The federal government has approved a comprehensive upward review of duty tour, estacode, and other allowances for federal civil servants spanning grade levels 1 to 17, with the revised rates set to take effect from October 1, 2026, providing a significant improvement in out-of-station compensation for hundreds of thousands of public servants across the federal bureaucracy.
The approval was conveyed in a circular dated April 23, 2026, signed by the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo U.O. Ntah, formally titled “Review of Duty Tour, Estacode and Other Allowances in the Federal Public Service Rules for Officers on Grade Levels 1 to 17.”
The circular confirmed that the review was conducted in line with the provisions of Rule 140101(b) of the Federal Public Service Rules, 2021 edition, and covered a range of allowances including duty tour, teaching, local running, estacode, and disengagement allowances.
Under the revised duty tour allowance rates, public officers on grade levels 16 to 17 will receive N109,000 per qualifying period, while those on grade levels 14 to 15 will receive N73,000. Officers on grade levels 12 to 13 will receive N60,000, those on levels 7 to 10 will receive N51,000, grade levels 5 to 6 will receive N45,000, and those on grade levels 1 to 4 will receive N30,000.
On estacode, Permanent Secretaries will receive $1,040 per qualifying trip, while public officers on grade levels 15 to 17 will receive $737, those on grade levels 7 to 14 will receive $666, and officers on grade levels 1 to 6 will receive $357. The review encompassed a broad range of allowance categories affecting staff across all sectors of the federal public service.
