As part of intervention plans to lessen the effects of the discontinuance of petroleum subsidy as announced on May 29, 2023, the National Economic Council said on Thursday in Abuja that it had taken into consideration recommendations from the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission to pay N702 billion as cost of living allowance to civil servants.
Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi State, revealed this to reporters from the State House shortly after the first meeting of the National Economic Council on Thursday at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
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Mohammed further disclosed that the intervention recommended a monthly petroleum allowance for civil servants of between N23.5 billion to N45 billion.
The statement on Thursday came just two weeks after President Bola Tinubu ordered the governors to construct a number of palliative structures to lessen the hardship caused by the suspension of the petrol subsidy.
“The NEC had received recommendations on the various ways and means that the country can use whatever increases that we have in the revenue to mitigate the impact that this is going to make on the lives of our workers.
“And so they recommended that there should be a consequential adjustment, estimated at N702.92bn as part of the allowances that should be given as petroleum allowance to all workers and as well as a N23bn or N25bn monthly offer to cushion the effect on workers,” he said.
The returning governor said the council received other suggestions to review salaries and wages.
“In addition to the palliative, the government looked at all the issues, challenges and problems holistically and set up a small committee of the council to review and come up with a term of reference to organise areas specifically where this palliative can come from and how it will be dispensed to alleviate the problem of workers and other vulnerable groups,” Mohammed explained.
