By Rotimi Ijikanmi, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
When 41-year-old Sunday Arikuyeri, a Grade Level 14 officer in a federal ministry in Abuja, received his June salary alert on Monday evening, he did not bother checking the balance immediately.
He already knew what awaited him. Deductions for cooperative loans and purchases, commercial lending facilities and informal salary advances.
Arikuyeri knew that the deductions would have swallowed almost everything before the money reached his account through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
What eventually reflected in his bank account was barely enough to pay for transportation to work for a few days, leaving nothing for food, rent, electricity bills or his children’s school needs.
With four children, an ageing mother battling hypertension and a wife whose small business collapsed under the weight of the harsh economy, he lamented, quietly, fighting back tears.
“Borrowing has become my way of life rather than a choice.
“I never imagined that after more than 15 years in the civil service, I would depend on loans just to feed my family.
“I am not saving for retirement or planning investments. Instead, I count the days to the next salary, hoping it will be enough to prevent another embarrassing call from creditors.”
Arikuyeri’s story and lamentation reflect the silent reality facing many civil servants in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where mounting debts, driven by high living costs, hyperinflation and inadequate salaries, have turned public service into a daily struggle for survival.
For thousands of workers, monthly earnings disappear almost as soon as they arrive, leaving families trapped in a relentless cycle of borrowing, repayment and financial hardship.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), some of the civil servants said their salaries are exhausted by deductions before meeting basic needs.
They decried their worsening financial pressure, rising debt, and inability to cope with daily living expenses, contending àthat their long years in service have not translated into financial stability.
Mr Gabriel Ajogun, a grade level 14,
officer in a federal government agency recounted that 24 years in service has not translated into financial stability or ownership of basic assets.
According to him, he lives in a rented apartment and owns no car, as cooperative deductions and loan repayments consume most of his monthly salary under IPPIS.
“I earn, but I hardly see my money. Loans finish everything before it reaches me,” Ajogun said.
Ajogun who described his financial condition as suffocating, explained that all his three children were trained in public schools – one already a graduate, the second in final year while the last has just secured admission into a federal college of education.
According to him, educating his children remains his only consolation amid persistent salary deductions and rising living costs.
To buttress Ajogun’s predicament,
Hajiya Salamatu Ahmed, Executive Secretary of the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, recently cried out that the heavy loan deductions from workers’ salaries have made them ineligible for housing loans.
Speaking at a forum in Abuja, Ahmed said majority of federal government workers have already mortgaged their salary by taking a series of loans from agencies that operate “sharp loans”.
“At the end of the day, there is no way you can propel them to pay the housing loan. This is very sad,’’ she said.
Ahmed added that the situation was worrisome because the board had increased its loan ceiling to N20 million for senior workers to benefit, but only a few could access the fund.
Another civil servant, Mrs Iniebong Akpan told NAN that she supplements her income by preparing snacks – puff-puff, meat pies, fish rolls, zobo and kunu drinks – for sale.
According to her, she brings them to her office daily, selling to colleagues to support her family amid rising food and transport costs.
“Salary alone cannot sustain us anymore. If I wait for salary, my family will suffer,” she said.
Akpan said the small business helps her pay school fees and utility bills, though profit remains very limited due to high ingredient costs.
She noted that juggling official duties and vending has become exhausting but unavoidable for survival.
For Mrs Grace Okafor, a civil servant residing in Deidei, Abuja, she now uses her personal car for commercial transport, popularly called “kabukabu,” to augment her income.
Okafor said she ferries passengers between Deidei and the Federal Secretariat daily and also works as an Uber driver during weekends.
The single mother of three children, however lamented that the dual role has begun to wear down both her health and vehicle.
“I never imagined I would be doing this after years in service, but survival leaves me with no choice.
“Mechanics are also dealing with me due to constant repairs of my car because of increasing wear and tear on the rough and congested routes,” she said.
A civil servant who pleaded anonymity admitted he now relies on begging colleagues, friends, schoolmates and political contacts to survive.
He said the situation has become humiliating, though unavoidable due to unpaid bills and salary shortfalls.
“I don’t like it, but hunger and responsibilities leave me no dignity anymore,” the news source confessed.
The civil servant explained that each month ends with new debts, forcing him into repeated requests for assistance.
Another worker, Akin Adejumo said he ventured into poultry and fish farming using a cooperative loan from his office, hoping to improve his financial situation.
According to him, lack of experience led to high mortality among his birds and fish, resulting in heavy losses.
“The animals started dying and I had no idea how to manage it.
“The failed venture pushed me deeper into debt, which I am still servicing through salary deductions,” he said.
Dr Ibrahim Yusuf, a development economist, said excessive borrowing among civil servants reflects structural wage and inflation imbalance.
He urged government to review remuneration frameworks and reduce reliance on salary-linked lending systems.
“Workers are borrowing to survive, not to invest. That is a policy signal of distress,” he said.
Yusuf advised financial discipline, warning that multiple loans worsen long-term economic vulnerability.
He recommended consolidation of debts and improved budgeting practices among workers.
Another Financial Expert, Dr Chika Nwosu, said many civil servants lack structured personal financial planning.
She advised workers to prioritise essential spending and avoid overlapping loan facilities from multiple sources.
“Borrowing should be for productive purposes, not consumption,” she said.
Nwosu recommended side income development and emergency savings, even if minimal.
She added that cooperative societies should strengthen financial literacy training for their members.
The experiences of civil servants in Abuja highlight a widening gap between income and cost of living in Nigeria’s urban centres.
Without urgent reforms in wages, debt management and financial education, many workers risk deeper cycles of poverty in spite of full-time public service employment.(NANFeatures)
*** if used credit the writer and the News Agency of Nigeria