This is according to a memo obtained from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation on Tuesday.

The memo, dated June 20, was signed by the Head of Civil Service, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, and was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, Office of  the Secretary General of the Federation, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Chairmen of commissions, agencies and parastatals, among others.

For the senior officers, the memo noted that, “a non-refundable examination fee of N5,000 is payable by each candidate as cost of materials and logistics/transport/venues for the conduct of the examinations as approved by the Federal Public Service Examination Board.”

However, the sum of N3,000 will be paid by the junior officers.

The memo, which was exclusively sighted by our correspondent in Abuja, stated that: “The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has approved the conduct/management of the year 2023 Compulsory Confirmation/Promotion Examination for newly-appointed administrative officers, foreign affairs officers, executive officers, police officers, paramilitary and other professionals in the Federal Public Service.”

The memo explained that the exam, which is conducted by the Career Management Office of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, “is a statutory requirement for the career progression of all staff in the public service.”

The memo also noted that the examinations, which will take place in all states of the federation will hold between Tuesday, August 22 and Friday, August 25,2023 for the junior officers while the examination for the senior officers will hold from September 19 to September 22.

“Any officer who fails to pass the examinations after three consecutive attempts shall be required to resign or withdraw from the service in accordance with Public Service Rules 060203 and 060204,” the memo noted.

In a circular released on Monday, August 10, the Head of Service, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, directed all workers to resume for normal work schedule from Monday to Friday and from 8 am to 4 pm.

The statement in part read “Following Mr President’s approval of the recommendation of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, officers on Grade Levels 12 and 13, and those on essential services are hereby directed to be in the office every working day (Monday to Friday) with effect from Monday, August 10, 2020. Also, the officers and those affected by earlier circulars on the resumption of duty are now to resume by 8 am and close by 4 pm daily. Permanent Secretaries/Chief Executive Officers are to define the officers performing essential services in their MDAs. However, in doing so, consideration must be given to the health implication of the number to recall for duties in the light of the extant guidelines on the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.”

Yemi-Esan directed the resuming workers to comply with all the COVID-19 protocols which includes maintenance of physical distancing, regular washing and/or sanitizing of hands, and wearing of face masks.

The agreement reached on Thursday Oct 17, at the end of a delicate negotiation which lasted for 3 days include an increase of 23.2 percent for workers on level 7, a 20 percent increase for workers on level 8 and a 19 percent increase for workers on level 9. Workers on level 10- 14 will be getting a 16 percent salary increase while workers on level 15-17 will get a 14 percent increase.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo who confirmed that both parties have reached an agreement via a tweet, added that they are working on the communique.

The tweet read, “After some delicate negotiations (with both ministers as conciliators), the government and labour have finally reached an agreement on the consequential adjustment of other wages following the implementation of the enhanced minimum wage of N30,000. We are working on the communiqué.”

Also confirming the agreement reached at the end of the negotiation, the President of the Trade Union Congress, Quadri, and its Secretary General, Musa-Lawal Ozigi said that the government could not afford to meet their earlier demand of N30,000 minimum wage, hence the agreement on percentage increase.

Their statement read, “We commend the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, and her team for their sincerity. Though they argued that the government could not afford to meet our earlier demand of N30,000 minimum wage across board because of the economic situation in the country, we made them understand that some people could not be more Nigerian than others. If we are tightening our belts, government should also do so.”