Our Achievements

Home / Our Achievements
  1. STAFF COMPENSATION MATTERS
  2. Public Service Pay Reviews

From 2009 to date, the Commission as usual, has been playing very active role in all the processes leading to the review of remuneration in the federal public service, through its recommendations and advice to government, and the provision of technical input as well as participating on government side, in the negotiations with the staff unions and professional groups in its various sub-sectors. Some of these activities took place during the renegotiation of 2001 ASUU-FGN agreement which was concluded in 2009. Others include:

  • Negotiations with other university-based unions:
  • Negotiations with staff union in polytechnics, colleges of education, medical doctors, health professionals and civil service under the aegis of National Joint Negotiating councils as well as the research and allied institutes.
  • Consultative meetings to resolve knotty remuneration issues in the military, paramilitary, police and the intelligence community. Following government’s approval, the various collective agreements reached with staff unions for an average of 53.37% increase in the consolidated salaries of Federal Public Service, the Commission issued the following circulars to effect their implementation:
  • Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS) Ref.N0. SWC/S/04/VIII/298 dated 1st July, 2010;
  • Consolidated Top Federal Public Office Holders” Salary Structure (CONTOPSAL) Ref. No. SWC./S/04/VIII/313 and SWC/S/04/VIII/315 dated 1st July, 2010;
  • Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS) Ref. N0. SWC/S/04/VIII/301 dated 1st July,2010;
  • Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS) Ref. N0. SWC/S/04/VIII/304 dated 1st July,2010;
  • Consolidated Para -Military Salary Structure (CONPASS) Ref. No. SWC/S/04/VIII/307 dated 1st July, 2010;
  • Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICSS) Ref. No. SWC/S/04/VIII/310 dated 1st July, 2010;
  • Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and Associated allowances in the Federal Public Service: Ref. No. SWC/S/04/S.410/220 dated 29th September, 2009;Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and Associated allowances in the Federal Service: Ref. No. SWC/S/04/S.410/Vol. 11/349 dated 8th December, 2009
  • Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure II (CONUASS II) Ref. No. SWC/S/04/S.100/11/403 dated 8th December, 2009;
  • Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure II (CONTISS II) Ref. No. SWC/S/04/S.100/11/408 dated 8th December, 2009.
  1. Pension Review

Following the efforts of the Commission and other stakeholders, Government recently approved increases in the pension of retirees from the public service in relation to salary increases which occurred from 2001 to 2007. The circular, Ref No. SWC/S/04/S.08/Vol. IV/207 dated 5th August 2010, conveying the increases was issued by the Commission. It should be noted that the cost implication of this increase was collated by the Commission. This, no doubt, has been good news to pensioners. The Commission, afterward, hosted the Inter-agency Committee on the Review of Federal Public Service Pensions consequent upon the salary reviews of 2009-2010. The Committee recommended a 53% increase in pensions, and this was approved by the Commission’s Board. The Commission subsequently submitted the recommendation to Government for final approval.

  1. National Minimum Wage Review

The Commission provided the Secretariat to the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage, chaired by Hon. Justice S. M. Alfa Belgore. The Committee submitted its report to the Federal Government in July 2010, in which it recommended N18, 000.00 as the new National Minimum Wage including a new modality for fixing the minimum wage in future. Following the enactment into law of the new National Minimum Wage of N18, 000 per month, in March 2011, the Commission played a key role by providing the technical input into the negotiations between the Federal Government and the umbrella labour unions (NLC and TUC), leading to the agreement on the level of adjustment in the salaries in the Federal Public Service. The Commission finally issued the circular for the implementation of the new salaries on 18th August, 2011.

  1. Development of Pay Policy and Machinery for Pay Determination in the Public Service

The Commission provided the Secretariat to the National Committee of Experts on Parameters for Wage Fixing in the Federal Public Service, chaired by Prof. V. P. Diejomaoh, which submitted its report to the President on 24th August 2010. The recommendations of the Committee, if approved and implemented, will give the public service definite policy and operational regime for salary administration, which will make for equity and industrial peace, taking into consideration government’s ability to pay. The Commission has remained cautious in dealing with the emerging trend of agencies seeking to opt out of the harmonised salaries pending the outcome of government white paper on the Committee’s report.

