By Kehinde Folarin
Abuja
The federal government has approved a N70,000 monthly transport intervention for public service workers across all levels for six months, beginning in November 2026 in a move to cushion the impact of rising living costs.
The approval was one of the resolutions reached at a conciliation meeting between the federal government and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Abuja, Tuesday, following renewed pressure from organised labour over the cost of living, workers’ welfare and outstanding agreements.
Government also approved the payment of peculiar allowance arrears, effective from May 1, 2026, in three equal monthly instalments beginning in November.
The resolutions were contained in a memorandum of understanding signed at the end of the meeting by the Director-General of Budget, Timi Yakubu; NLC President, Joe Ajaero; Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Garba Abdul S.U.; and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi.
The document, titled ‘Resolutions Reached at a Conciliation Meeting Held at Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment Between the Federal Government and the Leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress on Tuesday, 27th October, 2026’, outlined agreements on minimum wage negotiations, transport support, outstanding allowances, health workers’ remuneration, tax relief and hazard allowances for agricultural officers.
The meeting followed an earlier conciliation session held on October 22, 2026, convened by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to address disagreements between the government and organised labour.
On the transport intervention, the document stated, “That transport intervention of Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000) commencing from November 2026 would be paid across all levels for a period of six months.”
Addressing the disagreement, it stated that the NLC leadership “expressed concern over the Federal Government’s attitude towards the above issues.”
It added that the federal government, in response, “stated that it fully respect the right of the Congress to advocate for improved working conditions for Nigerian workers, and is genuinely trying to address every aspect of it through a structured intervention.”
On the national minimum wage, the parties agreed that the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee would be constituted and commence meetings immediately.
However, the effective date of implementation remained unresolved.
The document stated, “It was agreed that the Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee would be constituted and commence the meeting immediately. It should however be noted that there is a disagreement on the effective date of implementation.”
