The Federal Government has approved a ₦70,000 monthly transport allowance for public service workers at all levels, to be paid for six months from November 2026.
It was agreed on Tuesday, 27 October, at a conciliation meeting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja. Labour Minister Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, NLC President Joe Ajaero and Director-General of Budget Timi Yakubu were among those who signed the memorandum of understanding.
Here is what was agreed:
- A ₦70,000 monthly transport intervention for six months from November 2026
- Peculiar allowance arrears from 1 May 2026, paid in three equal monthly instalments from November
- A Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee that starts meeting immediately, with no agreed date for a new wage to take effect
The deal follows a fight that has been building all month. On 8 October the NLC gave the government two weeks to cut petrol prices and open talks on a new minimum wage. When the government replied that the wage was not due for review, the NLC rejected the response in a letter dated 13 October. It did not declare a strike, but NLC sources told Vanguard a confrontation was coming if nothing moved.
The wage itself is the sticking point. The current ₦70,000 minimum wage was signed on 29 July 2024, and the government says the next review is not due until 1 June 2027. The NLC argues the law required a review earlier, and that inflation and the weaker naira have already eaten into the raise from ₦30,000. The new allowance is the same amount as the minimum wage, but it runs for six months only.