  1. Review of NYSC Corpers’ Allowance

The Commission set up and hosted the Inter-agency Committee on the upward review of the monthly allowance of the youth corps in the National Youth Service Corps. The recommendation of the Committee for the increase of the allowance from the old rate of N9,775.00 per month to N19,800.00 was first approved by the Commission’s Board and afterwards by the government. As usual the enabling circular was promptly issued by the Commission.

  1. Request of the Police to Exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme

Following the request of the Nigeria Police Force to be allowed to exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme, an Inter-agency Committee with the Commission providing the chairman looked into the request and made some recommendations in a report which it submitted to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

  1. Pay Review for MDAs

The Government approved the request for the following organisations for review of their pay packages as a result of the 53.37% salary increase granted by thr government to the Harmonised Salaries in the federal public service. This was based on the various recommendations of the Commission in year 2011.

  • Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS);
  • Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) ;
  • Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) ;
  • National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS;
  • Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) ;
  • National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA);
  • Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) ;
  • Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC);
  • Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) ;

During the period, the job- specific allowances of the following agencies were also reviewed:

  • Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHETCO) ;
  • Area Court and Customary Court Judges in the FCT;
  • National Broadcasting Commission (NBC);
  • Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP);
  • National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) – migration from CONPSS to CONRAISS.

The Commission also conveyed approval for a pay increase affecting allowances only for the staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), following Mr. President’s approval of a collective agreement between their sector unions and their management.

  1. Remuneration Payable at Home (Nigeria) to Officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Overseas Posting

This complex issue was comprehensively treated and approved as a recommendation by the Commission’s Board to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is expected to take further necessary steps to actualise its implementation.

  1. Industrial Harmony in the Health Sector

The Commission was represented by the Commissioner (Compensation) in the Presidential Committee on Industrial Harmony in the Health Sector, chaired by Justice Abdullahi Bello Gusau, which completed its assignment in December 2011.

  1. Review of the Remuneration of Security Commissionaires

The Commission processed the request for the review of the Remuneration, Overtime Allowance and Administrative Charges of security commissionaires of the Nigerian Legion serving in Federal Government establishments. The package has since been approved first, by the Commission’s Board and later by the federal government. As usual, a circular on its implementation was promptly issued.

  1. Development of a Framework for Scarce Skill Allowance

The Commission has, in consultation with stakeholders, prepared the draft Guidelines on the Administration of the Scarce Skill Allowance. The document is presently being processed to Government for consideration and approval, before implementation. The scheme, which had been approved in a white paper by Government in 2007, is meant to provide extra remuneration to attract and retain highly-skilled personnel into the public service.

  1. Salary Inspection

As part of the programme of Pay Comparability Studies for 2011, the Commission embarked on salary inspection of some selected ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the federal public service.

Objectives

The objectives of the salary inspection programme were to ascertain the level of compliance of public service establishments with government’s staff compensation policies; identify specific problems of salary administration encountered by the establishments in order to assist them to resolve them; and obtain baseline data on remuneration policies and practices of government agencies, in order to enrich the Commission’s data bank on staff compensation.

Scope

A total of 41 establishments were selected for the exercise.

Findings

Out of the 41 establishments selected, 34 were inspected. Out of the 34 inspected 13 were found not to be fully adhering to government pay policy while others were fully compliant.

Recommendations

The thirteen (13) establishments with the observed infractions have since been informed of the observations and directed to adhere fully to government pay policies. Furthermore, the Commission had informed the appropriate supervising authorities of the findings and actions taken.

  1. Development of Database on Manning Levels (Staff Strength) in the Federal Public Service, Phase III.

One of the challenges of government at all levels is the establishment of accurate data on staff strength of its employees for the purpose of computing the wage bill. This has made budgeting and planning very cumbersome. In most cases, figures of staffing establishments are used in budgeting while fund releases are based on the actual numbers of staff in posts. Consequently, the Budget Office and the Accountant-General’s Office usually give conflicting figures on the wage bill of the federal government.

