President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has received the Shield Award of the Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), with the labour organisation citing his administration’s attention to the welfare of workers.
The honour was conferred during the union’s 114th anniversary activities in Abuja on Monday. Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo represented the President at the ceremony held at Merit House.
The NCSU said its Shield Award is the highest recognition it gives and is intended for individuals who have demonstrated what the union regards as exceptional commitment to Nigerian workers.
National President of the union, Comrade Oluwole Sunday, led the presentation.
According to the union, Tinubu’s interventions have improved morale within the civil service and reflected concern for workers’ welfare.
Keyamo also received recognition from the union for his engagement with workers’ issues.
What Keyamo said about Tinubu’s record
In his remarks, Keyamo outlined several measures he said demonstrated the President’s response to workers’ concerns.
He referred to the approval of funds for former aviation workers and said payments were at the final stage.
The minister also disclosed that the government had approved a new salary structure for workers of NiMet after a salary relativity dispute that he said had remained unresolved for more than 15 years.
Keyamo said the matter was taken to the President and that approval for the new structure and associated funding followed.
He further recalled the signing of the new national minimum wage legislation in 2024 and the reduction of the statutory review cycle from five years to three years.
On that basis, Keyamo said negotiations for another minimum wage review would commence in 2027.
Award comes amid fresh labour demands
The ceremony comes at a time when workers’ representatives are still raising concerns about the cost of living and purchasing power.
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council’s Trade Union Side said on September 28 that it could mobilise public servants for a three-day warning strike from October 2 if the Federal Government did not respond to its demands on fuel prices, wage awards and negotiations for a new national minimum wage.
The separate development illustrates that recognition from the NCSU does not end the broader discussions between government and organised labour over workers’ economic conditions.
The NCSU, which has 84 affiliates, traces its history back more than a century and is described as Nigeria’s oldest trade union.
For the union, Monday’s ceremony was an opportunity to recognise Tinubu and Keyamo for their stated engagement with workers’ issues.
For the wider labour movement, however, negotiations over wages, fuel costs and other conditions of service remain ongoing.
