The Federal Government has approved higher peculiar allowances for civil servants, along with full duty tour allowance for approved training and a N10 billion housing loan scheme, in a broad welfare package announced on Friday in Abuja.
Didi Walson-Jack said the review covers workers under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure and the Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure, with revised peculiar allowances applying across all grade levels. She said civil servants attending approved training programmes will receive 100 percent Duty Tour Allowance, even when no travel is involved, and that key entitlements such as estacode and book allowance were also increased. “Even if you are based in Abuja and attend training within Abuja, you are entitled to full DTA,” she said. “This sends a clear message that government is committed to investing in its workforce, and financial inconvenience will no longer hinder professional development,” she added.
The package also includes an exit benefits scheme approved by the Federal Executive Council for treasury-funded civil servants under the Contributory Pension Scheme. From January 1, 2026, the scheme will provide 100 percent of a retiring employee’s total annual emoluments as additional retirement benefits. Walson-Jack said the government had also operationalised the Employees’ Compensation Scheme to cover workers who suffer work-related injuries, occupational diseases, disability or death in the course of duty, describing it as an expansion of social protection for workers and their families.
The housing measure is being channelled through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board. Walson-Jack said, “The President has approved a ten billion Naira housing loan scheme for civil servants to improve access to home ownership for civil servants.” The changes come as the nigerian civil service faces pressure to retain staff and make training, retirement and housing support more predictable across the system, including under CONPSS and CONRAISS and through six Federal Training Centres and other training institutions.
The clearest shift is that the government is pairing higher pay-related allowances with retirement and housing support, not just one-off welfare gestures. For civil servants, the next milestone is January 1, 2026, when the new exit benefits scheme is due to begin.
