FG tasks NSIWC on sustainable salary policies

The Federal Government has urged the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to align salary recommendations with workers’ welfare and government’s fiscal capacity.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, gave the charge on Monday at the opening of the commission’s Board and management retreat in Abuja with the theme: “Vision, Strategy and Institutional Renewal.”

Akume, represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr Ibrahim Kana, said the commission must base its recommendations on credible data, prevailing economic realities and consultations with organised labour, employers and other stakeholders.

The SGF said: “The Commission must continually balance the legitimate expectations of workers with the fiscal realities of government and the broader imperatives of national economic development.

Akume said effective wage administration was essential to industrial harmony, public sector productivity, economic stability and social justice.

He urged the commission to strengthen its research and data management, embrace digital technology and improve staff capacity to provide timely and evidence-based policy advice.

The SGF also called on the board and management to develop an action plan with clear priorities, responsibilities, timelines and measurable performance indicators.

“This retreat must go beyond the exchange of ideas to produce clear priorities, practical strategies, assigned responsibilities and measurable performance indicators,” he said.

The SGF urged the commission to sustain engagement with ministries, departments and agencies, organised labour and other stakeholders to build trust and prevent avoidable industrial disputes.

In his welcome address, the Chairman of the Board, Maj-Gen Junaidu Bindawa (Rtd.), said the retreat provided an opportunity to review the commission’s mandate and identify measures to improve its efficiency and impact.

He said changing fiscal conditions, inflationary pressures and evolving labour expectations made evidence-based policies and effective stakeholder engagement increasingly important.

“These are not merely theoretical questions. They speak directly to the relevance and value we add to national development,” Bindawa said, referring to the issues the commission needed to address in strengthening its research, governance and analytical capacity.

He said the institution should be distinguished by professionalism, integrity, sound research and data-driven decision-making.

“Our ambition should be to build an institution distinguished by professionalism, integrity, sound research, effective stakeholder engagement, and data-driven decision making,” he said.

Bindawa urged participants to develop practical recommendations that could be implemented after the three-day retreat, stressing that its success would depend on the quality of decisions reached and the commitment to executing them.

Also speaking, Secretary to the Commission, Chief Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, said the NSIWC was established in 1993 to advise the government on national incomes policy and public sector salaries, wages and allowances.

She said Nigeria had previously relied on ad hoc wage review commissions, including the Morgan Commission of 1964, the Adebo Commission of 1971 and the Udoji Commission of 1974.

“We exist so that wage decisions rest on evidence, not emergencies,” she said.

Okoya-Thomas said the three-day retreat would examine wage data, fair remuneration, social dialogue, institutional capacity and governance.

She added that participants were expected to develop an action plan aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria Agenda 2050 and the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2026–2030.

“The commission’s Monitoring and Evaluation Division will track implementation of the plan and report progress to the Board,” she said.

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