The federal government on Friday unveiled a broad package of welfare enhancements for public workers, anchored on a N10 billion housing initiative spearheaded by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), improved allowances, as well as a new retirement benefit structure.

This comes as the Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Oluwaseun Faleye, expressed the commitment of the Fund to the Employee Compensation Scheme (ESC) for the benefit of Federal Civil Servants.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Esther Walson-Jack, said the reforms in workers’ allowances were a deliberate shift from rhetoric to measurable policy action, signalling President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to placing workers’ welfare at the centre of governance.

According to Walson-Jack, central to the package was the approval of an Exit Benefit Scheme, designed to provide retiring treasury-funded civil servants under the contributory pension system with a payout equivalent to their total annual emoluments. This, she said, is intended to address longstanding concerns around post-retirement financial vulnerability within the public service.

She also outlined the operationalisation of the ECS, a structured social protection mechanism covering work-related injuries, occupational diseases, disability and death. The scheme, she said, complements existing life assurance provisions and expands the safety net available to government workers and their families.

In a move targeted at professional development, the government also approved full payment of Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) for civil servants attending training programmes at designated federal institutions, regardless of travel requirements. The intervention, she explained, is expected to remove cost barriers associated with capacity building across the service.

Beyond training-related benefits, Walson-Jack announced additional revisions covering estacode, book allowance and other entitlements, to reflect prevailing economic realities and reduce out-of-pocket expenses incurred during official assignments.

On Housing, which she identified as a major welfare gap, she announced the approval of a N10 billion housing loan scheme to be implemented through the FMBN and the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board. The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the event.

“The federal government approved the payment of full Duty Tour Allowance, 100 per cent, for civil servants attending approved training programmes at our manpower development institutions… irrespective of whether the officer needs to travel. 

 “…There has been a comprehensive review and increase in the Peculiar Allowance for officers on the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure and the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure. The revised allowance has been structured to reflect across all grade levels, resulting in a meaningful increase in takehome pay across different cadres. Whether you are a junior officer or a senior professional, this improvement is designed specially for you. 

 “In addition, there has been an upward revision of the Duty Tour Allowance, Estacode, Book Allowance, and other related entitlements. These adjustments are calibrated to reflect current economic realities. A civil servant who travels on official duty should not have to subsidise accommodation from their personal pocket. That principle now has teeth. 

“(Also) the federal government has approved a N10 billion Housing Loan Scheme to improve access to home ownership for civil servants. This loan will be facilitated through the FMBN and the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board,” she stressed.

Expanding on the housing component, Managing Director of the FMBN, Shehu Osidi, described the MoU  as a strategic intervention to streamline access to affordable housing finance for government workers.

He explained that the partnership establishes a more structured financing framework in which the bank will provide funding for on-lending to civil servants through the Board, creating multiple pathways for home ownership.

The initiative, he noted, was intended to respond to declining household income and rising construction costs, which have made housing increasingly inaccessible to many workers.

Osidi further highlighted ongoing reforms within the bank, including process automation, improved service delivery timelines, strengthened credit quality and enhanced operational efficiency. These changes, he said, are part of efforts to reposition the institution as a more responsive and development-driven entity capable of supporting national housing objectives at scale.

He also pointed to existing financing windows such as home renovation loans, individual construction loans and cooperative housing schemes, alongside newer products including non-interest mortgages, diaspora mortgage options and rent assistance programmes.

Collectively, these instruments, he emphasised, were expected to expand access to housing across income levels and reduce the burden on civil servants who contribute significantly to the national housing fund.

According to him, the collaboration reflects a shift towards deeper institutional alignment, where the mortgage bank’s financing capacity is integrated with the Housing Loans Board’s direct interface with civil servants, thereby simplifying access and improving delivery outcomes.

“Today’s signing of this memorandum marks not just the beginning of a collaboration, but the dawn of a renewed commitment to improving the lives and welfare of Nigerian workers, particularly our hard-working federal civil servants, who remain the backbone of our nation’s civil service,” he stated.

Faleye, in his comments, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to strengthening the implementation of the Employee Compensation Scheme. The NSITF also signalled plans to expand engagement and advocacy to entrench the scheme as a core pillar of workers’ protection in the federal service.

In her remarks, the Director General of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Omolola Oloworaran, outlined ongoing pension reforms aimed at improving retirement outcomes. 

These, she said, include faster processing timelines for retirement benefits, the introduction of a minimum pension guarantee and plans to extend health insurance coverage to low-income retirees.

In a related development, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) announced the approved estacode, kilometre allowances and revised rates for permanent secretaries, their equivalents and and civil servants from Grade Level 01 to 17 as contained in the Public Service Rules (2021 Edition).

The Chairman/CEO NSIWC, Ekpo U.O. Nua, conveyed the approval in an circular dated April 23 and addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Honourable Ministers and Chairmen, Federal Commissions, among others.

In line with the approved rates, permanent secretaries would now receive $1,040 per day as estacode allowance, while senior civil servants on GL 15-17 are now entitled to $737 estacode per day. 

The NSIWC also approved estacode of $666 per day for GL 07-14 workers and $357 for those on GL 01-06.

It also approved $1,248 as the warm clothing allowance for the Permanent Secretaries.

The revised table also set the kilometre allowance of N664 per kilometre as what a permanent secretary is now entitled to, while N531/ kilometre is what is approved for directorate level worker on GL15-17 .

The table of revised rate also set the Duty Tour (DTA) allowance of N109,000 for civil servants on GL 16-17 and their equivalents, while those on GL 14-15 and their equivalents will receive N73,000 as DTA. 

Workers on the lowest rung of GL 01-04 and their equivalents are entitled to DTA of N30,000. 

The revised rate of allowances contained in the PSR also covered approvals for  teaching allowance, local running allowance (30 per cent of DTA), local course allowance, book allowance, uniform allowance, responsibility allowance and project allowance, among others.

The circular further stated that any allowance that were listed under PSR 140102 without monetary values; (b) were not listed in the PSR but were in operation: and were subsequently approved by the National Council on Establishments/Government, would be addressed through specific circulars by the NSIWC. The approval takes effect from October 1, 2026

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Emmanuel Addeh