It was in pursuance of one of its mandates which is to keep the wage bill under continuous surveillance that the Commission, in 2009, embarked on the Development of a Database for Manning Levels in the Federal Public Service. The project is expected to be completed in 2012.

Objectives

  • Provide baseline information on staff strength in the entire federal public service for use by the NSIWC in the review of staff remuneration;
  • Make available reliable data to Government and its relevant agencies for policy decisions on personnel matters;
  • Provide corroborative data to the Budget Office of the Federation for purposes of government budget estimation and management;
  • Provide accurate data on cost implication of remuneration/benefits payable to public servants annually, for researchers on salary and wage administration.

All establishments in the federal public service were covered, which include the following categories:

  • The core civil service, including the presidency and the ministries;
  • The constitutional bodies, the judiciary and the extra-ministerial offices;
  • The armed forces and their joint services;
  • The police and paramilitary agencies;
  • The intelligence agencies;
  • The Parastatals: both government-funded and self-funded, including the regulatory agencies, general social service agencies, educational institutions, commercial/industrial establishments, etc; and
  • The Federal Capital Territory establishments.
  1. OTHER ACTIVITIES
  • Workshop/public enlightenment for public servants on wage administration;
  • Review of the sitting allowances of part – time members of government committees, boards of federal agencies, statutory corporations and government-owned companies;
  • Categorisation of Boards of newly created Agencies in the Federal Public Service;
  • Review of the remuneration of self-funded agencies which resulted from collective bargaining; and
  • Submission of reports to International Labour Organisation on remuneration matter
  1. EVALUATION AND GRADING MATTERS
  2. Job Classification Exercise

Job Classification Exercise is one of a number of activities in the government’s current strategy for improving performance and productivity within the entire public service. The objective is to make the public service effective, efficient and better positioned to meet the national development and service needs of Nigeria for the millennium.

Objectives of the project

  • to identify emerging jobs in the federal public service; and
  • classify jobs in the Federal Public Service into appropriate grades as well as identify various occupational groups in the federal public service.

Findings

A total of three hundred and sixty (360) jobs were re-classified into various categories. Out of these, two hundred and ninety-three (293) jobs were classified using the Professional Administrative Technological Technical Clerical Evaluation System (PATTCES) and sixty-seven (67) jobs were classified using the Senior Management Plan (SMP).

From the three hundred and sixty (360) jobs that were re-classified, One hundred and seventy-two (172) jobs have lower grade levels in comparison with their former grade levels, ten (10) jobs have higher grade levels in comparison with their former grade levels and One hundred and seventy-eight (178) jobs retained their grade levels.

The study revealed that, new emerging jobs and sub-occupational groups were identified in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and its two (2) agencies as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology and its twelve (12) agencies. The new jobs identified are Environmental Management, Marketing, Geophysicist, Remote Sensing, Training, Computer Engineering, Research Development, Computer programming, Programme Analyst, Engineering and Technology.

The Commission has recommended that:

The PATTCES, GSOES and SMP systems of job evaluation should be carefully reviewed and updated to make them more acceptable to all occupational groups in the Public Service.

The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), which is in charge of the Secretariat of the National Council on Establishment, be notified of the emergence of new jobs in the Federal Public Service.

Also, the Commission recommended that a Comprehensive Job Evaluation be carried out in the Federal Public Service for proper grading of positions.

2) Occupational Indexing/Dictionary of Occupations Survey Project

The survey of Jobs for the purpose of Occupational Indexing/Dictionary of Occupations was carried out in view of limited information in the current Scheme of Service. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Water Resources and some of its Parastatals were selected for the survey. The year 2009 marked the commencement of the Occupational Indexing/Dictionary of Occupations Survey Project which will be an on-going project until the entire Public Service is covered. The objectives of this project include:

  • to serve as a data base through which the critical pool of scarce skill in the Federal Public Service will be monitored.
  • to assist in the effective Manpower Planning and Career Path Development for the officers in the Public Service.

