Federal government agrees six-month N70,000 transport support for workers

Nigeria’s Federal Government has approved a N70,000 monthly transport intervention for workers for six months from November 2026, following a conciliation meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja. The agreement covers workers across all levels, according to a Ministry of Labour statement reported by Channels Television and a memorandum cited by Punch Nigeria. Neither report specifies exact payment dates or the administrative process for distributing the transport support.

The government also approved outstanding peculiar allowance arrears from 1 May 2026, with payment to begin in November in three equal monthly instalments. The agreement followed an earlier conciliation meeting on 22 October, held after organised labour raised concerns about workers’ welfare, living costs and the implementation of outstanding agreements. The parties did not settle the effective date for implementing the national minimum wage.

They agreed instead to constitute a tripartite Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee involving government, workers and employers, with meetings to begin immediately. The unresolved date leaves one of labour’s central demands subject to further negotiations. NLC Assistant Secretary-General Chris Onyeka described the discussions as productive but said they had not met labour’s expectations.

“Sometimes you win some, lose some,” he said, according to Punch. The memorandum recorded continuing differences over the government’s handling of workers’ demands, despite both sides agreeing to pursue a structured process. The ministry also said 19 months of outstanding allowances for health workers would be redeemed within three months beginning in December 2026.

The two reports differ in detail about the broader set of measures, with Channels providing the ministry’s timetable for health-worker payments and other administrative steps, while Punch gives more detail from the signed memorandum. On hazard allowances for agricultural officers, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security had submitted beneficiary lists and cost estimates to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission for verification. Channels reported that verification was expected within two weeks, after which the commission would issue an implementation template.

The Consolidated Health Salary Structure adjustment also remained under review. The commission was expected to complete updated cost implications within three weeks, enabling the Presidential Committee on Salaries to decide on the adjustment. A request for tax relief for workers was to be referred to the National Executive Council because taxation is a statutory matter.

The measures are intended to ease pressure from rising transport and living costs. The supplied reports link the strain to higher prices following the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023. The government and labour representatives agreed to reconvene after one month to assess implementation, while state and local governments were urged to participate and unions were asked to press for action at their respective levels.