Boon to Fed Govt’s workers
Barely one week to this year’s Workers’ Day celebration, the Federal Government announced a revised welfare package for its civil servants. The package, aimed at reducing economic pressure, includes increased
- We expect improved productivity from Fed. Govt.’s workers as a result of the enhanced benefits and housing loan they just got
Barely one week to this year’s Workers’ Day celebration, the Federal Government announced a revised welfare package for its civil servants. The package, aimed at reducing economic pressure, includes increased allowances and a N10 billion loan fund to enable them own their homes.
The policy initiatives were announced by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, at a press briefing in Abuja. The event was attended by permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals, leaders from the eight Labour unions under the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, and other civil servants. Walson-Jack credited President Bola Tinubu’s administration for turning welfare promises into action.
The package include full duty tour allowance for approved trainings, an upward review of peculiar allowance across all grade levels, including estacode, book allowance, and other entitlements, to match current economic realities.
But the icing on the cake is the N10 billion housing loan programme, facilitated through a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN). This aims to make home ownership more accessible for public servants amid rising economic pressures. FMBN is the apex mortgage institution backed by the government to promote affordable housing ownership among Nigerians.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has fundamentally shifted the welfare of civil servants from rhetoric to reality,” Walson-Jack said. She congratulated the civil servants adding that “Workers’ Day is not only a moment to reflect on past struggles but also an opportunity to reaffirm commitment to workers’ welfare, renew the promise for the future, and ensure that those who serve the nation are treated with justice, fairness, and appreciation.”
Nigeria, based on a 2025 assessment by the National Housing Data Technical Committee, has an overall housing deficit of about 15 million units, with a significant portion affecting federal civil servants. The country needs to build about 550,000 units annually to address the crisis. This deficit is exacerbated by high construction costs, slow loan processing, and limited access to long-term mortgage financing for low and middle-income earners.
We commend these initiatives which represent not only a major step toward improving the workers’ living standard but also a shift from policy pledges to practical benefits.
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The Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) Usman Garba, said the measures are ‘’all-encompassing’’ adding that “A robust and well-structured welfare system is fundamental to enhancing productivity, boosting morale, and ensuring the overall well-being of officers in the public service.”
We may not agree with him totally, but no one can deny the fact that the measures would go a long way in enhancing the workers’ standard of living.
In a situation of rising cost of living, the only succour workers can get is to have their income enhanced through the kind of measures that the Federal Government just announced for its workers.
The event is particularly significant with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government’s housing loans board and the FMBN, to ease access to the loans for the workers.
We commend the Federal Government for these initiatives. We expect the workers to reciprocate the kind gestures by rededicating themselves to their duties. As the saying goes, “to whom much is given, much is expected”.
