Olawale Ajimotokan
There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari will most likely receive the report of the Technical Committee on the Harmonisation of Salary and Wages in Public Service in August this year.
The Permanent Secretary Service Policy and Strategy, Office of the Head of Service of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Emmanuel Meribole dropped this hint at a recent chat with the media.
Meribole said the consultant that was contracted to look at salaries across board in both the civil service and public service would submit his report for the consideration of the Presidential Committee on Salary and Wages in the next two months.
“What we are trying to do is look at wages and salaries within public service and use the productivity index to be able to arrive at a suitable wage and salaries across the country. We are trying to look at the indices for computing salaries. We got a consultant to look at salaries across board and we are using the indices to determine where we can get the civil servants’ salaries up to and where the others could also pay. I can report that the consultant is already working and we hope and in the next two months there will be a report for the consideration of the Presidential Committee on Salary and Wages,” Meribole said.
It would be recalled that President Buhari had during the recent Civil Service Week hinted that the administration was considering the possibility of a salary increase for civil servants.
The President had in January constituted a committee on the harmonisation of salaries of both public and civil servants in the Federal Service. The committee is chaired by the Minister of Finance.
Also the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan clarified that they resolved to get a consultant to harmonise the salaries because what was computed was rejected.
“There is something left out and I feel I should mention because it is important. One of the reasons why we got the consultant was that what was computed was rejected; most of the committee members thought on the suggestion as to how to raise the salary from the lowest and to what point. And it is on just that point that the initial group said we should stop but that was still too low. So that was rejected, so that is what is taking time. So we said that since it is the best we can do why not let us get someone that will do an in-depth work so that we can really come up and be proud of whatever comes out of there,” Yemi- Esan.