The benefits derivable from the project are:

  • grading of jobs and the compilation of the various occupational groups for effective and efficient pay management in the federal public service;
  • development of a more flexible and equitable pay structure which is consistent with Government Medium Term Expenditure frame;
  • setting out quantifiable and realistic targets for achieving Job Standards for each occupational group in the Federal Public Service;
  • development of appropriate objectives, systematic methods and procedures for the analysis and evaluation of work levels and grade relationship within and between the different occupational groups that have evolved and those that are currently and systematically evolving in view of the dynamics of the society; and,
  • production of a dictionary of jobs/occupations in the Public Service
  1. Reviewing and Updating the Evaluation/Grading Plans in the Federal Public Service

The Project on the Reviewing/Updating and developing the Evaluation System/Plans and Grading Schemes for the entire Public Service is very important, timely and of national importance and for the growth and development of the Nigerian Public Service.

The Job Evaluation Systems/Grading Plans currently in use in the Public Service are those that evolved from the Public Service Review Commission under the Chairmanship of Chief Jerome Udoji, from 1972 – 1974.

The Udoji Commission, amongst other recommendations, introduced the first post independence comprehensive Job Evaluation Systems/Grading Plans in the Public Service. Time and advancement in technology has almost rendered them obsolete. It is therefore, imperative for a new System/Plan to evolve.

The objectives of this Project are, among others:

  • to review the classification modalities and accordingly re-classification of all jobs in the Federal Public Service;
  • to identify new compensable factors as they affect jobs under the Professional, Administrative, Technological, Technical and Clerical Evaluation System (PATTCES), General Services Officers Evaluation System (GSOES) and the Senior Management Evaluation Plans (SMP);
  • to review and develop evaluation plans that would meet the aspirations of job holders and which would be acceptable to both the employers and unions;
  • to evaluate jobs on the basis of a dependable scientific design and its objective application for the entire Public Service;and
  • to evaluate equitably all jobs of comparative worth and responsibility, irrespective of class, functional specification or organisational development.

The first Phase of the project, which is the preparatory stage, has commenced and it is to identify emerging and acceptable Compensable factors for the Public Service.

C) COST OF LIVING AND APPROPRIATE WAGE MATTERS

1) Incomes Survey of the Informal Sector of the Economy

The Commission commenced the Incomes survey of the Informal Sector in 2009. The survey was conducted in the 36 states of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory with a view to generating data on wages and incomes of workers in the informal sector as an input into the determination of minimum wage, generate data to be used in the formulation of incomes policy guidelines.

The result of the survey showed that over 55% of the total numbers of employees in the informal sector live above N152.00 naira per day. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the monthly minimum income in this sector was about N14, 910.00.The survey also exposed the difficulties being faced by the informal sector operators which really affect their incomes adversely. It was noted that there was a high imbalance between the formal and informal sectors in the area of compensation and conditions of work.

The Incomes Survey of the Informal Sector was undertaken in December, 2010 in twenty (20) States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The project was carried out in two phase. Phase 1 was the listing of at least 500 enterprises in the different categories of the Informal Sector in the respective States capital. The phase 2 was the administering of the instrument use to elicit information from the 200 enterprises selected from the 500 enterprises listed. The study was successfully completed.

Furthermore, The Incomes Survey of the Informal Sector was undertaken in September to October, 2011 in twelve (12) states of the Federation including Lagos and Abuja. The project was carried out in two phases. Phase 1, was the re-listing of enterprises in the state capital in line with the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) to up-date the survey frame that was compiled during the 2010 listing exercise. Phase 2, was the administering of the instrument used to elicit information from the enterprises selected. From each state, 200 enterprises were selected giving 400 enterprises per geo-political zone and a total of 2,400 enterprises nationwide. The study was successfully completed.

Objectives

  • Determine each job category compensation rate inter and intra informal employment wage comparison;
  • Establish criteria for job pricing for each category of job in the sector;
  • Serve as statistical input for wage reviews and incomes, policy; and
  • Act as input for macro-economic policy frame work that will aim at ensuring equitable incomes distribution among Nigerian.

