Economic Crunch: Salary increment not feasible, Buhari tells civil servants

President Muhammadu Buhari has turned down a request for salary review for civil servants, saying the current economic realities of the nation makes it impracticable.

The president on Friday expressed his thoughts when he hosted the Central Working Committee of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) at the State House, Abuja.

Though he acknowledged that high inflation has made the urgent need for a general salary review in the federal public service imperative, Mr Buhari listed various economic challenges being faced by his regime.

“I wish to urge you to appreciate the revenue constraints being presently faced by the government which is caused mainly by the activities of unscrupulous citizens through the theft of our crude oil, a major contributor to our revenue base.

“This is compounded by the global economic downturn as a result of the on-going Russian – Ukrainian war, which has led to price increases not just in the costs of goods and services globally, but also in the transportation of these goods and services across the globe.

“You are also aware of the enormous burden placed on our finances by the COVID-19 pandemic,”

Mr Buhari further said the huge investment in fighting insecurity had taken a large chunk of government expenditure that would have been expended on workers welfare.

“Furthermore, let me note the significant investment we have had to make in security over the last seven years, which means other sectors of the economy have not been able to receive as much funding as we would have liked.

“Only when our country is secured, that we are able to proceed and take on other aspects of our economic challenges,’’ he added.

The civil servants were led to the meeting by ASCSN chairman, Tommy Okon.

Mr Okon noted that the increasing cost of living had made it difficult for many public servants to carry on in spite of the minimum wage review. He advised that benefits of all public servants should also be harmonised for fairness.

“There should be equal pay for jobs of equal value,’’ he added.