Nigeria civil service union gives Tinubu award for workers’ welfare

The Nigeria Civil Service Union has presented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with its Shield Award, recognising what it described as his commitment to the welfare of Nigerian workers. The award was given on Monday during events marking the union’s 114th anniversary at Merit House in Abuja. Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo accepted it on the President’s behalf.

The presentation was led by the union’s National President, Oluwole Sunday. The union’s immediate past president, Lawrence Ameachi, Federal Council chairman Adoga Gupada and Assistant General Secretary Yildet Bigwan also attended. The Shield Award is the NCSU’s highest honour and is reserved for people the union considers to have demonstrated exceptional service to Nigerian workers.

Sunday described Tinubu as a protector of workers and said his policies had prioritised the labour force and improved morale in the civil service. Keyamo said he was pleased to receive the award from what he called Nigeria’s oldest trade union. The NCSU has 84 affiliates and traces its history back more than a century, including its opposition to British colonial authorities in defence of Nigerian workers.

The minister cited several actions he attributed to the President. He said Tinubu had approved the release of N36 billion to former aviation workers and that payment was at its final stage. He also said a new salary structure had been approved for employees of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency after a relativity dispute that had lasted more than 15 years.

Keyamo said the President signed a new minimum wage into law in 2024 and reduced the statutory review period from five years to three. He said negotiations for a new minimum wage would begin in 2027 under the revised cycle. The minister said workers’ welfare remained a continuing concern and should also shape the aviation sector.

He argued that workers should not be neglected while senior management received unnecessary benefits, adding that the campaign for improved welfare would continue.