The survey was conducted in twelve (12) states of the Federation, two from each geo-political zone of the country. It is believed that there is homogeneity in the type of economic activities carried out at the geo-political zone. In analysing the data, aggregation was carried out at the national and geo-political zone levels. The analysis covered:

  • Socio-Economic issues
  • Entrepreneurial Issues
  • Labour matters
  • Business Environmental issues
  • Policy Issues
  • Socio economic findings

The study showed that the informal Sector business was dominated by men with 1957 or 81.54% of the 2,400 enterprises studied, while, 443 or 18.46% were females. Majority (54.67%) of the enterprise owners studied was aged between 30-44years. The study also showed that there were 4 under-aged enterprise owners, 2 males and 2 females.

Entrepreneurial findings

The study revealed that most of enterprises studied were solely owned i.e. 2,358 or 98.25% while only 42 or 1.7% were in partnership. It also revealed that from 2008 to 2010, there was steady growth in the number of staff engaged by the enterprises surveyed. Between 2008 and 2009, the increase was 32.96% and between 2008 and 2010 it increased by 76.18%.

Labour matters

In the case of employment generation, the study showed that among the 6 Geo-political Zone, North West enterprise owners generated the highest number of employments covering all categories. Out of total of 5,812 employment generated in 2010 in the country, North-West zone contributed 1,136 or19.54% followed by South-South with 1,107 or 19.05% North Central with 1,015 or 17.46% South-West with 998 or17.17%,North-East with 889 or 15.30% and South-East with 667 or 11.48% of the total employment generated.

Business Environment

The survey showed that enterprises paid various types of taxes/levies/charges, VAT Education Tax, Community Tax, Business tax, Trade permit and other charges. These taxes/levies averaged between N2, 000.00 and N3, 000 per enterprise. In total the average tax burden per enterprise per annum was estimated at N15, 576.00

The survey revealed that there was high imbalance between the formal and informal sectors especially in the area of compensation and conditions of work. The study showed that on the average, enterprise owners earned below N20, 000 per month, pay staff about N15, 000 per month and mostly worked for between 7 – 12 hours a day. The issues on imbalance are usually put into consideration during negotiations on wage review.

Recommendations

The study showed that the preponderance of those in the Informal Sector of the economy are the primary and secondary school drop-outs. They control about 75% of the sector and earn about N28,000 per month on the average. Majority of these people work for between 7 – 12 hours a day to earn a living. Most of them are in the age-group (30 – 44yrs), the period when some of them already have their children in primary, secondary and even in the Universities and would require sufficient money to train them. As private sector operators, any holiday enjoyed by them is at the expense of their daily income. Hospital bills and other expenditures are to be personally borne. In order to cushion the effect of economic hardship of this segment of the society who not only are providing themselves employment but are assisting the Government to keep a good number of those who would have taken arms against the Government and the populace fully engaged, we recommend that targeted assistances be provided to them in the area of trainings, provision of conducive Business environment, soft loans and other apolitical programmes that will help them have faith in Government programmes and see Government as a partner in progress.

In view of the Inter-relationship between Education, Employment, Income and possibly Security in the findings of this study, we recommend Inter-Ministerial or Agency consideration of the implications of these results and use of the facts to formulate policies that will ameliorate the sufferings of the masses.

  1. Productivity Measurement and Improvement Scheme in the Public Service

This project commenced in 2009. The Commission carried out a pilot survey on Productivity Measurement and Improvement Scheme in the public sector in collaboration with National Productivity Centre (NPC) in three (3) establishments of government namely; Federal Road Safet Commission (FRSC), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and Federal Ministry of Interior typical as representative of the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).

Objectives of the Survey

  • Establish productivity evaluation scheme in the public sector of the Nigerian Economy;
  • Determine performance measuring mechanism for each Agency of Government;
  • Develop appropriate performance indicators for measuring productivity in each Government Agency;
  • Determine the relationship between a fair day’s work with a fair day’s pay; and
  • Entrench culture of productivity improvement in the public sector

Findings/Installation of the Improvement Scheme

The findings of the Productivity Measurement and Improvement Scheme were presented to the Chief Executives of FRSC and NIS with emphasis on the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Organisations. The Commission successfully completed the Installation of the Productivity Improvement Scheme in Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) through the inauguration of the Nodal Productivity Council and training them with practical demonstration of the usefulness of the Performance Improvement Tools to the In-house Team based on the project findings. Monitoring of the activities of Nodal Productivity Council has commenced and quite in progress.

