EDITORIAL: Hardship — President Tinubu Must Ensure Governors Pay Approved Workers’ Welfare Interventions

BY TONY OKAFOR

The Federal Government’s approval of a monthly transport intervention of ₦70,000 for public service workers across all levels of government for six months, beginning in November 2026, is a welcome development. However, the real test of this intervention lies not in its announcement but in its implementation across the country.

President Bola Tinubu must ensure that state governors honour the agreement and pay eligible workers without discrimination or unnecessary delay.

The intervention, agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), is intended to cushion the effects of rising living costs.

It must not become another promise frustrated by administrative bottlenecks or political gimmicks.

It is particularly disturbing that some state governments have yet to fully implement the national minimum wage of ₦70,000. This raises legitimate questions about their welfare priorities and commitment to the workers who sustain the machinery of governance.

Since the Federal Government remains responsible for distributing statutory allocations to the three tiers of government, there should be no justification for discriminatory treatment of Nigerian workers through the selective implementation of nationally agreed wage and welfare measures. Moreover, Nigeria’s fiscal and administrative arrangements reflect significant central control in some respects, making the need for uniform standards of workers’ welfare even more compelling.

The President should therefore use the appropriate constitutional and institutional channels to persuade and press state governors to fulfil their obligations.

The Federal Government and organised labour must also establish transparent monitoring mechanisms to identify states that default and ensure compliance.

The NLC, for its part, must make the uniform implementation of national wage agreements and welfare interventions a central plank of its negotiations on workers’ earnings and welfare.

The union must also resist any situation in which workers’ welfare depends on the benevolence of individual governors rather than the consistent implementation of agreed policies.

Equally important, pensioners must not be forgotten. Many retired workers devoted their productive years to public service and now face the same inflationary pressures as serving employees.
Governments should devise appropriate mechanisms to extend relief to pensioners, particularly those whose pensions are inadequate to meet their basic needs.

The national pledge that “the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain” must mean more than ceremonial words. It must be reflected in policies that protect those who have served the nation.

Ultimately, workers need more than announcements. They deserve timely payments, uniform standards and accountable leadership.

President Tinubu must ensure that this intervention reaches its intended beneficiaries in every state, while governors must recognise that workers’ welfare is an obligation, not a privilege.

The Nigerian situation can no longer justify the saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune, as the economic hardship cuts across the country.