
Regarding the digitalization of work processes in the public service, Yemi-Esan mentioned that the government aims to achieve full digitisation and open government across the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies by 2025.
The theme of this year’s Civil Service Week Celebration is “Digitalisation of Work Processes in the Public Service: A Gateway to Efficient Resource Utilization and National Development.”
Yemi-Esan also outlined other goals, including achieving a minimum of 50 per cent functional official email addresses created in the Service by 2025; a minimum of 40 per cent automation of Ministries’ work processes; a minimum of 60 per cent access to government’s services online, and the provision of clean, reliable, affordable, and sustainable power supply to guarantee the optimization of the digitalisation policy.