  1. National Incomes Policy Conference

In pursuance of its mandate, the Commission successfully organised a National Incomes Policy Conference (NIPC) on the 13th and 14th April, 2010 in Abuja. The conference had in attendance stakeholders from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the Academia, organised trade unions and the private sector. Arising from the Conference, the Commission has produced a draft Incomes Policy Guidelines for 2011, which is still undergoing some processes before presentation to the government.

  1. Real and Appropriate Wage Analysis

The Commission carried out analysis of the Real and Appropriate Wage in the Federal Public Service on a quarterly basis and produced appropriate reports. The objectives of the analyses of real and appropriate wages were:

  • To determine the effect of inflation on purchasing power of worker’s salary.
  • To determine the trend and changes in workers’ salary from time to time.
  • To determine workers appropriate wage due to inflation.
  • To provide the basis for formulating useful and timely policies on pay/wage review in the Public Service.

Scope

It covers analysis on eight salary structures in the public service namely; Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS II), Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONUASS), Consolidated Para-Military Salary Structure (CONPASS) and Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Medical SalaryStructure (CONMESS), Consolidated Health Workers Salary Structure(CONHESS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS) using relevant information collected from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Findings

The quarterly analysis for the period, July to September, 2011 under CONPSS shows that in September, the lowest paid worker on this salary structure is on CONPSS 01 (Step 1) with an Annual Nominal income of N204, 878.00 and monthly Nominal Wage of N17,073.17, Real Wage of N13, 768.68 and Appropriate Wage of N21, 170.73. However, GL.01 and GL.02 have been outsourced at the Federal level. On the other hand, the highest paid worker under this structure is on CONPSS 17 (Step 9) and earns a total amount of N5,441,336.00 per annum, with a monthly Nominal Wage of N453, 444.67, Real Wage of N365,681.18 and Appropriate Wage of N562, 271.39 for the month under review.

Recommendations

The analysis of Real and Appropriate Wages in the Federal Public Service has for the third quarter, July-September, 2011 revealed a marginal reduction on the earnings of the workers due to the negative effect of increasing inflation reflected on the Real Wage. The marginal reduction as opposed to wide gap experiences in the past on workers earnings is traceable to 53.37% increase of workers salaries in 2010 and the adjusted CPI in 2009 used for the analysis during the quarter under review.

In order to alleviate the effect of inflation on workers purchasing power and ensure that an average fixed salary earner enjoys a sustained increase in standard of living, we wish to recommend that government should pursue economic policies and programmes that would ensure continued improvement in the purchasing power of the average Nigeria worker. Also, this will help to keep salary/wage stable for a longer time and check frequent agitations for salary increase by workers.

  1. Price Surveillance

Price Survey is meant to provide information on movement of prices in the economy.

Objectives of the Survey

The specific objectives for carrying out this survey are:

  • To collect statistics on prices of commodities consumed by the populace to study their movements across the country;
  • To interpret the price movements and relate them to developments in the national economy such as wage payments, wage rates, income, inflation etc.
  • Develop a database of sectoral prices that will yield input data for sectoral analysis.

Scope

The survey was carried out in twelve (12) states of the Federation (i.e. 2 states from each of the region) and the Federal Capital Territory. The study focused on investigation of price changes of items under the classes and some sub-classes of Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP). Items were classified broadly into two namely: Food and Non-food items. Food items include Bread & Cereals, Fruits, Meat, and Milk amongst others while the Non-Food items include but not limited to Petrol, Kerosene, Diesel, Pharmaceuticals Products and Electricity. The field work took place between 13th to 19th September, 2011 in randomly selected rural and urban markets in the 12 State capitals.

