President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to increase the salaries of civil servants in the country.

Buhari said a committee has been set up to provide the impetus for the upward review of the salaries.

The President made this known while speaking at the Nigeria Civil Service Day Celebration held at the Banquet Hall, State House in Abuja on Thursday.

Buhari, who was represented by the FCT minister, Bello Muhammad, said his administration is working towards possible salary increase for civil servants in the country.

He said: “I have had a rare privilege of working with the Nigerian Civil Service, at the closest and innermost quarters for the large part of my sojourn in Public Service and had witnessed a formidable and strong public service, which we began to see gradually, loose its relevance in the country.

“Accordingly, I have set up the Presidential Committee on Salaries to harmonize salaries service-wide.

“It is my hope that the outcome of the Committee’s work will provide the impetus for an upward review of the salaries of deserving civil servants, having recently increased the Duty Tour Allowance of all Civil Servants as a starting point.

“As this process is still going on, want to encourage you to be patient with us as you continue to give your best services to enable us to sustain the good working relationship between the political office holders and the Civil Servants.

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“With sustained understanding and cooperation, we will together contribute our quota to the development of our country, and our efforts will not be in vain.

“In alignment with one of the objectives of the Civil Service Day, we shall be honouring some deserving and hardworking officers who, in their spheres of activities, have demonstrated high-level commitment and dedication to duty.

“This is in continuation of the recognition and awards given to most deserving officers in the various Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of Government last week.

“This is to appreciate the contributions of the Civil Service to national development and challenge you to do more,” President Buhari stated.

Also speaking at the event, the Head Of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, expressed appreciation to the World Bank, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), and the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) for their support.

The Star