In a significant development that brings relief to many federal civil servants across Nigeria, the Federal Government on Tuesday commenced the disbursement of the November 2023 wage awards.

The payment of wage awards to Nigerian workers was one of the deals agreed upon by the organised labour and the Federal Government as one of the ways to mitigate the effect of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol.

This development follows a period of suspension that drew criticism from activists and stakeholders, highlighting the government’s commitment to honouring its agreement with the workforce.

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Amid concerns over the government’s fiscal adjustments, including a N100 billion reduction in the wage award allocation in the 2023 supplementary budget, both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) expressed their dissatisfaction.

The unions described the government’s earlier suspension of payments as dishonourable and called for the resumption of wage awards, hinting at possible industrial action if their demands were unmet.

A senior civil servant, preferring to remain anonymous, informed Punch Online, “Payment came in this morning, others have also confirmed receipt in my agency.”

Similarly, another senior official from a Federal Government-owned school outside Abuja also verified receiving the November 2023 wage award.