Findings

The result of the survey showed that under the Food Classes that the highest price index nationwide in the urban markets was in the Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate & Confectionery category where the index increased from 127.66 base points in year

2010 to 164.37 base points in 2011. In the urban markets, the highest general increase in price of food was in Fish & Sea Food category where the index increased from 114.35 base points in year 2010 to 161.74 base points in 2011.

Recommendations

Based on the outcomes of the survey, recommendations as follows were made:

  • Government can partner with local and foreign companies, such as multinationals that are willing to invest in Nigeria, on agriculture and manufacturing of products that are presently imported into the country by enacting a enabling law that will make government stakeholders in any company that are ready to accept such offer as a signal for the safety of their investment.
  • Government could fashion out programme that will boost local production of sugar, jam, honey, chocolates and confectionery rather than depending on importation of such products at high price.
  • Improved transportation system is key to hike in prices of goods and services as complaints over high cost of transportation of goods by dealers continued to be noted as a major bottleneck for most businesses in the retail markets. A stable and effectively managed transportation system will surely help to stabilize the price of goods and services in the economy.
  • Public sensitisation to discourage fears and speculative buying of petroleum products like kerosene, petrol, Cooking Gas, Diesel etc. should be on continuous basis by appropriate Government agencies at the 3 tiers of government. Certainly, this will enhance price stability in the economy.
  • Improved literacy level and regular public enlightenment through the electronic and print media will help to guide prospective buyers in bargaining for prices and in stabilizing price of goods and services in the economy.
  1. ICT, LIBRARY AND PUBLICATIONS MATTER
  2. Electronic Document Management System:

This module has been developed to automate file transmission processes in the Commission. The software enables the Registry Unit to monitor the movement of files within the Commission.

  1. Salaries and Wages Management Information System (SAWMIS):

The Commission had developed Salaries and Wages Management Information System (SAWMIS) to strategically handle her software development. This software development proffered solutions to the ever-evolving mandate of the Commission. The following modules of SAWMIS had been concluded:

  • Database on Manning Levels in the Federal Public Service
  • Electronic Document Management System (File Tracking Module)
  1. Commission’s Publications:

The Commission commenced the production of several publications aimed at communicating to the relevant stakeholders and the general public, its activities and achievements. The following publications have already been produced and circulated to several organisations:

  1. First progress Report on 2009 on-going Occupational Indexing/Dictionary of Occupation in the Federal Civil Service;
  2. 2010 Incomes Survey of the Informal Sector of Nigerian Economy;
  3. 2010 Ministerial Press Briefing
  4. First, second, third and fourth quarter reports of the “Quarterly Analysis of Real and Appropriate Wage in the Federal Public Service” 2010.
  5. Job classification, 2010
  6. Price survey, 2010
  7. Second and third quarter report of the “Quarterly Analysis of Real and Appropriate Wage in the Federal Public Service” 2011.
  8. Pilot study of Productivity Measurement and Improvement Scheme in the Public Sector of the Nigerian Economy.
  9. List of Federal Government Establishments/Agencies and their approved salary Structures.
  10. Library Digitisation

The Commission has commenced digitization of the Library and as well subscribed to online resource materials to avail the staff members the opportunity to broaden their knowledge in their chosen and relevant fields.

  1. Books and Periodicals

The Commission further stocked the library with new publications from notable publishers across the country and beyond.

  1. OTHER MATTERS

Staff Training

In area of capacity building, there was massive training and retraining of members of staff. A total of 187 members of staff out 189 attended various courses in year 2009 while as at today, 142 members of staff have attended various training programmers’ in 2010. In continuation of its capacity building for members of staff, a total of one hundred and thirty staff were sponsored to local and International training programmes. Also, a total of seventy members of staff participated in In-House training programmes.

This is a significant improvement over t`he result recorded in 2010 when only 38% was achieved compared to 56% in 2011.

  1. SPORTING ACTIVITIES

The Commission has always participated in the yearly Federation of the Public Service Games (FEPSGA) and it was only at “Eko 2009” that the commission won its first medal i.e three bronze medal in the swimming event while at “Cross River 2011” the Commission won gold and a silver medal in the swimming event. The friendly interactions during the sports fiesta provided a good recreational atmosphere for the Commission`s representatives.