Festus Keyamo (SAN), the Minister of State for Labor and Employment, has responded to the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s last-minute pay raise for 144,766 federal civil servants.

The introduction of a pay increase for the 144,766 federal civil servants covered by the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), in Keyamo’s opinion, cannot be viewed as being out of line.

Keep in mind that the Buhari administration recently announced a pay increase for employees, a move that some have dubbed a “trap for the incoming administration.”

The Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, previously stated that the government instituted the allowance for civil servants in light of the current economic reality, and it is intended to assist government employees in coping with the effects of rising inflation, rising cost of living, increases in transportation fares, housing, and electricity tariffs.

Ngige further stated that employees under the CONPSS received odd allowances in addition to their April salaries, as well as payments for arrears from January to March 2023.

In an interview with The Punch on Saturday, Keyamo said that if the incoming administration removes subsidies and looks into other funding options, the government will be able to afford the pay raise.

The minister continued by saying that although Nigerian workers should receive higher wages, funding is the real issue.

“The new worker package cannot be unreasonable under our current circumstances,” he said. “In fact, Nigerian workers deserve more. The issue is the funding. I think when the new government removes subsidy and explores some other means to fund our budgets, the government can afford it.”