Labour Union Threatens To Picket Nigerian Accountant General’s Office Over Federal Workers’ Salary Cuts, Unpaid Arrears
The letter, addressed to the Accountant General of the Federation, accused the government of misleading the public with false claims regarding salary payments.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (Trade Union Side) has issued a strong warning to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, threatening to picket the office on Wednesday, April 3, 2025, if the recent cuts in the salaries of federal workers are not rectified.
In a letter dated March 17, 2025, and signed by the National Secretary of JNPSNC (Trade Union Side), Comrade Olowoyo Gbenga, the union condemned the alleged underpayment of federal workers’ salaries for January and February 2025.
The letter, addressed to the Accountant General of the Federation, accused the government of misleading the public with false claims regarding salary payments.
“The attention of the National leadership of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) Trade Union Side has been drawn to a press release issued by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation dated 7th March 2025, bordering on the mutilated payment of salaries of Federal Public Servants for the months of January and February 2025,” the letter stated.
According to the union, a thorough review of salary payments for October, November, and December 2024 exposed discrepancies in the government’s claims.
The JNPSNC alleged that the Office of the Accountant General had short-changed workers by failing to pay the full 40% Peculiar Allowance as stipulated in a government circular issued under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“The claims by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation are far from the truth. Our scientific findings, through a comparative study of workers’ pay slips, show that the Federal Government only used media propaganda to push out unsubstantiated information,” the union stated.
The JNPSNC insisted that the government owes federal workers significant outstanding payments and demanded immediate correction of the anomalies.
It urged the Accountant General’s office to ensure that full salaries are paid for March 2025, alongside the arrears of short payments from 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,” the letter warned.
The union maintained that it would not tolerate any further delays or excuses, adding that the underpayment of salaries is an unjustifiable act that undermines the welfare and morale of federal workers.
The looming protest underscores growing tensions between the government and public sector workers, as the union demands accountability and fairness in the payment of workers’ entitlements.
