Nigerian govt approves N70,000 monthly transport allowance for workers

The federal government has approved a ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance for public service workers across all levels for six months, beginning in November 2026, following a conciliation meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

The resolutions were contained in a statement signed by Annah Daniel, the head of press and public relations at the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The approval was one of the resolutions reached at a meeting between government officials and the NLC leadership in Abuja on Tuesday, as both parties discussed workers’ welfare, the national minimum wage and outstanding allowances.

The government also approved the payment of peculiar allowance arrears, effective from 1 May 2026, in three equal monthly instalments beginning in November.

However, the parties failed to agree on the effective date for implementing the national minimum wage. They agreed that the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee would be constituted and begin meetings immediately.

The resolutions were contained in a memorandum of understanding issued after the meeting, which was chaired by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi.

The NLC delegation was led by its president, Joe Ajaero.

The meeting followed an earlier conciliation session held on 22 October, convened by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to address disagreements between the government and organised labour.

Under the resolutions, the government also agreed to settle 19 months of outstanding allowances for health workers within three months, beginning in December 2026.

On tax relief for workers, the parties agreed that the matter would be referred to the NLC’s National Executive Council, as taxation is a statutory matter.

The meeting also considered the payment of hazard allowances to agricultural workers. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has submitted the list of beneficiaries and the associated costs to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission for verification.

The commission is expected to complete the verification within two weeks and issue an implementation template afterwards.

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On the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), the commission is expected to update the cost implications within three weeks to enable the Presidential Committee on Salaries to decide on the proposed adjustment.

The meeting urged state and local governments to adopt the intervention measures. Labour unions were also encouraged to push for their implementation at their respective levels.

Both parties agreed to reconvene after one month to assess progress on the implementation of the resolutions.

The meeting was attended by the Director-General of Budget, Tanimu Yakubu; the Permanent Secretary of the Service Welfare Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Garba Abdul; and other government and labour representatives.